Carroll, Thomas George

No.1015 – Private Thomas George Carroll – 11^th Battalion AIF

Thomas George Carroll was born in Dongara Western Australia on the 18^th May 1891. He was educated at Dongara State School and after leaving he took up work as a farm labourer and contractor. Prior to enlisting in the war he had been living with his elder brother John in Swan Street North Fremantle.

On the 7^th September 1914 he offered his services to the AIF in Perth and after a medical test was accepted. The medical examiner found Thomas to be 5 feet & 11 ½ inches tall; weight of 164 lbs; chest measurement of 35 to 38 inches; dark complexion; grey eyes and black hair. His religious denomination was Roman Catholic.

Assigned to the original E Company of the 11^th Battalion, Thomas was given the regimental number 1015. The 11^th Battalion trained in Western Australia until the end of October 1914, when they were told to pack up camp and prepare for embarkation. They left Blackboy Hill Camp and marched to Bellevue siding where they took the train to Fremantle and boarded the transport ship H.M.A.T. Ascanius. On the 2^nd November 1914 they departed Fremantle and in the Indian Ocean met up with the other ships carrying the first contingent and made their way to Egypt.

After arrival in Egypt the 11^th Battalion set up camp near Cairo at a place called Mena. While in Egypt the eight companies were converted into four companies with the result that Thomas’s E Company combined with F Company to form the new “C” Company. They trained in Egypt for the next few months and near the end of February 1915 were told that they were leaving Egypt. On the 2^nd March the 11^th Battalion departed Alexandria bound for Lemnos Island. Lemnos was off the coast of Turkey and the 11^th battalion as part of the 3^rd Australian Brigade had been chosen to make the initial landing for the Australians. March and April were taken up with further training including the practice of disembarking from the transport ships into the whalers. Many route marches were also taken around the island.

The 3^rd Brigade was soon joined on Lemnos by the other Australian Brigades, New Zealanders, British, Indians and French troops. On April 25^th the landing on the Turkish coast took place, with the Australians landing at what would become known as Anzac Cove. The 11^th Battalion landed in the region in front of Plugges Plateau to North Beach and made their way inland. As part of C Company Thomas made his way up Plugges Plateau and was killed soon after reaching the heights of Plugge’s.

At the time his fate was unknown as when the 11^th Battalion roll call took place a few days after the landing no one could vouch for Thomas’s whereabouts and he was therefore declared missing. It wasn’t until April 1916 during a Court of Inquiry at Fletres France that Thomas was declared as killed in action on the 25^th April 1915.

After the war Thomas was officially buried at the small cemetery on Plugge’s Plateau in grave B.9.

His brother Joseph, with whom he had been living in North Fremantle, served in the 16^th Battalion (No.1792 Private) and was killed in the Northern sector of Anzac on August 29 1915 and was subsequently buried in Embarkation Pier Cemetery. Thomas’s brother and sister, living in Arrino WA were his surviving relatives.