YOUNG, Thomas
| Service Number: | 594 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 January 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 594, 12th Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, 594, 12th Light Horse Regiment, Embarkation details Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A29 Suevic on 13 June 1915 | |
| 13 Jun 1915: | Embarked 594, 12th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Suevic, Sydney | |
| 13 Jun 1915: | Involvement 594, 12th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
| 4 Sep 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, 6th Light Horse Regiment | |
| 10 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
| 27 Jun 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Discharged from London, British |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Glenunga International High School
World War 1 was the birthplace of conflict between countries from all over the world, countless people were killed in action or wounded just on behalf of their service to their country. The war began in 1914 and last for 4 long, traumatic years. Australia was one of the countries that participated in the war with its army on land, sea, and air.
Amongst all of the brave soldiers enlisting themselves was Thomas Young. Thomas Young was born in 1880 in the town of Reefton in New Zealand. He served in the Militia, New Zealand for 2 years as a sergeant. Young was a driver and a soldier before he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. He had a large family with 4 children and a wife named Ella Young.
As Young already did have past service in the army it was quite easy for him to enlist, he enlisted on 4th January 1915. He was 35 years and 4 months at the time he enlisted. He and his unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, they were on board the HMAT A29 Suevic on 13 June 1915. As many of the soldiers, Young did transfer from different units almost 3 times. Australian Light Horse were mounted infantry that relied on horses as their mode of transportation. After almost 2-3 months from being in the 12th Light Horse Regiment, he got transferred to the 6th Light Horse Regiment on 4th September 1915. He got transferred again to the 14th Training Battalion on 10 April 1916. He ended his service in the 20th Infantry Battalion. Thomas got sick a lot of times and many of the times it was because he suffered from tonsillitis. After a week of being transferred to the 6th Light Horse Regiment, Young got sick. The first time he got admitted was because of tonsillitis in St John's Hospital. Unfortunately, on 27th June 1917, he got discharged from the army as being permanently unfit for service and but would still receive his pension. He was in London at the time and had the option to go back to Australia but he chose to stay in London.
Life after the war was a bit harsh for Thomas. Young first sent an application for permission to discharge in England because of relations and family ties in England and no responsibilities for him to return to Australia. At about the same time Young’s wife sent the commanding officer a letter regarding Young to return to Australia and not abandon his family. She includes saying that “Now he’s not man enough to return here. Soldiering has made him a “rank cowardly cad” evidently.” Throughout the letter, she displayed an infuriated tone and clearly wanted him to be a man and come back to Australia. The commandant replied to this letter by stating the reasons Young included in his application to stay in England. The next thing Young knew, his payment gets ceased and granted to Ella Young and her children. He was under 3 years contract with the British East Africa Company and thus traveled to Mombasa in East Africa.
Bibliography
Aif.adfa.edu.au. (2017).Details. [online] Available at: https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=335111 [Accessed 6 May 2017].
recordsearch.naa.gov.au (2017). [online] Available at:https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1912120 [Accessed 6 May 2017].