HOUSEGO, Thomas Henry
| Service Number: | 5428 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Stepney, London, England , 22 May 1892 |
| Home Town: | Southport, Gold Coast, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Printer and Poulterer |
| Died: | Rail accident, latter determined as Suicide , Fassifern, New South Wales, Australia, 21 September 1931, aged 39 years |
| Cemetery: |
Sandgate General Cemetery, Newcastle, NSW |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5428, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5428, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Hawkes Bay embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 20 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5428, 15th Infantry Battalion, SS Hawkes Bay, Sydney | |
| 11 Aug 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 5428, 15th Infantry Battalion, The Battle of Amiens, GSW or bomb wound right arm, severe | |
| 27 May 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 5428, 15th Infantry Battalion, 1st MD |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
The tragic story of a Forgotten Digger who served and suffered during The Great War, now resting peacefully at Sandgate Cemetery.
89 years ago today, on the Thursday afternoon of the 24th September 1931, Private Thomas Henry Housego, 15th Battalion (Reg No-5428), printer and poulterer from High Street, Southport, Queensland and Mosman, N.S.W., was laid to rest with a military funeral at Sandgate Cemetery, age 39. GENERAL-35A. 15. see links for funeral noctice reports.
Born at Stepney, London, England on the 22nd May 1892 to Charles John and Annie Housego nee Floyd, Thomas enlisted December 1915 at Brisbane, Queensland.
Admitted to hospital, 27.5.1916 (bronchitis, influenza), 18.4.1917 (rheumatism), and wounded in action - 11.8.1918 (GSW or bomb wound right arm, severe), Thomas returned home April 1919, being discharged on the 27th May 1919.
I have not located Mr Housego’s name inscribed on any known War Memorial or Roll of Honour.
The tragic circumstances of Thomas’s death (death certificate states “lacerations to the head caused through the deceased having been knocked down and run over by a railway engine”), was extensively reported (see link) note to friend (see NLA link).
The Coroner returned an open verdict regarding Mr Housego’s death, would not commit himself to say Thomas took his own life. (see NLA links)
When I located Thomas in May 2019 resting in an unmarked grave, forgotten, I placed a cross adorned with poppies on the gravesite, taken a photo of the grave and uploaded the photo onto the Northern Cemetery website as a permanent record of his service (see Sandgate Link)
An application for a Commonwealth War Graves Plaque, curbing and marble chip submitted August 2019, declined September 2019 (again, would not recognise cause of death to be suicide from war service).
Mr Housego’s honour and dignity will be restored with a plaque courtesy of the Forgotten Diggers Headstone Project.
Lest We Never Forget.
Click images to start slideshow.