Contributed by Ron Inglis, October 2021:
Cleaner Thomas Hamilton, 25, was one of three Auburn Memorial men to serve in the artillery. On enlistment at the RAS Showgrounds, on 6 September 1916, Hamilton nominated his wife, Olga Mary Hamilton of Mona Street, Auburn, as his next-of-kin. He also declared previous military service in the ‘3rd Australian Infantry Btn, H Coy, Parramatta’.
This previous service may explain why Gunner Hamilton was away to the war in the relatively short period of six weeks. He sailed direct to England on the Borda arriving in Plymouth, United Kingdom, on 9 January 1917. After 3 months in training camps on the Salisbury Plains of England, Hamilton crossed to France and was taken on strength of the Australian Field Artillery on 27 April 1917.
Hamilton served on the Front for nearly four months before being gassed on 3 August 1917. He was evacuated to Australian Military Hospitals in Rouen and Le Havre. Hamilton rejoined his unit during the Passchendaele offensive on 24 September 1917. He was killed in action the next day. Hamilton was buried in the Menin Road South Military Cemetery near the town of Ypres in Belgium. In 1922, his wife received her husband’s medals, plaque and scroll.
Thomas Hamilton is honoured on the following memorials in Australia:
- Auburn War Memorial
- Municipality of Auburn 1914-1919 Honour Roll
- St John’s Anglican Cathedral Memorial Arch Parramatta
- NSW Government Railways & Tramways First World War Honour Roll, Central Station
- Roll of Honour Australian War Memorial Canberra
His decorations:
- British War Medal
- 1914-20 Victory Medal
