Thomas BARTLETT

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:
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Biography 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.

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