MATHERS, Thomas James
| Service Number: | 2178 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 March 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rous, New South Wales, 27 December 1887 |
| Home Town: | Rous Mill, Ballina, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 8 August 1915, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Alstonville Public School Great War Roll of Honor, Alstonville War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, Rous Public School Great War Honor Roll, Rous Public School Old Time Pupils Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2178, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 2178, 15th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Karoola embarkation_ship_number: A63 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 2178, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Karoola, Brisbane | |
| 8 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2178, 15th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli |
Help us honour Thomas James Mathers's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
Private Thomas James Mathers of B Company of the 15th Battalion AIF was killed in action at Gallipoli on 8 August 1915.
A witness to the events surrounding his death, 1795 Private J Stoker of B Company of the 15th Battalion AIF provided the following statement to a Court of Enquiry in April, 1916:
"I knew TJ Mathers and his brother Private 'Chap' Mathers. They were in the same section of B Company and were both in the charges on the 6th and 9th August. They got through the 6th August charge without a scratch. I saw both of them just before the second charge on 9th August at Australia Valley, on the left towards Suvla Bay. After that charge they did not turn up. 'Chap' Mathers is, I understand, a prisoner and I feel pretty certain the other one (Thomas) is killed if he is not a prisoner."
There is some error in the dates given in the evidence at the Court of Enquiry in respect of the probable time of Private Thomas Mathers' death. This may have arisen due to the 15th Battalion remaining in the line until 6.30pm on 9 August. It would appear that Private Thomas Mathers was probably killed in the early morning of 8 August in the advance on Adul Rahman Bair as part of the attack to capture Hill 971.
After receiving orders at 8.30pm the previous evening to prepare for the attack, it was 4.15 am on 8 August before the 15th Battalion struggled onto what was thought, incorrectly, to be a spur running off Abdul Rahman. With Mathers' B Company leading the attack, the battalion crossed an oat field, receiving intense fire from eight Turkish machine guns on the actual Abdul Rahman, still 500 metres away on the other side of the Asma Dere, causing significant casualties.
As the Turks mounted a counterattack across the Asma Dere, the 14th Battalion joined the survivors of the 15th under cover of the southern slope of the spur. Only the intervention of the 16th Battalion prevented envelopment of the Australian position. The 15th suffered heavy losses, with over 100 killed, large numbers wounded and many missing.
By 8.30 am the attack was abandoned and a withdrawal ordered. Throughout the morning groups of men made their way back into a new line established around Australia Valley. Thomas Mathers was not amoungst those who made it back.
Private Thomas James Mathers has no known grave and is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial.
Click images to start slideshow.