SEABROOK, Theo Leslie
| Service Number: | 6147 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 September 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia, 17 May 1893 |
| Home Town: | Petersham, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Locomotive Fireman |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 20 September 1917, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Leichhardt War Memorial, Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6147, 17th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Oct 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 6147, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Jul 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6147, 17th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres | |
| 21 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6147, 17th Infantry Battalion, Menin Road, Theo and his two brothers were killed during the final phase of the Battle of Menin Road, when their Battalion exploited into Polygon Wood. |
Help us honour Theo Leslie Seabrook's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Steve Larkins
The middle of three brothers, Private Theo Leslie Seabrook was a fireman of Petersham, New South Wales, Australia when he enlisted on 16 September 1916, embarking on the 26th October 1916 with the 17th Reinforcements of the 17th Battalion. Ominously all three Seabrook brothers were serving with 17 Battalion, Australian Imperial Force. Committed to the Battle of Menin Road as part of the Third Ypres campaign, all three were killed together as the assault exploited into Polygon Wood. At the time of their deaths, George was aged 25, Theo was aged 24 and William was aged 21. Theo and George are commemorated on the Menin Gate at Ypres while William is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery near where he had died of his wounds.
Their father, William George Seabrook, of 64 Margaret Street Petersham was listed as next of kin. Their mother was MRs Fanny Isabel SEABROOK.
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Theodore Leslie SEABROOK (Service Number 6147) was born on 17th May 1893 at Marrickville. He had worked previously as a casual but commenced permanent employment with the NSW Railways as a cleaner in the Locomotive Depot at Armidale on 22nd October 1909. In May 1912 he relocated to Eveleigh, still as a cleaner, and progressed to fireman on 17th June 1914. Seabrook enlisted on 11th September 1916 at the Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds, Moore Park, Sydney. He was unmarried, and gave his father, William George Seabrook then living in Petersham, as his next of kin.
He was allotted to the 17th Reinforcements of the 17th Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Ascanius’ at Sydney on 25th October 1916 and reached Devonport (England) on 28th December 1916. For the next few months he was attached to the 5th Training Battalion and then proceeded overseas to France through Folkestone on 14th May, joining the 17th Battalion on 29th May. Seabrook was reported wounded in action on 20th September, but by 24 October this had been upgraded to wounded and missing and by 27th October to Killed in Action. He was reported to have been buried in the vicinity of Westhoek and Anzac Ridge, though the location was never identified, and he has no known grave. Theodore Seabrook, son of William George and Fanny Isabel Seabrook of Great North Road, Fivedock, is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
Also killed on the same day, serving with the 17th Battalion, was George Ross Seabrook, brother of Theodore. George Ross Seabrook, son of William George and Fanny Isabel Seabrook of Great North Road, Fivedock, is also remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
Killed the next day, 21st September 1917 was Second Lieutenant William Keith Seabrook, also serving with the 17th Battalion, and brother of Theodore Leslie and George Ross Seabrook. William Seabrook, son of William George and Fanny Isabel Seabrook of Great North Road, Fivedock, has a known grave in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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