O'BRIEN, Thomas Francis
| Service Number: | 4865 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 September 1915, Enlisted at Holsworthy, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 55th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia, 25 November 1888 |
| Home Town: | Surry Hills, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Wounds, 30th General Hospital, Calais, France, 23 July 1916, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Calais Southern Cemetery, France Plot D, Row 3, Grave 6 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4865, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Holsworthy, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4865, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4865, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of England, Sydney | |
| 20 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 55th Infantry Battalion, At Ferry Post. From 2rd Battalion | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4865, 55th Infantry Battalion, Wound to the scalp | |
| 23 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 4865, 55th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4865 awm_unit: 55th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-23 |
Help us honour Thomas Francis O'Brien's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Michael O'Brien and Catherine O'Brien of Belvoir Street, Surry Hills, NSW.
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Thomas Francis O'BRIEN (Service Number 4865) was born on 25th November 1888 at Tenterfield. He first worked for the NSW Government Railways as a temporary lifters’ assistant at Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops from 5th April 1910. In September he was made permanent and by the middle of 1911 was classified as a ‘striker’ 9for a blacksmith) and it was from this role that he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces on 25th September 1915.
O’Brien enlisted at Holdsworthy the same day. He described himself as a labourer and being unmarried gave his mother, Catherine, then living in Surry Hills as his next of kin. He was allotted to the 15th Reinforcements to the 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Star of England’ at Sydney on 8th March 1916. When he arrived in Egypt a few weeks later he was taken on the strength of the 55th Battalion at Ferry Post. He spent the next ten days in hospital with mumps, not re-joining his Battalion until 2nd May.
In late June he embarked HT ‘Caledonian’ at Alexandria for passage to Marseilles and the Western Front in France. He took part in the infamous Battle of Fromelles on 19th/20th July and was first admitted to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station with what was recorded as a gunshot wound to his scalp. By the time he reached the 30th General Hospital at Calais the next day, the record had changed to ‘Gunshot Wound Head’. By 23rd July he was listed as ‘Dangerously ill, GSW. Ear and Scalp’. He died of those wounds that day. He was buried in the Calais Southern Cemetery.
A pension of £1 per fortnight was awarded to his mother, Catherine, from 29th September 1916, though his father Michael’s application was rejected as he was not dependant on the deceased soldier and was not without adequate means of support. The mother and the father lived at separate addresses in Redfern and Surry Hills, though Michael O’Brien died in 1917. All of Catherine’s letters to the military authorities and receipts for the several medals are signed with her mark as she was apparently illiterate.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.