THORNS, Arthur John Vivian
| Service Number: | 2235 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Gympie, Queensland, Australia, 31 March 1892 |
| Home Town: | Trafalgar, Kalgoorlie/Boulder, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Pozieres, France, 29 July 1916, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2235, 28th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2235, 28th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 1 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2235, 28th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Fremantle |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Arthur John Vivian Thorns was one of three brothers all of whom enlisted in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, during WW1.
The family had come from Gympie in Queensland in around 1902, to try their luck on their goldfields. It seems they lived at Kanowna, now a mining ghost town, about 20 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie. Later the family lived at Trafalgar, still on the goldfields.
The parents were Albert and Emma Thorns.
Arthur arrived in Egypt a little late for the Gallipoli campaign and was killed in action at Pozieres when the 28th Battalion was involved in the very heavy fighting on 29 July 1916.
His younger brother, 723 Sergeant Alfred Henry Stanley Thorns, M.M., M.I.D. 51st Battalion AIF was a brilliant soldier, but died of wounds 16 May 1918, aged 23.
A third brother George Albert (Leslie) Thorns enlisted in 1917 into 48th Battalion. Les had his left foot severely damaged by a shell and was finally discharged during March 1918.
Another brother named his son, born in 1917, Arthur Stanley Thorns, after his two fallen brothers. WX10289 Private Arthur Stanley Thorns, 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion, died of ill treatment as a Japanese prisoner 8 August 1945.
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