Tom Baxter Joyce
From Our Contribution
AWM P07658.001 | |
Personal Information | |
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Date of Birth |
Not known "Not known" contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation. |
Place of Birth | Gates Head on Tyne, England |
Death | 1 Jun 1917 |
Place of Death | Pont de Nieppe near Armentières |
Age at Enlistment | 22 years old |
Description |
5'9¼" (1.76 m) tall ; 153 lbs 69.4 kg ; fresh complexion ; blue eyes ; fair hair |
Occupation | Labourer |
Religion | Church of England |
Address | Jandakot Post Office (Banjup) |
Next of Kin | Mother , Mrs Jayne Ann Joyce |
Military Information | |
Reg Number | 2115 |
Date of Enlistment | 3 Apr 1916 |
Rank | Private |
Unit/Formation | 44th Battalion, 3rd Reinforcement / 12th Brigade, 4th Division |
Date of Embarkation | 13 Oct 1916 ‒ 2 Dec 1916 |
Ship Embarked On | HMAT A23 Suffolk |
Fate | Killed in Action 1 Jun 1917 |
Monument |
Banjup War Memorial Australian War Memorial |
Medals |
British War Medal Victory Medal |
Contents
Pre War
Had spent 4 years as an apprentice in horse shoeing.
War Service
Entering camp, Tom was initially allocated to the 60th Depot Company, before on 1 May 1916 being allocated tot he 5th reinforcement draft for the 51st Battalion. Later he was transferred to the 3rd draft for the 44th Battalion, with whom he travelled to England.
On arrival in England Tom joined the 11th Training Battalion until he proceeded overseas to France on 16 Jan 1917 aboard the HMT Princesse Clementine.
Joined the 44th Battalion on 2 Jan 1917 in the front line trenches at Armentiès.
On 1 Jun 1917 the 44th Battalion was engaged in working parties near Pont de Nieppe when a huge dump of mortar shells at Hyde Park corner exploded, followed by a Very Light dump also catching fire. The enemy then shelled the area to take advantage of the confusion, with a working party from 'C' Company, 44th Battalion incurring six fatalities, including Tom. Neville Browning's book takes up the story, quoting 2nd Lieutenant E. Hocking.I had our Company out on a working party and one shell caught eight of them and killed five straight out and wounded three. I had not left the place where they were working two minutes before they were hit, and was back amongst them before the smoke had time to disperse. The here wounded men (one of whom has since died) were got into the dressing station and four of those killed were removed, as we were getting the last dead man on to the stretcher the Germans sent six more shells over so we had to take cover for the time. Eventually we got the last dead man away:[1]
T
he Drill of the Foot-Hills 1916 Jun-Jul edition mentions Tom on page 5.
Tom's mother Joyce Baxter Joyce is awarded a pension of 18/6d per fortnight ($1.85) from 12 Aug 1917.
Notes
Buried STRAND MILITARY CEMETERY, Hainaut, Belgium - Plot II, Row D, Grave 6. Strand Military Cemetery is 13 kms south of Ieper (Ypres) town centre, on the Rijselseweg N365, which connects Ieper to Wijtschate, Messen and on to Armentieres.
Included on the Banjup Memorial, but not on the Spearwood Monument
- ↑ 'The Westralian Battalion - The Unit History of the 44th Battalion A.I.F., Neville Browning, Advance Press, 2004, page 113 and note 5 page 139