BRAY, Thomas Henry
| Service Number: | 3858 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 August 1915, Geraldton, WA |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 1872 |
| Home Town: | Northampton, Northampton, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Clunes Soldiers Pictorial Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3858, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), Geraldton, WA | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3858, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Ajana embarkation_ship_number: A31 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3858, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Ajana, Fremantle | |
| 6 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3858, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), Battle for Pozières | |
| 31 Aug 1916: | Imprisoned Mouquet Farm, Also wounded (GSW to left abdomen and hand). | |
| 7 Jun 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 3858, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), RTA 5 March 1919 and discharged (MU). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Thomas Henry Bray, aged 43, enlisted in the AIF in Geraldton, WA on 19 August 1915. He embarked overseas on 22 December 1915 and joined the 16th Battalion in Egypt on 7 March 1916.
He departed Egypt and arrived in Marseilles, France on 1 June 1916. The 16th Battalion entered the front line at Pozieres on 6 August 1916 and immediately attacked the heavily fortified German position, known as Mouquet Farm, however had to withdraw a week later. They attacked again on 29 August and two days later, on 31 August 1916, Thomas Bray was wounded (abdomen and hand) and subsequently captured by the Germans.
He spent the next 15 months in various German hospitals and POW camps before he was interned in Switzerland on 17 November 1917 for the duration of the war. He was finally repatriated to England on 7 December 1918 and spent the next month in hospital.
He embarked for Australia on 5 March 1919, where he was discharged as medically unfit in Western Australia on 7 June 1919.
Source: Extract from "Clunes Soldiers Memorial Panel" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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