LAVIS, Thomas George Dawson
| Service Number: | 1721 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 January 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Gunnedah, New South Wales, Australia, 15 August 1893 |
| Home Town: | Guyra, Guyra, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Motor driver |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 22 May 1916, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Brewery Orchard Cemetery, Bois-Grenier Plot IV, Row C, Grave No. 24 Remembered on the Guyra War Memorial |
| Memorials: | Guyra Public School Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1721, 19th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 1721, 19th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Kanowna embarkation_ship_number: A61 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 1721, 19th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kanowna, Sydney | |
| 8 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 18th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Thomas George Dawson Lavis's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Tom Lavis left Egypt on 15 August 1915 for Dardanelles, and was there until time of evacuation. Then he met his brother William at Tel-el-Kebir camp in early 1916 and managed to get himself transferred to 18th Battalion, William’s battalion. They both sailed for France, and went into trenches 11 April 1916.
Tom has an extensive Red Cross file in which many describe his death on 22 May 1916 when he was mortally wounded by a shell and died very soon after. Another soldier named Murphine was killed by the same shell.
He was buried in the Brewery Orchard Cemetery and his grave was well tended by his mates, who stated they built a brick wall around it and planted flowers. Tom’s brother William was present when he died.
His headstone reads, ‘Rest in peace brave hearts and we will meet in heaven’.
His older brother, 2170 Pte. William Francis Lavis 18th Battalion was killed in action only a few later at Pozieres, on 2 August 1916, aged 31.
Another brother, 110 Lce.Cpl. Edward Lavis served with the 1st Battalion AIF and was severely wounded on 24 August 1918. He was sent home a few months later, with a ‘gunshot wound to his left elbow, fractured humerus.’
Their parents were Dennis and Mary Jemima Lavis, of Guyra, NSW.
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