O'BYRNE, Thomas Michael
| Service Number: | 254 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 December 1914, Bendigo, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Maldon, Victoria, Australia, 1887 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, At Sea aboard HMT 'Southland', At sea (Mudros Bay, Lemnos, Greece (HMT Southland)), 2 September 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey, Helles Memorial, Cape Helles, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor, Helles Memorial, Gallipoli |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Dec 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 254, 21st Infantry Battalion, Bendigo, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 254, 24th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 254, 24th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 254, 21st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 2 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 254, 21st Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli |
Help us honour Thomas Michael O'Byrne's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
HMT Southland was a transport ship conveying men of 2nd Division AIF from Egypt to Gallipoli when it was torpedoed by the German submarine UB14 30 miles from Lemnos in the Aegean Sea. The ship did not sink and all but 40 of 1400 men took to lifeboats and were picked up by other transports. The remaining men and ship's crew managed to get to the ships later the same day, 2 September 1915.
Source: AWM
Eyewitness reports (red cross file) indicate that Pte O'Byrne jumped overboard after the ship was torpedoed however was never seen again. He was one of 14 soldiers from the 21st Battalion who drowned before they could be rescued.
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