THOMAS, Albert Ernest Victor
| Service Number: | 497 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 August 1914, Broadmeadows, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 4th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Ascot, Victoria, Australia, 3 June 1889 |
| Home Town: | Ascot, City of Balllarat (LGA), Victoria |
| Schooling: | Ascot State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Influenza, Egypt, 21 October 1918, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: |
Cairo War Memorial Cemetery Row O, Grave No. 346, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 497, 4th Light Horse Regiment, Broadmeadows, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 497, 4th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 497, 4th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 24 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 497, 4th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 16 Jul 1915: | Wounded Australian Army (Post WW2), Trooper, 497, 4th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Recuperated in Malta. | |
| 6 Mar 1916: | Transferred Australian Army (Post WW2), Trooper, Australian Army Postal Corps, Transferred in Egypt. | |
| 8 Mar 1916: | Promoted Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal, Australian Army Postal Corps | |
| 13 Jun 1916: | Transferred Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal, Australian Army Postal Corps, Australian Base Postal Unit, London | |
| 15 May 1917: | Promoted Australian Army (Post WW2), Sergeant, Temporary. Records Section | |
| 8 Mar 1918: | Transferred Australian Army (Post WW2), Sergeant, Australian Army Postal Corps, Extra Regimental Sergeant in Postal Corps | |
| 30 Mar 1918: | Transferred Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal, 4th Light Horse Regiment, Back to 4 LHR in Egypt. | |
| 19 Sep 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 497, 4th Light Horse Regiment, Megiddo - Syria 1918 | |
| 30 Sep 1918: | Wounded Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal, 497, 4th Light Horse Regiment, Transferred to Abbassia, Egypt. | |
| 21 Oct 1918: | Involvement Corporal, 497, 4th Light Horse Regiment, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 497 awm_unit: 4 Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-10-21 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Neil Leckie
Albert Ernest Victor Thomas was born near Ascot, north of Ballarat, and enlisted as a 26-year-old single Farmer at Broadmeadows on 28 August 1914. He embarked on the HMAT A18 Wiltshire on 19 Oct 1914 with C Squadron 4th Light Horse Regiment. He served on Gallipoli where he was wounded on 16 July and required hospitalisation in Malta. After the Gallipoli Campaign ended, he was allocated a position with the Postal Corps from 6 March 1916 and promoted to Corporal on 8 March. On 13 June Albert was transferred to Australian Base Post Office in London. On 15 May 1917 he was promoted to Temporary Sergeant in charge of the Records Section. On 8 March 1918 he promoted to Extra Regimental Sergeant with the Postal Corps. Albert ceased duty with the Postal Corps on 30 March 1918 and reverted to the rank of Corporal and on 20 May embarked from Southampton, returning to the 4th Light Horse in Egypt. On 30 September he was wounded and was admitted to hospital in Abbassia on 11 October, where he contracted influenza and died on 21 October.
Biography contributed by Robert Wight
Albert Ernest Victor Thomas, aged 26, enlisted in the AIF at Broadmeadows on 20 August 1914 and embarked overseas with the first convoy on 19 October. The regiment trained in Egypt for the next six months, then embarked for Gallipoli, without horses, on 20 May 1915.
The 4th Light Horse was stationed in the southern sector of Gallipoli, and it was here on 16 July 1915 that Trooper Thomas sustained a shrapnel wound to his left thigh. He was evacuated to Malta and later returned to Egypt on 8 September 1915.
He was promoted to Corporal and transferred to the Postal Corps in Cairo on 6 March 1916. He left Egypt on 13 June, arrived in Plymouth on 23 June 1916 and was later promoted to Sergeant and transferred to the Postal Corps in London from 15 May 1917 – 30 March 1918.
He left England on 20 May and arrived back in Egypt on 14 June 1918, where he reverted to Corporal and re-joined the 4th Light Horse Regiment in the field in Palestine on 27 June 1918. The regiment participated in the successful Megiddo offensive from 19 September 1918 and then pursued the retreating Turks north toward Damascus.
It was near here on 30 September 1918 that Cpl Thomas sustained a gunshot wound to his forearm and was later evacuated to the 31st Stationary Hospital at Abbassia, Cairo.
Cpl Albert Ernest Victor Thomas subsequently contracted influenza and died of his illness on 21 October 1918. He was buried in the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery the next day.
Source: Extract from "Clunes War Memorial WW1" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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