THORN, William
| Service Number: | 344 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bendigo, 1889 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 344, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 344, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
William Thorn was born in May 1889 in the suburb Bendigo, Victoria. He had one brother Arthur Thorn who was his next of kin when enlisting for war. In his adult life he lived at the Paulin Hotel, Eaglehawk, Victoria and worked as a jeweller. Standing at 5ft, 8inces, weighing 11lbs 25-year-old William Thorn enlisted on the 19th of August 1914. At the time of his enlistment, he was a single man, with no children and was a part of the Roman Catholic domination.
Thorn as part of the 10th Battalion embarked on the ship 'Ionian' on 27/6/15 to Gallipoli. The 10th Battalion then joined the M.E.F (Mediterranean Expeditionary Force) which was part of the British Army during World War I, that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika (Greece). After 6 months of traveling on a boat, William Thorn finally arrived in Gallipoli. At war he served the military by being a cook/ private. After 4 months of non-stop fighting, William Thorn was awarded 2 days of rest. During his time in Gallipoli, he was admitted to hospital 3 times for loss of teeth. On the 29th of December 1915, William Thorn was evacuated from Gallipoli and arrived in Alexandria, Egypt. William Thorn’s hard work did not go to waste when he was then promoted from cook/private to sergeant on the 11th of March 1916.
On the 1st April 1917 he was wounded on the Western Front and was hospitalised and then rejoined his unit of the 15th July 1917. During 1918 he was hospitalised with pyrexia and then moved to England for further treatment and rest. jhe was discharged on 5th August 1918. Most likely as part of the 10th Battalion Thorn would have fought at the Somme for the 3rd Ypres campaign, Menin Rd and Polygon Wood.
William Thorn returned from war to Australia on the 8th of October 1918. After returning to Australia, William Thorn hard work was recognised as he was awarded a total of 4 medals. On the 7/9/18 William Thorn was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his loyalty to his battalion in feeding his soldiers during war and his zeal, conscientiousness, ability, and loyalty are valuable assets to the Battalion. A second medal William Thorn won, was the, The 1914–15 Star. This medal is a campaign medal of the British Empire which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the First World War against the Central European Powers during 1914 and 1915. The victory medal was also awarded to him. Instituted in September 1919, the Victory Medal was issued for service in an active theatre of military operations between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. Then the last medal William Thorn received was the British war medal. The British War Medal was instituted on 26 July 1919 for award to those who had rendered service between 5 August 1914, the day following the British declaration of war against the German Empire, and the armistice of 11 November 1918. Unfortunately, 42 years after returning to Australia William Thorn passed away at the age of 71.