Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

When Thomas Sheehan met and courted Ellen Lewis, he was employed at the Jarrahdale
No.1 Mill as a mill hand and tally clerk. Thomas and Ellen were married and had their first child
on the 23rd March 1915, a son that they named Francis Joseph. Their boy would later become known by his father’s name shortened to Tommy Sheehan.
Thomas’ father was Patrick Joseph Sheehan and he was born about 1867, in London as the
child of Thomas and Catherine Mary. Patrick married Annie Maria Mahoney on 21st December 1889, in Melbourne, Victoria. They had two children, Thomas and his brother John Henry (Jack)
Sheehan. The two boys were both born in Victoria. It is evident that the marriage between Patrick and Annie failed sometime in the early 1900s. Annie left Victoria for Western Australia
in 1912 and her two boys moved with her in search of work and a fresh start. Her separated
husband, P.J. Sheehan died in 1914 in Melbourne, Victoria, at the age of 47.
Annie Sheehan remarried to Joseph Roberts in 1914. He had earlier fathered a son, John
James Joseph Roberts born in 1912. Annie Roberts (Sheehan) remained in Western Australia
with Joseph Roberts until her death in 1941 at her home at 69 Planet Street Carlisle. Her
second husband, John Roberts died six years later in 1947.
Thomas Joseph Sheehan and Ellen (nee Lewis) with baby boy Francis, were living at Jarrahdale
when the national call for more recruits for the World War One campaign came from the AIF.
Thomas Sheehan enlisted on 20th March 1916 the same day as his three brother-in-law’s
and numerous other young Jarrahdale men. Thomas was aged 25 years and Ellen Sheehan
was expecting their second child when he left to go to war. He sailed to England on board the
“Seang Bee” on 18th July 1916.
There has been no photograph found of Thomas Sheehan either in uniform or earlier in his civil wear which is unusual given the number of the other Lewis family photographs that exist.
He got separated from his Jarrahdale mates when illness had him admitted to hospital in
England before being sent to duty. He was serving in France when his wife Ellen gave birth to their baby girl Gwendoline. And still on duty at the war front when the Lewis family had to send him word of the tragic death of his wife Ellen as a result of a house fire.
Just a year after Ellen Sheehan’s death from the washhouse fire, word was received by the
Lewis family from the war office that Thomas Joseph Sheehan had been killed in action in
Belgium on the 4th October 1917. Two months before his death on the 26th September 1917,
Thomas had been promoted from Lance Corporal to Corporal (Temp).
Five accounts by witnesses of the tragic death of Thomas are held on the Australian Red Cross
Wounded and Missing Soldiers Files, reference # 1DRL/0428. In summary Sheehan was one
of three (or six) men taking cover in a shell hole, on the war front at Zonnebeke Ridge in Ypres when another shell dropped into their refuge, killing all instantly. The men were buried where they were killed, and no cross was erected as the Germans gained control of the ground shortly after and the surviving soldiers were forced back.
An account by renowned war writer C. E. W. Bean, of the day before that eventful day of the 4th October when Thomas Sheehan was killed, records that heavy rain fell on the night of the 3rd October. Four ANZAC divisions of Australian and New Zealanders together with English troops had gathered ready to engage in a planned attacked scheduled for dawn at 6am on the 4th October. Despite the heavy rain the troops were of high spirit enhanced by the sheer numbers of men being prepared ready to attack. Two hours before dawn at 4am the rear soldiers some several hundred yards back from the trench line, were first to see the most dreaded sight of German flares showering down and lighting the darkness. This was followed by an extremely heavy barrage of mortar and bombing that targeted the men in the trenches that were positioned to provide leading support to the first part of the planned attack. The
Germans had counter attacked and caught the ANZAC soldiers in trenches by surprise and the
soldiers could do nothing more than hold their position without any support from rear troops.
They were sitting targets. One in seven of the allied soldiers positioned in trenches were killed.
And sadly, for the Lewis and Sheehan families, Corporal Thomas Sheehan was one of those
casualties.
The attack by the remaining troops was brought forward to 5:30 am and met with further unwelcomed surprise as the German line had moved forward to the now diminished allies’ trench line. But the troops continued the attack and the battle continued through the day. By nightfall the allied forces had recaptured no more than the ground lost from the morning and in doing so there were 6500 Australian and 1700 New Zealand casualties. The Germans had lost 5000 men and still today call the 4th October “the black Day” of the war and it was recorded by German leaders that “no army could sustain the loss of life without catastrophe”
These events were part of the Third Battle of Ypres, later most often referred to as simply
Passchendaele which ran from July to November 1917. This was a massive series of advances by the British, Australian, New Zealand and later Canadian troops to attempt to break out of the Ypres salient (a bulge in the line) and to take the high ground along a series of ridges as far as the village of Passchendaele.
The attacks were planned by the brilliant British commander General Herbert Plumer who developed his innovative ‘Bite and Hold’ tactic which involved the first wave of attacks advancing behind a massive creaping barrage. The barrage would then move on to the support trenches allowing the second wave to pass through the first wave as they consolidated their gains. This prevented the Germans from organising a counter attack. The plan worked brilliantly and the attacks initially went largely to plan.
The first Australian involvement came on the 20th September with the Battle of Menin Road.
This was followed by the taking of Polygon Wood on the 26th September, then the attack on Broodsiende Ridge and the taking of the blockhouses at Tyne Cot.
Although suffering heavy casualties the plan resulted in the taking of the vital ridges overlooking the Ypres salient.
Heavy rain followed and as the natural drainage of the ground had been destroyed by the heavy artillery barrages the battlefield quickly turned into an impassable morass of thick mud and deep water filled shell holes.
Bouyed by the early success, allied commander Haig ordered the attacks to continue to Passchendaele. This proved to be an enormous mistake and the attack soon bogged down in the appalling conditions and resulted only in massive casualties.
The decimated Australian divisions were then relieved by the Canadians who also suffered
massive losses before eventually taking the shell-cratered muddy field that had once been
Passchendaele.
Corporal Thomas Sheehan died leaving behind his son Thomas Jnr. and his new baby daughter Gwendoline whom he never got to see. The two orphaned Sheehan children were too young to initially realise the great loss that had endured. There is a common local story told by Jarrahdale old-timers that Thomas Sheehan died in France not knowing that his wife Ellen had been killed in that wash house fire in Jarrahdale, but that was not correct. Thomas had been advised of his wife’s tragic death by his father- in-law Joseph Lewis.
A death notice for Thomas Sheehan was published in the Western Mail on the 30th November 1917 and was inserted by “his heart-broken Mother of Victoria Park East”. May his reward be as his sacrifice Brother of Jack Sheehan (on service). At that time his mother Annie Roberts was living in Planet Street, Carlisle.
Thomas Sheehan had appointed his father-in-law Joseph Lewis as Executor of his Will when
he enlisted. Joseph communicated with the army between 1920 and 1922 to have the Memorial Scroll and Memorial Plaques wording changed from that which Thomas’ mother chose and to have these reissued for his surviving children. He was successful, and these were awarded to Master F.J. Sheehan on the 28th May 1922. [Ref: Copy of Army Records Corporal T.J. Sheehan
# 5087 of the 28th Battalion, held by Ian Lewis]
Despite years of searching, there has not yet been found any photograph of Thomas Sheehan, either in civilian cloths or in his uniform.
The two young Sheehan children, Thomas Jnr. (Francis) and Gwen were raised by their
grandparents Joseph and Mary Lewis and the closeness in age of two of the family members provided lifetime family unity and support.