Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

SLATER  Thomas Henry  #2941 4th Pioneers / 41st Battalion

Tom Slater enlisted on 22nd May 1916. At the time he was 21 years old and had been born in Lawnton to Catherine and Joseph Slater of Lawnton. Tom stated his occupation as labourer. He was tall compared the average of recruits, being 5’10”. Tom was the youngest of three brothers who enlisted. All three are listed on the Strathpine Patriotic League Roll of Honour.

Tom reported to Enoggera on 15th June and was placed in a Depot Battalion before being allocated as a reinforcement for the 4th Pioneers. Tom embarked for overseas on the “Boonah” in Brisbane 21st October 1916. Like most single young enlistees he allocated 3/- of his daily pay to his mother.

Tom arrived in Plymouth on 10th January and was marched into the Pioneer Training Battalion at Lark Hill. Lark Hill was the training camp for the 3rd Division AIF which was under the command of Lt Gen John Monash. Less than a month after marching in to camp, Tom reported sick to hospital. He was to remain there for 107 days with VD. His pay was stopped for that period in line with AIF policy. On re-joining the Pioneers, Tom was transferred to the 41st Infantry Battalion, part of the 11th Brigade. This was the same battalion that his eldest brother, Archibald , was serving in at the time. He marched into the 41st lines at Messines on 1st August 1917. The 41st rotated in and out of the line between Messines and Armentieres for the next two months. In October Tom was evacuated to England with a problem in his feet. It would seem that several toenails had to be removed, probably caused by ill-fitting boots. After treatment Tom was granted two weeks furlough over Christmas and New Year before reporting back to Sutton Veney. By February 1918 he was back with the 41st.

When the German spring offensive was launched on 21st March 1918 the five Australian divisions were still in their winter billets near Ypres. Operation Michael caught the British by surprise with the rapid gains that were made. All the old gains of 1916 on the Somme, taken at such cost to the British, were back in German hands. The British 5th Army collapsed under the onslaught ( The General in charge of the 5th was sacked), Pozieres captured in 1916 at the cost of 23,000 Australian casualties was retaken on 25th March and the vital city of Amiens was threatened. To plug the gaps in the British line and to defend Amiens, British Commander Sir Douglas Haig called upon the troops he thought would be able to meet the threat; the Australians.

The entire 3rd Division was hastily deployed in front of Amiens near the junction of the Somme and Ancre Rivers. When two Australian brigades, the 13th and 15th, pulled off a daring night attack at Villers Brettonneux on 25th April the German advance was finally halted, Amiens was safe and the Australians began a period of harassment which Monash called peaceful penetration, providing valuable time for reorganisation and consolidation of the line.

In June Tom was hospitalised with an undiagnosed fever but he returned to his unit on 12th July in time to prepare for the battle of Amiens. This proved to be a decisive victory for the British and particularly the Australians, led by Monash. An astonishing 7 miles were gained on the 8th August and huge numbers of prisoners and war material were taken. The 41st Battalion war diary records with a sense of pride the gains made by the battalion on that day.

The next great obstacle confronted by Monash’s corps was the fortress town of Peronne, situated on a right angle bend of the Somme. Peronne was protected by a hill to the north of the town, Mont St Quentin. The 11th Brigade was to be part of the attack against Mont St Quentin along the Bouchevesnes spur. Monash had instructed his battalion commanders that the men were to “yell like a bunch of bushrangers” as they charged up the hill in order to convince the defenders that there were more attackers than could actually be deployed.

As some point on the 1st September, Tom Slater was killed in the charge. There is a brief note in his file which records “buried Bouchevesnes.” Tom’s family were informed of his death but would appear to have not made any enquiries into the circumstances. The grave of Tom Slater, if in fact it ever was marked, was lost by the time that scattered graves were being consolidated into war cemeteries. Tom is commemorated on the tablets of the Australian National Memorial at Villers Brettonneux. He is one of over 10,000 Australians who lost their lives in France and have no known grave.

Thomas's parents were John Joseph Slater and Catherine McLeod. Thomas was living at Lawnton and working as a labourer when he enlisted 22 May 1916, Brisbane. On the 8 August 1918 the allies launched their own great offensive and the 41st battalion played an active role in the initial attack and the advance that followed. It was in one of these actions that Thomas was killed in action only nine weeks before the war ended. Thomas had two brothers who enlisted as well, Archibald William [747] and Charles Archibald [2325]. All three brothers enlisted within days of each other and all embarked together on board HMAT A64 Demosthenes.