MCLACHLAN, Thomas Henry
| Service Number: | 3878 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 11th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carngham, Victoria, Australia, 28 July 1876 |
| Home Town: | Bayswater, Bayswater, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fleurbaix, France, 30 May 1916, aged 39 years |
| Cemetery: |
Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix, Bethune, Nord Pas de Calais Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery (Plot I, Row H, Grave No. 30), France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Midland WW1 Clock Tower & Town Hall Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3878, 11th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3878, 11th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: RMS Mongolia embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 22 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3878, 11th Infantry Battalion, RMS Mongolia, Fremantle |
Help us honour Thomas Henry McLachlan's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Snake Valley & District Historical Society
Private Thomas Henry McLachlan SRN 3878 was born in the 28th of July 1876 in Carngham. His parents were James McLachlan (1832-1914) and Isabella Diamond (1839-1921). Thomas was one of 13 children.
He married Maud Alice Kingerley, and had one son and three daughters; Thomas, Myrtle, Jean and Maude, between 1910 and 1915.
Thomas’s occupation was listed as Labourer.
He enlisted on the 5th of August, 1915 aged 40 years, 11th Battalion, B Company, (3rd Brigade AIF). He was in Blackboy Camp, Western Australia, and then embarked for overseas service on the 22nd of November 1915. Thomas joined his Battalion on the 17th of March 1916 in Serapeum, Egypt and then travelled per HMT Corsican and disembarked at Marseilles, France, on the 5th of April 1914.
Just 35 days after arriving in France, Thomas was killed in action on the 30th of May, aged 40 years.
He was killed by a bomb blast near Fleurbaix, France and was buried in the Rue Petillion Millitary Cemetery. Thomas is one of about 36 soldiers of the 11th Battalion, all killed by the one bomb in the Fromelles area, buried side by side, some with their headstones touching each other.
The inscription on his headstone says:
“OUR HERO, EVER REMEMBERED BY LOVING WIFE AND FOUR CHILDREN”
Information from Carol Holding, NAA, SVDHS
Click images to start slideshow.