AHERN, Thomas Joseph
| Service Number: | 6701 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 February 1916, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rockhampton, Queensland , 18 February 1896 |
| Home Town: | Emu Park, Rockhampton, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Emu Park |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Natural causes , Shoalwater Beach, Queensland , 28 December 1930, aged 34 years |
| Cemetery: |
Emu Park Cemetery, Qld Section 3, Grave 25 |
| Memorials: | Emu Park Roll of Honour, Emu Park War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6701, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6701, 9th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Marathon embarkation_ship_number: A74 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Oct 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 6701, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Marathon, Brisbane | |
| 7 Mar 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 6701, 9th Infantry Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918, Gassed | |
| 18 Sep 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 6701, 9th Infantry Battalion, "The Last Hundred Days", Shell wound (thigh) | |
| 24 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 6701, 9th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Thomas Joseph Ahern's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Paul Trevor
The two enlisted children of Michael Ahern and Caroline (née Retchler) Ahern of Emu Park, Queensland:-
254A Pte William Ahern (/explore/people/309388) - returned to Australia;
6701 Pte. Thomas Ahern - returned to Australia.
'AHERN, Thomas. Private, No. 6701, 9th Battn. Born at Emerald and educated at Emu Park. The son of Michael and Caroline Ahern, of Phillips Street, Emu Park, Rockhampton. Enlisted in 1916 and went into camp at Enoggera. Left for England in 1916, and then over to France in December, 1916, being wounded once and gassed once. He was in action at Bullecourt, Messines, Hamel, Amiens, and Villiers Brettoneaux.' from Queenslanders Who Fought in the Great War. (nla.gov.au)
'Thomas was born on 19 February 1896 at Rockhampton, the 10th child of Michael Ahern who was working in the railway services and his wife Caroline (née Retchless) who was the local midwife in Emu Park. Michael accepted a railway job in Emu Park, hence the family moved to Phillip Street where Thomas was raised, educated and worked as a fisherman before enlisting in the AIF on 25th February 1916 at the age of 21 in Rockhampton. He sailed for England on HMAT A74 “Marathon” on 27th October 1916 and arrived in Plymouth on 9th January 1917. During his sea voyage, Thomas reported sick and was taken to the ships hospital for observation for almost three weeks.
Private Ahern joined the 9th Infantry Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 1st Division AIF near Bapaume in France on 18th May 1917. The battalion was conducting training during a month long lull in the fighting when Thomas was taken ill with Pyrexis (fever) of Unknown Origin (P.U.O.) on 26 July 1917 near the town of Albert, Belgium and was hospitalised in England until he rejoined his battalion on 29th October 1917. Due to the winter conditions, both sides did not plan any major attacks, hence it was reasonably quiet on the western front. Christmas of 1917 was spent in the front lines. The battalion was rotated from the front line to the reserve line for a period of time, then to the rest area for recuperation. There was always some activities being conducted e.g. fighting patrols, working parties or trench maintenance in the front and reserve lines while during the rest period, training in bomb throwing and musketry or working parties to maintain the battalion in fighting condition were being conducted. Sports of all codes as well as inter- brigade tug-a-war were being played during this period.' READ MORE (www.emuparkrsl.org.au)
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