S11471
THOMAS, Kenneth Davies
| Service Number: | 2431 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | 24 February 1895, place not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Medindie, Walkerville, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Optician |
| Died: | 10 March 1976, aged 81 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia Derrick Gardens, Path 33, Grave 502B |
| Memorials: | Medindie Wilderness School Roll of Honour WW1, St. Peters East Adelaide Public School Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 13 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2431, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2431, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Adelaide | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 2431, 27th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Kenneth Davies Thomas was born on the 24th of February 1895 and lived in the suburb of Medindie at 31 Northcote Terrace, his parents were Elizabeth Alice Thomas, and William Dunstan Thomas. He worked as an optician, but he must have only been working for around 2-4 years because he was enlisted when he was 20 and around 8 months. He was also not married at the time, and in the Methodist religion. In South Australia no one got drafted and everyone was a volunteer. The recruit requirements in 1914 were that you needed to be 18-35 years old, no less than 168cm tall, and a chest width of 86cm. Then in June 1915, just as Thomas registered the height dropped to 157cm, so he was able to register. Standing at 167cm, weighing 57kg, Kenneth Davies Thomas was ready for war. After enlistment he had roughly 4 months of training and then departed to France on 13th October 1915 abroad the HMAT A32 Themistocles. Since he had no previous Army experience his rank in the war was private.
His unit, the 27th Battalion, 5th Reinforcement first battle, and one of the biggest of the war was the Battle of the Somme. From July to November in 1916, the Germans tried to push further into France on the Western Front. The British and French armies worked to defend France from the German forces. On the 2nd September 1916, Kenneth Davies Thomas was wounded. He rejoined his unit on the 3rd November 1917.
The second major battle Kenneth Davies Thomas was a part of was the Third Battle of Ypres or the Battle of Menin Road Ridge in Belgium. This was in September in 1917 and was perhaps one of the most important battles in the war. This was an attempt bymthe British, American, Australians to take over the ridge of land east of Ypres. During this battle Kenneth Davies Thomas was wounded for a second time and quite lucky to only be wounded. There was an approximate death of 250 000 soldiers for the Allies and 200 000 for the enemy. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and was invalidid to the 2nd East General Hospital in Brighton, England on the 17th of May 1918. His service record does not state whether he again returned to his unit, so it is presumed that he remained in hospital for the remainder of the war.
He returned to Australia on the 19th of February in 1919.
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