CAHILL, Thomas Kevin
| Service Number: | 717 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 February 1916, An original of B Company |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 39th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Stawell, Victoria, Australia, 1883 |
| Home Town: | Stawell, Northern Grampians, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Harvard College, Stawell |
| Occupation: | Amalgamator |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 30 August 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Hem Farm Military Cemetery, Hem-Monacu. France Plot II, Row C, Grave No. 17. IN MEMORY OF OUR BELOVED SON AND BROTHER R.I.P. |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 717, 37th Infantry Battalion, An original of B Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 1916: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 717, 37th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Jun 1916: | Embarked Lance Corporal, 717, 37th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Persic, Melbourne | |
| 30 Aug 1918: | Involvement Lieutenant, 39th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 39th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1918-08-30 |
Help us honour Thomas Kevin Cahill's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Thomas Cahill was one of four brothers who served in the AIF during WW1. Only one survived. They were the sons of William and Mary Ann Cahill of Stawell, Victoria. The father William had passed away in Stawell during 1908. The family had moved to Melbourne and Thomas’s mother was living in Hawthorn, Victoria when he enlisted. He was an amalgamator (separates gold or silver from ore by mercury amalgamation processing) in civilian life.
Thomas’s younger brother, Francis Matthew Cahill, had enlisted during 1915 and died of meningitis in the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne while he was still in camp, aged 22. An even younger brother, 2812 Pte. Richard Nicholas Cahill 60th Battalion AIF, had died of wounds inflicted at the Battle of Fromelles on 24 July 1916, aged 20. A third brother, the only survivor, Captain Martin Cahill, was awarded the Military Cross and mentioned in despatches before returning to Australia in late 1918.
Thomas was a Corporal in the 10th Light Mortar Battery when he arrived in France in late 1916. Over the next 12 months he was promoted to Sergeant and then up to Lieutenant with the 39th Battalion although throughout that period he was still attached to the Trench Mortars.
A note in his service file says he was killed in action by a shell on 30 August 1918, just prior to an attack on Clery-sur-Somme in France.
Click images to start slideshow.