Private: 571 Thomas Arthur WARD

33rd BATTALION AIF

Private: 571 Thomas Arthur WARD

Born: February 1896. Salisbury Plains via Uralla, New South Wales, Australia.

Married: 1921. Uralla, New South Wales, Australia. Marriage Cert:8307/2921.

Wife: Florence E Ward. nee: Murray. (1902-1993)

Died: 27th December 1956. Kentucky via Uralla, New South Wales, Australia.

Father: Thomas Ward. (1867-1926)

Mother: Sarah Margaret Ward. nee: Betts. (1870-1950)

INFORMATION

Thomas Arthur Ward with the AIF on the 3rd January 1916 at Uralla, New South Wales, before he was marched in to the Rutherford Army Camp where he was allocated to B Company 33rd Battalion AIF.

***Private: 571 Thomas Arthur WARD - Private: 410 Arnold Charles FOSTER 33rd Battalion AIF. Uralla. N.S.W.***

The composition of the 33rd Infantry Battalion was on a district basis. "A Company" was from Armidale and Tamworth, "B Company" was from Walcha, Uralla, Barrabra, Bingara and Manilla. "C Company" was from Narrabri, Moree and Inverell. and "D Company was from Glen Innes, Guyra and Tenterfield.

Thomas Arthur Ward, 1916

The Battalion en trained from Farley Station and embarked from Sydney on the 4th May 1916 bound for the United Kingdom aboard the H.M.A.T. A47 "Marathon". Arriving in England in early July, the Battalion spent the next four months in training before departed from Southampton, England on the 21st November 1916 at 4:30 pm and traveled by paddle steamer ‘Mona Queen’ to France arriving November 22, 1916 at 7:00 am in Le Havre. The Battalion moved in to the No:1 Rest Camp just in time for the onset of the terrible winter of 1916-17.

S.S. "MONA QUEEN"

Thomas was appointed as a Driver on the 11th November 1917 when Private: 785 NELSON was evacuated from the lines, and remained in France util he was demobilized after the Armistice and returned to Australia on the 11th August 1919 and was discharged from the AIF on the 25th September 1919.

Hi all .found this page while researching this pic and thought it might be of interest. Arthur Thomas Ward 9th division 33rd battalion (came from kentucky near uralla nsw ) was given to me today by someone that bought it at the local military museum clearance sale a couple of years ago. I will return him to his family I think.

(Lynette Joy Foody; October 2018)

Bill Durrant, Currumbin.

Thomas Arthur Ward was born in Uralla, NSW, in 1896. At the time of his application to enlist on 3 January, 1916, Thomas was a single, almost 20-year-old carpenter from Uralla. His physical description was recorded as 5’8” in height, 148 lb in weight, with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and light brown hair.

Thomas embarked from Australia as a member of ‘B’ Company of the 33rd Battalion AIF (‘New England’s Own’ or ‘The Northern Battalion’) on board HMAT A74 Marathon, which departed Sydney for Egypt on 4 May, 1916.

Several days after leaving Albany in Western Australia, the ship received a wireless message, saying that the 9th Brigade’s destination was changed to England. The Marathon was recalled to Western Australia in order to top-up with sufficient coal to reach its destination in Europe. The ship finally reached Devonport in England on 9 July, 1916, after the longest recorded voyage for a troopship during WWI. The route of the voyage was via Albany, Fremantle (twice), Durban, Cape Town and Dakar.
On arrival in England the 33rd Battalion travelled by train, via Exeter, to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, where they unloaded at the village of Amesbury. They then marched in to No. 2 Camp at Larkhill. The men then were granted four days’ disembarkation leave prior to commencing their training.

On 21 November, 1916, the 33rd Battalion, along with the other units of the 9th Brigade, deployed from England to France, via Southampton, to Havre in France. They then endured a 48-hour train journey to Bailleul in cattle-trucks that were marked ‘Hommes (people) 40, Chevaux (horses) 8.’ The 33rd Battalion arrived at Steenwerck, France, on the 24th. The battalion then moved into the trenches at Chapelle d’Armentieres on 27 November to get their first experiences at trench warfare, in what was to be a very bitterly cold winter.

