BARTLETT, Thomas
| Service Number: | 1617 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 April 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 7th Light Trench Mortar Battery |
| Born: | Argentina, 8 January 1894 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Apr 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 1617, 27th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 1617, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide | |
| 31 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 1617, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' | |
| 4 Jul 1917: | Transferred Private, 7th Light Trench Mortar Battery, Transferred from 27th Battalion to 7th Light Trench Mortar Battery | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1617, 7th Light Trench Mortar Battery, Menin Road, GSW left arm | |
| 11 Aug 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1617, 7th Light Trench Mortar Battery, The Battle of Amiens, BW lower jaw | |
| 14 Apr 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1617, 7th Light Trench Mortar Battery, Discharged due to demobilisation |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide High School
Thomas’s story begins in Argentina, South America, where he was born before quickly moving to South Australia. He volunteered to join the Australian Infantry Forces soon after the start of WW1, leaving Glenelg upon the HMAT Geelong and embarking towards the 27th Infantry Battalion. He stayed with the 27th for two long years, fighting in a few battles and keeping his head low. He had a reputation as a bit of a rascal, once getting fourteen days field punishment for ‘unauthorised possession of spirits’. Perhaps due to this reputation, he was never promoted above Private. His mother, Kate Bartlett, also had her own battles with the generals, as Thomas’s pay kept mysteriously disappearing before it reached her. In the end, Kate was able to get all of the allotted pay. Two years into his service he was hospitalised and was stuck behind lines for two months before being transferred to the 7th Light Trench Mortar Battery. This was to be the beginning of a dark time in Thomas’s life, rife with injury and misery. He was lightly wounded in September 1917 at the battle of the Menin Road, and heavily wounded in August 1918 at Amiens. He was then bounced around from hospital to hospital, and after finally recovering in November was honourably discharged into London.