ELEY, Samuel Thomas
| Service Number: | 3513 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 November 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Kidderminster, England, 2 November 1890 |
| Home Town: | Gosford, Gosford Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway fettler |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 18 May 1917, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
Vaulx Hill Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 3513, 19th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3513, 19th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3513, 19th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Sydney | |
| 18 May 1917: | Involvement Private, 3513, 14th Machine Gun Company, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3513 awm_unit: 14 Machine Gun Company awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-05-18 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Samuel Thomas ELEY, (Service Number 3513), was born on 2 November 1890 at Kidderminster, England. He first worked for the NSW Railways as a labourer in the Per-Way Branch in the Northern Division from February 1915. His job was soon described as ‘fettler’ and on 19 October 1915 he was given leave to join the Expeditionary Forces. He enlisted on 10 November at Holdsworthy and stated that he was married to Ellen.
Submitted 26 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Samuel Thomas ELEY (Service Number 3513) was born on 2nd November 1890 at Kidderminster, England. He first worked for the NSW Railways as a labourer in the Per-Way Branch in the Northern Division from February 1915. His job was soon described as ‘fettler’. On 19th October 1915 he was given leave to join the Expeditionary Forces. He enlisted on 10th November at Holdsworthy and stated that he was married to Ellen.
He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Berrima’ on 12th December 1915. He reached Egypt in February 1916. He joined the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion. A month later he embarked at Alexandria to travel via Marseilles to the Western Front.
In March 1917 he was transferred to the 14th Australian Machine Gun Company. He was killed in action 18th May 1917. His grave in the Vaulx Hill Cemetery, 4¾ miles N.E. of Bapaume, Picardie, France, is probably not his first resting place. After the war, cemeteries and isolated graves were rationalised and exhumations and re-interments carried out.
About 1923, Ellen re-married and moved to Hillston. She and Samuel had one daughter, Helen Ethel.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board