5th Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse, Trooper No.398
Thomas James Haydon was born in 1880 as the son of William and Ann Haydon of Bungendore.
He was the younger brother of John William (“Christy “) Haydon 1st Australian Horse Trooper No. 334.
At the age of 21 years and two months he enlisted as Trooper No. 398 as James Haydon in D Squadron of the 5th Battalion at Goulburn on 22 April 1902. At the time, he was working as a labourer and living at Bungendore, but had no previous service in the army.
The 5th Battalion sailed for South Africa on 22 May 1902 and disembarked on 18 June at Durban.
The Battalion did not see any war service as the War had ended before its arrival and it subsequently returned to Sydney on 1 August 1902.
During the Great War Thomas James Haydon joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 20 February 1915 as Private No. 1202 in D Company of the 17 Battalion. His Attestation Paper recorded that he had previously served 140 days in South Africa with the Commonwealth Contingent.
He sailed from Sydney on 12 May 1915 on the HMAT Themistocles. The Battalion trained in Egypt and then saw duty at Gallipoli from 24 August until the Evacuation in December 1915. After further training in Egypt the Battalion moved to France landing there on 22 March 1916. The Battalion originally fought at Pozieres in July - August. Haydon was gassed in April 1918 and invalided to England but rejoined his Battalion in September. He returned to Australia in April 1919 and was subsequently discharged from the 17 Battalion on 23 July 1919.
After discharge from the 17 Battalion Haydon enlisted with the Special Services AIF on 8 August 1919 as Private No. 86179. Here he was a guard for enemy deportees returning to Europe. He left Sydney on onboard the Rio Negro on the 19th of August 1919 and disembarked in London on the 27th of October. He subsequently departed the United Kingdom on 13 November 1919 and returned to Australia. He was discharged from the AIF on the 8th August 1920.
He was living in Sapphire Queensland In December 1940.
Thomas James Haydon is presumed to be the Haydon T remembered on the Bungendore Great War Roll of Honour.
Note: Haydon was court-martialled in September 1916 for desertion involving several periods of absenting himself without leave. He was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment with hard labour to be served after the termination of the war. In this context it is presumed that between the time he returned to Australia about December 1919 and his final discharge in August 1920 but he may have been working out his earlier court- martial sentence.