Foley, Thomas

2698 Sapper Thomas Foley - 5th Broad Gauge Railway Company

Thomas Foley was born in Kadina South Australia in 1886 to Patrick and Mary Foley. He was educated in South Australia but after leaving school he took up work as a labourer. Tom soon moved to Western Australia and took up residence in Fremantle where he was able to find work with the WA Government Railways. The Railway workshops were in Fremantle and Tom was employed there for several years. In 1909 he married Maud Humphreys in Fremantle and they continued to live in the area even when the Railway Workshops moved to Midland Junction.

Thomas hadn’t enlisted in the Great War through the first few years of conflict but when news came through about experienced railwaymen being wanted he offered his services to the AIF. On the 7^th August 1917 he offered his services to the AIF at the Swan Barracks in Perth. He was found to be fit for service with the medical examiner recording Tom’s physical attributes as;

Height:                                     5 feet 5 & ½ inches;

Weight:                                    140lbs;

Chest Measurement:               33-37 inches;

Complexion:                            Fresh;

Eyes:                                       Blue;

Hair:                                        Dark Brown;

Religious Denomination:         Roman Catholic;

Distinctive Marks:                    Scar on left calf.

Upon his successful enlistment Tom was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was initially put into D3 Depot where he would learn the basics of soldiering. On the 17^th October 1917 Tom was allotted to the 27^th Reinforcements to the 16^th Battalion AIF though he soon came down ill and on the 29^th October he was sent to No.8 AGH in Fremantle. He remained in hospital until the 12^th November when he returned to Blackboy Hill camp. Tom was put back into the training Depot to await an allotment to another unit. This didn’t happen until the 15^th January 1918 when he was assigned to the Railway Corps reinforcements. He trained with this group for the next two months and on the 13^th March 1918 they boarded the RMS Ormonde in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for England. However the ship stopped in Egypt and the men were disembarked and Tom and his group spent the next several weeks here. It wasn’t until the 3^rd May 1918 that Tom embarked for France, reaching Marseilles on the 11^th May. However he didn’t disembark as the ship sailed on to Southampton, reaching there on the 18^th May. Tom was then disembarked and sent on to the Railway Depot. He wasn’t here long when he reported ill and he was subsequently sent to Frensham Military Hospital with influenza. Tom was then transferred to the 3^rd Auxiliary Hospital where he remained until the 14^th June.

Tom was then sent to No.4 Command Depot at Hurdcott Camp, where he remained for a fortnight, and on the 29^th June he arrived at the Overseas Training Brigade at Longbridge Deverill Camp. Tom remained in this camp until the 13^th July when he was returned to the Railway Depot Camp at Longmoor. He would spend the next two months in this camp and he wouldn’t cross to France until the 23^rd September 1918. On his arrival in France Tom was taken on strength of the 5^th Broad Gauge Railway. He served with this unit in France and Belgium for the next few months as they transported goods and soldiers around the Western Front. On the 6^th February 1919 Tom was sent to hospital suffering from influenza. He was initially admitted to the 7^th Canadian General Hospital in Etaples and he remained here until the 14^th February when he was put on a hospital ship and sent to England. He was quite severely ill and upon arrival in England was admitted to Bethnall Green Military Hospital. It took Tom several weeks to shake this illness and he was fortunate to recover as this influenza was taking millions of lives across the world.

On the 8^th April 1919 Tom was sent to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Sutton Veny to await a passage on a ship home. He didn’t have to wait long as on the 19^th April Tom boarded the SS Marathon and set sail for Australia, disembarking in Fremantle on the 30^th May 1919. Tom was discharged from the AIF on the 12^th July 1919.

Tom and his wife Maud then moved to Midland Junction, closer to the Railway Workshops where Tom continued to work. They later moved to Leederville where Maud died in 1957 and Tom followed her on the 6^th January 1965 aged 78. They were both buried in Karrakatta Cemetery in the RC Section Lawn 2 K015.