MCPHERSON, Thomas
| Service Number: | 1062 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 January 1915, An original of C Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 20th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rockdale, New South Wales, Australia, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Rockdale, Rockdale, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Kogarah Superior Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Brass moulder |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 7 May 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord Plot II, Row D, Grave No. 28 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1062, 20th Infantry Battalion, An original of C Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 1062, 20th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 1062, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Thomas McPherson served on Gallipoli, completely unscathed, from mid-August 1915 until the evacuation. On the Western Front, 5 May 1916, a heavy bombardment rained down on the forward companies of the 20th Battalion. Occupying a feature known as the Bridoux Salient in Bois Grenier, the Australians were near Armentieres, in an area known as the “Nursery Sector”: an area where units would learn the rigours of trench warfare and familiarise themselves with conditions on the Western Front. This bombardment, the heaviest endured by Australians to that point, lasted for almost two hours.
As the bombardment kept men from coming to the aid of the forward companies, a German raiding party from the Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 230 entered the Australian trenches. Armed with pistols, grenades and trench clubs, the Germans were searching for tunnel entrances. They spent eight minutes in the Australian trenches, and suffered no casualties. The bombardment and raid cost the 20th Battalion 23 dead, 72 wounded, and 11 captured.
Thomas’s brother 291 Lce. Cpl. George McPherson 19th Battalion AIF, died of wounds only three months later at Pozieres, 28 July 1916, aged 25.
They were the sons of James and Helen McPherson of Rockdale, Sydney, NSW.
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