BOLT, Herbert Thomas
| Service Number: | 3009 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 September 1915, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 55th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Newtown, New South Wales, Australia, 10 September 1893 |
| Home Town: | Newtown (NSW), Inner West, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Newtown Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Brickmaker / Rugby League Professional |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 20 July 1916, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery Plot III. Row B. Grave 6. Inscription: "NUTSY" LOVED HUSBAND OF JENNIE A LOVING FATHER TO MONA. OUR HERO, NEVER FORGOTTEN |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3009, Sydney, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3009, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 55th Infantry Battalion, T.O.S. from 17th Infantry Battlion | |
| 31 May 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 55th Infantry Battalion | |
| 19 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Corporal, 3009, 55th Infantry Battalion, Embarked Alexandria for B.E.F per H.T. "Caledonian" | |
| 29 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Corporal, 3009, 55th Infantry Battalion, Disembarked Marseilles, France | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 3009, 55th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), Killed in Action. | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 3009, 55th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3009 awm_unit: 55th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1916-07-20 |
Help us honour Herbert Thomas Bolt's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
55th Bn.Australian Infantry, A.I.F.
He was 22 and the son of Frederick and Mary Bolt; husband of Jennie Margaret Bolt, of 144, Wilson St., Newtown, New South Wales.
Herbert Thomas BOLT “Nutsy” was a famous Australian rugby league player for the Newtown Bluebags between 1912 and 1915. He represented New South Wales in all 4 matches on the 1913 tour of Queensland. Nutsy was originally listed as ‘No Known Grave’ and commemorated on the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux due to a clerical error.
After his identification his name was removed from the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
All the names of men missing at Fromelles and listed on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial were removed and engraved on the Fromelles VC Corner Memorial but the men listed on the VC Corner Memorial and now identified at Pheasant Wood may still appear on the VC Corner Memorial for some time yet.
Biography
One of 75 Australian soldiers whose remains were identified by name in 2010 by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as part of the Fromelles Military Cemetery project.
"Herbert Thomas "Nutsy" Bolt was born in Newtown, Sydney, on the 10th September 1893, he was the 7th & youngest child for Frederick & Mary Bolt. Herbert attended Newtown Public School.
When he left school he worked as a Brickmaker at Bedford Steam Brick Works, Newtown. He was also a great sportsman, loved all sports especially Rugby League. He played no fewer than 52 matches for the Newtown Bluebags from 1912 to 1915, and represented NSW twice against Queensland in 1913, playing alongside men such as "Dally Messenger".
Herbert married Jennie Hughes in 1914, they had one baby daughter named Mary Monica, Herbert called her his "Little Mona". He enlisted with the AIF on the 7th September 1915, just three days before his 22nd birthday. On the 23rd December 1915, Herbert sailed from Sydney Harbour on board H.M.A.T. "Suevic" bound for Egypt, leaving behind his young wife and baby daughter, just 10 months old.
Herbert arrived in Egypt on 21st January 1916 and was stationed at the camp called "The Aerodrome Heliopolis", he spent 5 months training there, & was transferred from the 17th Battalion to the 5th Aust. Division 55th Battalion, sadly one of the Battalions which would write it's name in blood in France on that dreadful July day soon to come. He was also promoted to Corporal on 31st May and proudly donned his 2 stripes!
Herbert sailed from Alexandria on board "S.S. Caledonia" on 22nd June and arrived in France on 30th June. Just 3 weeks later on 20th July, Herbert Thomas Bolt was killed in action.
His great mate Francis (Frank) Johnston, No: 3098, was with him when he was killed, this is Frank's detailed description to the Red Cross on Herbert's death. "I knew Bolt well, he and I were mates. We enlisted and left Australia together in the 7th Reinforcements to the 17th Battalion, his initials were H.T. and he was called "Nutsy", his number was 3009. We joined the 55th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir.
On the morning of the 20-7-1916, at about 5am, at Fleurbaix, in the communication trench near the first line of German trenches, as we were retiring from the 3rd line of German trenches, he and I were close to one another, when we were attacked by the Germans. He got more than six of them with his bayonet and the butt of his rifle, when he got a bullet through his head. He fell instantly, being killed outright.
He was as game as any man and was a well known Newtown footballer". Frank was also badly wounded on that horrific morning, he was shot twice after "Nutsy" was killed, one bullet in his Lung and the other in his heart, fortunately a small bible in his breast pocket saved him, and although he suffered horrific injuries, he managed to drag himself and another wounded soldier to safety..." - READ MORE LINK (honouringanzacs.net.au)
Click images to start slideshow.