Thomas Francis MOLYNEAUX

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MOLYNEAUX, Thomas Francis

Service Number:	27266
Enlisted:	15 May 1916, Enlisted at Marrickvillle, NSW
Last Rank:	Gunner
Last Unit:	5th Field Artillery Brigade
Born:	Paddington, New South Wales, Australia, October 1890
Home Town:	Croydon, Ashfield, New South Wales
Schooling:	Not yet discovered
Occupation:	Clerk
Died:	Wounds, France, 4 June 1918
Cemetery:	Vignacourt British Cemetery, Picardie Plot 111, Row B, Grave 19 Rev. H.V.O'Neill officiated Headstone inscription reads: So dearly loved R.I.P., Vignacourt British Cemetery, Vignacourt, Picardie, France
Memorials:	Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour

World War 1 Service

15 May 1916:	Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 27266, 11th Field Artillery Brigade , Enlisted at Marrickvillle, NSW
30 Sep 1916:	Involvement Gunner, 27266, 11th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: ''
30 Sep 1916:	Embarked Gunner, 27266, 11th Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Aeneas, Sydney
27 Aug 1917:	Transferred AIF WW1, Gunner, 5th Field Artillery Brigade , In the field
1 Jun 1918:	Wounded AIF WW1, Gunner, 27266, 5th Field Artillery Brigade , Wounded in action - gassed
4 Jun 1918:	Involvement Gunner, 27266, 5th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 27266 awm_unit: 5th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1918-06-04

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Biography contributed by Carol Foster

Son of James and Isabella Molyneaux of Croydon, NSW; brother of Naomi (nee Molyneaux) Craddock of Ashfield, NSW

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal

Biography contributed by Evan Evans

From François Berthout

Today, it is with deep gratitude and admiration that I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Gunner number 27266 Thomas Francis Molyneaux who fought in the 5th Brigade of the Australian Field Artillery and who died of his wounds 102 years ago,on June 4, 1918 at the age of 27.

Thomas Francis Molyneaux was born in 1890 in Paddington, New South Wales and he was the son of James and Isabella Molyneaux, native of Sydney and they lived at 11, Croydon Road, Croydon, New South Wales and before the war Thomas worked as a clerk.

Enlisted on May 15, 1916 at the age of 25 in the Field Artillery Brigade 11, Reinforcement 6, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A60 Aeneas on September 30, 1916, he sailed for England where he was disembarked in Plymouth on November 19, 1916 to receive his training then he embarked with his unit for France on August 15, 1917 and was disembarked in Rouelles, Le Havre, France on August 16, 1917.

Thomas then arrived on the Somme front on August 22, 1917 and was transferred to the 5th Brigade of the Australian Field Artillery and was affectionately nicknamed "Molly" by his comrades. Unfortunately, on June 1, 1918, Thomas and 36 of his comrades were wounded and gassed by a gas shell near Ribemont, Somme, and he was evacuated to the 20th Casualty Clearing Station at Vignacourt, Somme, where he died three days later, on June 4, 1918 at the age of 27.

Today, Thomas Francis Molyneaux rests in peace at the Vignacourt British Cemetery with his comrades and brothers in arms, allies and friends in eternal rest, in the silence of the peaceful landscapes of the Somme.

Thank you Thomas, you who answered with courage and pride to the call of duty with your comrades and friends, under the rising sun of Australia, for your family, for the king and for your country, you have sailed on the peaceful ocean separating australia from france, separating a world in peace and a world at war, seeing the horrors of war, of death striking at every moment, you fought and held with valor and courage, with admirable devotion , you faced your fears and fury on the sacred lands of the Somme and for the French people whom you protected and who was the unhappy witness of your death but the Somme was also the proud witness of your bravery and today,you and each of your comrades who fought and who fell here, you are our pride and we have a great admiration and a very big respect for you and for your country. Australia will always have a very big place in our hearts and on these sacred lands which are also yours and also those of your families, we are very proud and grateful of all that the Australian soldiers but also all the soldiers of the Commonwealth did for us and your families will always have our love and our greatest respect, France and Australia will always be united and it will be together that we will always remember you Sir. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him, we will remember them.🌺

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