35th BATTALION AIF
Lance Corporal: 1200 Thomas McEVOY.
Born:
Died:
Father:
Mother:
INFORMATION
Photograph of No.1200 Private Thomas McEVOY (35th Battalion AIF) printed in The Newcastle Sun, 21 Sep 1918.
No.1200 Thomas McEVOY was a 21 year old Striker from Merewether in NSW when he enlisted in the AIF on the 16th of January 1916.
He embarked from Australia as a member of “D” Company of the 35th Battalion (Newcastle’s Own) on board the HMAT (A24) ‘Benalla’, which departed Sydney on the 1st of May 1916 and arrived at Plymouth in England on the 9th of July.
• Offence – on the 30th of July 1916 at Larkhill he was charged with: “Leaving the Mess Room in a dirty condition”. As punishment he was awarded 4 days Confinement to Barracks.
On the 21st of November 1916 he was with the 35th Battalion when it deployed onto the Western-Front as part of the 9th Infantry Brigade. The Brigade moved into the front-line near the village of Armentieres.
On the 20th of January 1917 he was WOUNDED - SELF INFLICTED, suffering a GSW to his right foot. He was admitted to the 10th Field Ambulance and transferred to the 2nd Casualty Clearing Station. He was then transferred again to the 15th Casualty Clearing Station at Hazebrouck.
• Offence – on the 12th of February 1917 at the 15th Casualty Clearing Station, Thomas was charged at a Field General Courts Martial with: “Conduct to the Prejudice, etc, In that he, in the field, carelessly wounded himself in the foot”. He was found Guilty and sentenced to 28 days of Field-Punishment No.1 and a total forfeiture of 51 days pay.
On the 22nd of June 1917 he rejoined the 35th Battalion from hospital.
On the 28th of February 1917 he reported sick and was admitted to the 10th Field-Ambulance Hospital, suffering with concussion from an exploding shell. He was discharged to duty on the 1st of March.
On the 12th of March he reported sick (diarrhoea) and was admitted to hospital. He rejoined the Battalion on the 16th.
On the 17th of March 1917 the G.O.C. of 2nd Army REMITTED 7 days of the sentence for Field-Punishment No.1, leaving him with a total forfeiture of only 44 days pay.
On the 26th of March 1917 he reported sick (debility) and was admitted to hospital. He rejoined the 35th Battalion on the 6th of April.
He was with the 35th Battalion on the 7th of June 1917 for the attack on ‘Messines’ in Belgium.
On the 7th of July he again reported sick (debility) and was admitted to hospital. He rejoined the Battalion on the 31st of July.
On the 12th of October 1917, while on the start-line for the attack on ‘Passchendaele’ in Belgium, he was WOUNDED-IN-ACTION when he was blown into the air by an exploding shell.
He was admitted to the 3rd Australian Field-Ambulance with ‘shell-shock’, and then transferred to the 17th Casualty Clearing Station. He was then admitted to the NZ Stationary Hospital and then the 12th General Hospital at Rouen. He was invalided to England where on the 10th of November he was admitted to the Mile End Hospital. (During his medical assessment the CO of 35th Battalion confirmed that he had previously also suffered shell-shock at ‘Messines’).
On the 20th of July 1917 he was discharged from Hospital with orders to report to No.3 Command-Depot at Hurdcott in Wiltshire. On the 27th of April 1918 he was finally sent to the Overseas Training Brigade at Longbridge Deverill.
• Offence – on the 6th of May 1918, at Sandhill Camp, he was charged with: “AWL midnight 23/4/18 until apprehended by MP’s at 9:45 p.m. on the 24/4/18”. As punishment he was ‘Admonished’ and forfeited 1 days pay.
On the 21st of June 1918 he reported sick (Influenza) and was admitted to the Group Hospital at No.3 Command-Depot at Hurdcott. He rejoined the Battalion on the 25th of June.
On the 18th of July 1918 he once again deployed from England across to France, and marched in to the Australian Infantry Base Depot. On the 20th of July he marched out to the front and rejoined the 35th Battalion on the 21st.
He was with the 35th Battalion for the ‘August 1918 Offensive’ and on the 22nd of August 1918, during the attack on Bray-sur-Somme, was reported as only Wounded-in-Action. However, he had been struck multiple times by machine-gun bullets. The Battalion had later had to withdraw to a secure position to stop a German Counter-Attack and his body had to be left on the Battlefield.
His body was later found and buried in-the-field by members the 10th Brigade (at Map Reference: L.15.a.45.30), and his fate was changed to KILLED-IN-ACTION.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate - 14 Sep 1918.
The Graves Services Unit later exhumed his remains and he was re-interred in the Bray Military Cemetery.
Under Construction: 21/11/2018.
35th BATTALION AIF.
Bethleem Farm west Cemetery
