THOMAS, John
| Service Number: | 2029 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Abergwili,Carmarthenshire , date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 3 September 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Apr 1915: | Involvement Private, 2029, 9th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Apr 1915: | Embarked Private, 2029, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Brisbane | |
| 3 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 2029, 49th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2029 awm_unit: 49th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-09-03 |
Help us honour John Thomas's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Kathleen Bambridge
His personal effects were returned to AIF Base Records Melbourne 1920, awaiting a claimant.
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
John was the son of John Thomas of Abergwili. He worked as a miner prior to emigrating to Australia, where he again took up work as a miner, near Brisbane. He enlisted at Brisbane on 27 January 1915 into the 9th Battalion, Australian Infantry, and embarked at Brisbane on 16 April 1915 HMAT Kyarra for Egypt. On 22 June 1915 John joined the battalion at Gallipoli, and fought at the Battle of Lone Pine in August. He then took ill, and was evacuated from Gallipoli, suffering from dysentery and diphtheria. It wasn’t until 25 February 1916 that John was well enough to return to duty, and was posted to the 49th Battalion, Australian Infantry. The battalion was formed by the doubling of the AIF, with half of its number being made up from 9th Battalion men, and joined the newly formed 13th Brigade, 3rd Australian Division. Arriving in France on 12 June 1916, the Division saw its first major battle at Mouquet Farm in August. John was wounded by a shell fragment during an attack at Mouquet Farm on 3 September 1916, and died two hours later, aged 35. John was buried on the battlefield, but his grave was never identified, so he is today commemorated on the Villers Brettoneux Memorial, France.
Surprisingly, although there are Australian casualties honoured on the Abergwili War Memorial he is not commemorated locally.
The Village of Abergwili sits just to the east of Carmarthen, on the A40 leading out of Town towards Builth Wells. On the main street sits a War Memorial in the style of a Celtic Cross, carved from granite, which remembers the men and one woman of the Village who gave their lives during both World Wars.