HOLDWAY, Thomas
| Service Number: | 5109 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Chapmanslake, Wiltshire, England, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Boonah, Scenic Rim, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Chapmanslake, Wiltshire, England |
| Occupation: | Wood Carver, Horticulturalist |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 3 September 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Serre Road Cemetery No.2 Beaumont Hamel, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Boonah War Memorial, Maroon War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 5109, 9th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of Victoria embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 5109, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of Victoria, Sydney | |
| 3 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 5109, 49th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 5109 awm_unit: 49th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-09-03 |
Narrative
Thomas Barnes Holdway #5109 9th/49th Battalion
Tom Holdway had been born in the village of Chapmanslake, Wiltshire, England. His parents Tom and Sarah were farming in the village where young Tom attended school. After leaving school Tom gained credentials in wood carving and later horticulture.
In 1911 at the age of 27 Tom emigrated to Australia where he took up a position as gardener at Maroon Station.
Tom Holdway attending the recruiting depot at Adelaide Street in Brisbane on 30th September 1915. He stated his age as 30 years and 4 months and gave his address as Maroon Station. He also stated he had two years previous military experience with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry but was discharged due to deafness. He named his father Tom senior of Chapmanslake as his next of kin.
Tom embarked for overseas in Sydney on “Star of Victoria” on 31st March 1916. The embarkation roll shows him as part of the 16th reinforcements for the 9th Battalion.
The reinforcements disembarked at Port Said on 5th May and while in camp in Egypt, Tom was transferred to the 9th Battalion’s sister battalion, the 49th Battalion. Tom arrived in Marseilles on 14th June and two months later was taken on strength by the 49th at the Tara Hill camp outside Albert on the Somme.
Tom had joined his battalion just as preparations were being made for an attack on Mouquet Farm, just along the ridge from Pozieres where two divisions of Australians had already faced the German wire. Mouquet Farm with its underground bunkers and tunnels was a formidable obstacle that had to be approached through a narrowing funnel of lower ground with enfilading fire pouring in from three sides. On the 3rd September 1916, in its first major action, the 49th attacked.
Casualties for that day amounted to 82 Killed and 300 wounded. The battalion had lost almost half of its fighting strength in one day. One of those Killed was Tom Holdway. It would appear that he was buried close to the battlefield, perhaps in a marked grave.
At the end of the war, scattered remains were exhumed by the Imperial War Graves Commission for inclusion in permanent cemeteries. Remarkably, Tom’s grave near Pozieres was located and his identity confirmed by an aluminium identity tag. His remains were reburied in the Serre Road Cemetery at Beaumont Hamel.
Attempts were made to inform Tom’s father of the location of his son’s remains but for some reason, the Holdway family were unable to be located. The identity disc which led to his discovery and the medals to which his family was entitled along with a bronze memorial plaque were never claimed.
Submitted 28 February 2021 by Ian Lang
Biography contributed by Ian Lang
Thomas Barnes Holdway #5109 9th/49th Battalion
Tom Holdway had been born in the village of Chapmans Lake, Wiltshire, England. His parents Tom and Sarah were farming in the village where young Tom attended school. After leaving school Tom gained credentials in wood carving and later horticulture. In 1911 at the age of 27 Tom emigrated to Australia where he took up a position as gardener at Maroon Station.
Tom Holdway attended the recruiting depot at Adelaide Street in Brisbane on 30th September 1915. He stated his age as 30 years and 4 months and gave his address as Maroon Station. He also stated he had two years previous military experience with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry but had been discharged due to deafness. He named his father Tom senior of Chapmans Lake as his next of kin.
Tom embarked for overseas in Sydney on “Star of Victoria” on 31st March 1916. The embarkation roll shows him as part of the 16th reinforcements for the 9th Battalion.
The reinforcements disembarked at Port Said on 5th May and while in camp in Egypt, Tom was transferred to the 9th Battalion’s sister battalion, the 49th Battalion. Tom arrived in Marseilles on 14th June and two months later was taken on strength by the 49th at the Tara Hill camp outside Albert on the Somme.
Tom had joined his battalion just as preparations were being made for an attack on Mouquet Farm, just along the ridge from Pozieres where two divisions of Australians had already faced the German wire. Mouquet Farm with its underground bunkers and tunnels was a formidable obstacle that had to be approached through a narrowing funnel of lower ground with enfilading fire pouring in from three sides. On the 3rd September 1916, in its first major action, the 49th attacked.
Casualties for that day amounted to 82 Killed and 300 wounded. The battalion had lost almost half of its fighting strength in one day. One of those Killed was Tom Holdway. It would appear that he was buried close to the battlefield, perhaps in a marked grave.
At the end of the war, scattered remains were exhumed by the Imperial War Graves Commission for inclusion in permanent cemeteries. Remarkably, Tom’s grave near Pozieres was located and his identity confirmed by an aluminium identity tag. His remains were reburied in the Serre Road Cemetery at Beaumont Hamel.
Attempts were made to inform Tom’s father of the location of his son’s remains but for some reason, the Holdway family were unable to be located. The identity disc which led to his discovery and the medals to which his family was entitled along with a bronze memorial plaque were never claimed.