Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

WILLIAMS Thomas  #1760  52nd/50th Battalion
 
Thomas Williams was born in Rockhampton. At the time of his enlistment, he claimed that he was 24 years old (this would appear to be incorrect as the AWM Roll of Honour lists him as 21 at the time of his death 15 months after enlistment). Thom, for this is how his signature appears on his enlistment form, gave his occupation as labourer. He stated his next of kin as Hans Anderson, a stockman from Gracemere.
 
Notations in Thom’s file made after his death indicate that his parents were deceased and he was the younger brother of Edward Williams, a building contractor in Rockhampton. It is highly likely that Thom enlisted underage and named Hans Anderson to keep his enlistment from his family secret. In any event, when Thom presented himself to the recruiting depot in Rockhampton on 17th January 1916, recruiting officers were under pressure to supply men for the expansion of the AIF which occurred during the first three months of 1916 in Egypt. Prospective soldiers were taken on face value and there was no need to produce documentation such as birth certificates or other proof of identity. This was true for the entire period of the war. Thom’s enlistment date coincides with another Gracemere man, Robert McGregor and they most likely travelled to camp together as both were allocated as reinforcements for the 52nd Battalion and were included in the same embarkation roll.
 
After enlisting, Thom went into camp at Enoggera into a depot battalion before being added as a reinforcement for the 52nd Battalion. He embarked in Sydney on 12th May on the “Hawkes Bay” and allocated 3/- of daily pay to his friend Hans Anderson. After a brief stop in Egypt, Thom sailed from Alexandria to Marseilles and then to England into a training battalion at Rolleston before crossing back to France in late August 1916.
 
Thom’s file shows a transfer to the 50th Battalion, a predominantly South Australian battalion, and the addition of the letter “A” after his number. This was often done because battalion numbers were only unique within a particular battalion. On transfer to the 50th, the letter A was added to distinguish Thom from another soldier in the 50th with the same number.
 
When Thom was taken on strength by the 50th, the battalion had just come out from a period in the line at Mouquet Farm, where they had sustained severe casualties. Thom and the rest of the reinforcements were desperately needed to bring the battalion up to strength.
 
The 50th, as part of the 4th Division, were sent to the rear areas behind Ypres in Belgium for a sustained period of rest and reorganisation throughout the winter of 1916/17. The spring of 1917 saw a tactical withdrawal by the Germans on the Somme back to pre-prepared defensive positions on the Hindenburg Line. The 4th Division was sent back to the Somme and cautiously followed the German withdrawal.
 
To slow the allied advance as the German’s withdrew, a number of villages and towns were fortified and garrisoned to fight a rear guard action. To keep in touch with the enemy, these towns had to be taken.
 
A major obstacle was the town of Bapaume, which lay astride the road from Albert through Pozieres. Once Bapaume was cleared, the next obstacle was the township of Noreuil, north east of Bapaume and just south of Bullecourt.
 
On 2nd April 1917, the 50th Battalion was tasked with taking Noreuil. The brigade commander sent the 50thto take the town from the south whilst the 51st Battalion would circle from the north. Heavily entrenched machine guns cut down the 50th as they advanced at dawn. Once on the outskirts of the town, the fighting was at close quarters, with duels involving hand and rifle grenades. It was at this time that a 50th Battalion man, Sergeant Jensen won the battalion’s only Victoria Cross.
 
The action for the 50th at Noreuil resulted in 94 Killed, 169 Wounded and 91 Missing (Many of whom became POWs). One of those killed was Thom Williams. In a letter to Base Records written by Thom’s brother after the war, Edward states that a trench mate of Thom’s told him that Thom was “blown to pieces while throwing hand grenades.”
The Noreuil Australian Cemetery contains the graves of 160 Australians, including the 94 men from the 50thBattalion. When the Graves Registration Unit began to consolidate burials across all battlefields at the end of the war, there was no trace of Thom’s grave. Instead, a special memorial stone was erected in the cemetery with the inscription: “Known to be buried in this cemetery, actual grave unknown.” Thom Williams’ name is listed on that memorial along with three other 50th Battalion men.
 
Hans Anderson received the remainder of Thom’s estate which included deferred pay, and also signed for an identity disc.
Since Thom’s parents were deceased, his medals were issued to his eldest brother, Edward. The appearance of Thom’s name on the Gracemere Memorial can probably be attributed to Hans Anderson.