Thomas was with the 33rd Battalion on 7 June, 1917, for the attack on Messines Ridge in Belgium. The attack commenced at 3.10 am with the detonation of 19 mines that had been dug under key German positions along the Messines Ridge. Two of these mines were to the battalion’s front. The battalion took only three Germans as prisoners, these being first-aid men. This was in sharp contrast to the number of prisoners taken by the other battalions of the brigade. All other Germans were either bayoneted or shot. The 33rd Battalion had been ‘geed up’ by having ‘German atrocities’ propaganda read to them just before the attack. Suffering many casualties from both gas and German artillery on the approach march did not improve their disposition to the enemy. Some had expressed their desire to get their revenge for friends who had previously become casualties.
Thomas Ward was present for the unsuccessful attack at Passchendaele in Belgium on 12 October, 1917. The battlefield was a quagmire – a mass of interconnecting shell-holes filled with liquid mud – with the only firm surface being the high ground where the shell-holes connected together. To go over the high ground meant being exposed to enemy fire, while to take cover meant risking being stuck in the liquid mud.
During this attack, the battalion was tasked to be the brigade reserve, but as the barrage commenced at 5.25 am, ‘D’ Company and two platoons of ‘B’ Company followed the barrage instead of waiting with the rest of the battalion. ‘D’ Company advanced following the fierce attack by a New Zealand unit on the brigade’s left and captured the first objective, Bellevue Ridge, and were then joined by the men of ‘B’ Company.
By the end of the day the 3rd Australian Division had sustained approximately 2 935 casualties (of whom 299 were killed), and after being forced to withdraw from the second objective, finally held a line only just in front of that morning’s starting point. It was reported that men had sunk into the mud in the shell holes under the weight of their own equipment and drowned. If a man became stuck it took several of his comrades to extricate him, and it needed a team of stretcher-bearers just to bring a single man back to the dressing stations. The captured ground could not be held, and many wounded men had to be left behind – their bodies never to be found again.
In November of 1917, Thomas was appointed a driver within the 33rd Battalion. Although this change in role kept him mainly in the rear area and out of the front-line trenches, it did not keep him out of danger, as the rear areas were frequently shelled by enemy artillery. At night, he would have been transporting stores, rations, and ammunition up to the front-line, in danger from both German artillery and machine-gun fire.

The battalion drivers were responsible for the use and care of their animals, for the maintenance of the riding and pack saddles, the bridles and various harness, and for the maintenance of the wagons and carts allocated to the battalion transport section.
The war establishment for an infantry battalion’s transport was approximately 64 animals (horses or mules) comprising: 12 riding animals; 34 draught, nine heavy draught, and nine pack cob horses. Headquarters had two carts (for the officers’ mess and for the medical officer); two water carts, and five wagons (for a stockpile of small arms ammunition and for the various tools used by the armourer, cobblers, etc). The companies had between them: four wagons, limbered (for the machine-guns, ammunition, and the pack saddles); four travelling kitchens; and four GS wagons (for baggage, stores, and supplies)5.

On 4 February, 1918, Ward reverted to the rank of private due to the return of the driver he had temporarily replaced. On 18 April, Thomas was re-appointed as a driver to replace someone wounded. He remained with the 33rd Battalion for the battles at Morlancourt, Le Hamel, Bray-sur-Somme, the attack on Road Wood, and the attack on the Hindenburg Line.
Thomas embarked for his return to Australia on 12 June, 1919, aboard the Troopship Themistocles, and was discharged from the AIF on 25 September6. He died on 27 December, 1956, and was buried at Uralla.

FFFAIF: Digger Issue: 92

Family Information

Thomas was a single 19 year old Carpenter from Uralla, N.S.W upon enlistment with the AIF.