PUNCH, Thomas
| Service Number: | 150 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1873 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 29 October 1912, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Waverley Cemetery, Bronte, New South Wales Plot: W-11-RC-SL-930 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 150, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 150, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 23 Jan 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 150, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 449 notes 1st QMI embarked 13 Dec 1900 returning to Australia aboard Orient arriving Brisbane 17 Jan 1901, disbanded 23 Jan 1901. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Note- his full name was Thomas James Punch.
When he enlisted in 1899 with the 1st QMI and his details were published in The Brisbane Courier, 18 Nov 1899, he was recorded as Private T. J. Punch, married, G.P.O. Sydney. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 1st QMI, Bk 1 p. 94, it is noted he directed part of his pay to Mrs. Ethel M. Punch (his wife), 4 Golden Gate, Redfern, Sydney, NSW. He served the full tour of the 1st QMI and returned to Brisbane where he was discharged 23 Jan 1901. His discharge paper on his Boer War Dossier notes his address post discharge as 54 Merlin St, North Shore, Sydney.
Newspaper articles reporting on his service assist in identifying him.
The War- The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 8 May 1900, reported that "Private T. Punch, one of the first Queensland Contingent, and brother of Mrs. J. T. Rush, of Grafton, with Lieutenant-Colonel Patterson, were first to enter Kimberley". His older sister Amy Alexandra Punch had married John T. Rush in 1892.
First in Kimberley. Patterson and Punch- The Evening News (Syd), 30 Apr 1900, reported that "Letters received in Queensland state that the first to enter Kimberley were Lieutenant-Colonel Patterson and Private T. Punch. The latter is a Sydney boy, being the son of Mr. Tom Punch, for years the proprietor of the Albion Hotel at the corner of Market and Elizabeth Streets. He went to Queensland just before the war, and there he joined the first contingent".
Thomas James Punch was born in 1873 at Sydney, NSW, a son to Thomas Punch and Sarah Punch (nee Steenson). He was twice married. He married Ethel May (Mary) Wynne in 1895 in Sydney.
As reported in The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 Mar 1903, they were living in a house in Sydney owned by her father in 1899 and Thomas was working as a clerk. The same year he decided to sell their effects and went to Queensland, leaving Ethel with her family in Sydney, and she read in newspapers he had served in the Boer War. After his discharge and return to Sydney he remained estranged from Ethel and a few months later she seen him at Victoria Barracks. He explained he would return home once he was paid out, but never did. Ethel filed for divorce which was granted in 1903.
He then married Frances Ellen Lynch on 7 Mar 1904 at St. Michael's Church, Sydney, and they had one child.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 451; National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI, Bk 1 p. 94).