The AIF Project

Thomas FLAVIN

Regimental number2269
Place of birthWaterford, Ireland
ReligionRoman Catholic
OccupationSleeper cutter
Addressc/o Jack Condon, Transcontinental Railway Main Camp, Western Australia
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation32
Height5' 4"
Weight150 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs Julia Flavin, Portlaw, Waterford, Ireland
Previous military servicenIL
Enlistment date8 March 1915
Place of enlistmentPerth, Western Australia
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name11th Battalion, 6th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/28/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A2 Geelong on 6 June 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll11th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 15 May 1917
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsAustralian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France

Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy.

The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra.

On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours.

After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
62
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli, Western Front

Embarked Fremantle on HMAT 'Geelong', 6 June 1915.

Embarked Alexandria on 'Kingstonian' and proceeded to join Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 11 September 1915.

Admitted to 15th General Hospital, 22 September 1915 (wound, forehead); discharged to duty, 24 September 1915. Admitted to 15th General Hospital, 24 September 1915, and transferred to Ras-el-Tin Convalescent Depot, Alexandria (neuralgia, lacerated shoulder); taken on strength of Overseas Training Base, Mustapha, 8 October 1915.

Embarked Alexandria on HMT 'Borda', 18 October 1915; taken on strength of 11th Battalion, Gallipoli, 25 October 1915;. Disembarked Alexandria from HMT 'Lake Michigan', 6 January 1916 (general Gallipoli evacuation).

Found guilty at Tel-el-Kebir, 23 January 1916, of being absent without leave from Reveille, 23 January, to 11.20 pm, 23 January 1916: fined 1 day's pay.

Embarked Alexandria on HMT 'Corsican' and proceeded to join British Expeditionary Force, 29 March 1916; disembarked Marseilles, 5 April 1916.

Found guilty, 17 July 1916, of drunkenness whilst on active service, 16 July 1916: awarded 7 days' Field Punishment No 2. Found guilty by Field General Court Martial at Sailly, 19 May 1916, of being absent without leave, 8.30 am, 12 May, to 8.15 pm, 15 May 1916: awarded 80 days' Field Punishment No 1; later remitted to 60 days' Field Punishment No 1.

Found guilty by Field General Court Martial, 6 August 1916, of being absent without leave, 8.30 am, 1 March, to 2.30 pm, 2 August 1916: sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment; commuted to 90 days' Field Punishment No 1.

Killed in action, France, 15 April 1917.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, FLAVIN Thomas

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