BROCKLEBANK, Thomas
| Service Number: | 3033 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Dalton-In-Furness, Lancashire, England, 1897 |
| Home Town: | Swan Hill, Swan Hill, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 3 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Swan Hill War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3033, 24th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3033, 24th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 26 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3033, 24th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Melbourne | |
| 3 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 3033, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3033 awm_unit: 14 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-03 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Thomas Brocklebank was a young Englishman who came to Australia when he was 14 years of age. He enlisted at 18 years of age; both his parents being deceased. It seems he was working on a farm near Swan Hill, Victoria. His guardians were his aunt and uncle who owned the farm and gave permission for him to join up.
He only arrived in France with the 14th Battalion three weeks before he was killed. He was one of the members of a raiding party of about 90 men of A Company 14th Battalion which forced its way into the German trenches at Armentieres on the night of 2 July 1916. Brocklebank was one of two runners allocated to the raiding party, both of whom did not survive. In all seven men from the Battalion died as a result of the raid, but many of the survivors were wounded to some extent. They found the wire uncut, and came under heavy fire while breaching the wire, but did reach the German line.
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