AITKEN, Thomas
| Service Number: | 3003 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 July 1915, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 59th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Edinburgh, Scotland, 1981 |
| Home Town: | Moondarra, Baw Baw, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Moondarra State School, Victoria |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 19 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery, la Gorgue Plot X1, Row D, Grave 37 |
| Memorials: | Aldgate War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Erica War Memorial, Moe Moondarra & District Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Nov 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3003, 21st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Nov 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3003, 21st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 19 Jul 1916: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Private, 3003, 59th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3003 awm_unit: 59th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-19 |
|
| Date unknown: | Involvement 21st Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières |
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Arrived in Australia aged 4 years 6 months
54 Battalion
Rank - Private
29 January 1916 - Admitted to No 1 Auxiliary Hospital, Heliopolis (bronchitis);
18 February 1916 - Discharged to duty
20 April 1916 - Taken on strength of 59th Bn, Duntroon Plateau, from 6th Training Bn
18 June 1916 - Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force
29 June 1916 - Disembarked Marseilles, France
19 July 1916 - Posted missing
29 August 1917 Court of Enquiry, held in the field decided fate as 'Killed in Action, 19 July 1916'.
Son of John and Euphemia Aitken
Biography contributed by Heathfield High School
Thomas Aitken was born in 1881 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He arrived in Australia with his parents, John, and Euphemia (or Elizabeth) Aitken when he was 4 years and 6 months old. They settled in Moondarra, near Traralgon, east of Melbourne where he attended Moondarra State School. After leaving school Thomas Aitken worked as a farmer. [1]
On the 10th of July 1915, aged 33 Aitken enlisted in the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) as a Private in the Australian Infantry 21st Battalion. According to his Attestation Papers, he was not a tall man by today’s standards, with his height recorded as 5’4’’ (162.5cm) and his weight listed as 148 lbs (66.6kg). Aitken’s marital status was listed as “single”. [2]
On the 10th of July 1915 in Melbourne, Victoria Thomas Aitken enlisted into the AIF and he was placed into the 21st battalion and his service number 3003. Then on the 18th of November 1915 Private Aitken Embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on the HMAT A18 Wiltshire.[3]
According to his casualty records, on the 29th of January 1916 Private Aitken was admitted to hospital in Heliopolis in Egypt due to Bronchitis. He was discharged to active duty on the 19th of February 1916.[4]
Private Aitken’s next engagement was recorded on Duntroon Plateau near Suez Canal on 21.4.1916. He was ‘taken on strength’ by the 59th battalion from the 6th training battalion.
The next entry in his service notes that on the 18th of June 1916 he embarked Alexandria in Egypt to join the BEF (British Expeditionary Force). He arrived and disembarked in Marseilles, France on June 29th, 1916.[7] France was the theatre of war where many battles took place, on what has become known as the Western Front.
On the 19th of July 1916 his service record above indicates that he was posted as missing. The last entry in his service record was made on the 29th of August 1917. A court of Enquiry held in the field decided his fate as killed in action. He was killed in Fromelles, Nord France on the 19th of July 1916 and he was 34 years and 9 months old when he died. Thomas Aitken won the Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Hiis family had many communications with military command regarding the where abouts of their son. Given there was 13 months between private Aitken being reported missing and the court of enquiry finding that he had been killed in action his family would have been very distressed and anxious about whether he was alive or not.
Lest we forget.
List of references
Vwma.org.au. (2024). Virtual War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/projects/132341/edit [Accessed 7 Jun. 2024].
Iwm.org.uk. (2024). Life story: Thomas Aitken | Lives of the First World War. [online] Available at: https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7339409 [Accessed 7 Jun. 2024].
Adfa.edu.au. (2024). Details. [online] Available at: https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=1873 [Accessed 7 Jun. 2024].
Terrace, V. (2024). View digital copy. [online] Naa.gov.au. Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3023784&S=41&R=0 [Accessed 7 Jun. 2024].
Tents of the 8th Australian Field Ambulance on Duntroon Plateau, near Suez Canal. | Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au)
Awm.gov.au. (2021). 1918: Trench Warfare - Hell on Earth | Australian War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/1918/battles/trenchwarfare#:~:text=Apart%20from%20the%20inescapable%20cold,crawling%20with%20lice%20and%20rats. [Accessed 7 Jun. 2024].
[1] https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=1873
[2] https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=1873
[3] https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=1873
[4] https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3023784&S=41&R=0
[5] Training Camps: Egypt – Following the Twenty-Second (anzac-22nd-battalion.com)
[6] Tents of the 8th Australian Field Ambulance on Duntroon Plateau, near Suez Canal. | Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au)
[7] https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3023784&S=41&R=0
[8]https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/1918/battles/trenchwarfare#:~:text=Apart%20from%20the%20inescapable%20cold,crawling%20with%20lice%20and%20rats.
[9] https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3023784&S=41&R=0
[10] https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/anzac/spirit
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