Harrison, Thomas Frank
4040 Private Thomas Frank Harrison - 4th Machine Gun Company AIF
Thomas Frank was born in Ballarat Victoria on the 6th October 1889 to Thomas and Martha Harrison. He had a brother James, born in 1893 and Phillip in 1895. The family moved to WA circa 1896 and took up residence in Perth. Sadly James died in Leederville aged just five years old in 1898.
Tom's Mother Martha died in 1903. Tom finished his schooling in WA and the family moved to south of Fremantle at Naval Base. Their father Thomas, worked at the Fremantle Naval Stores. In 1913 Tom working out of Jarrahdale and then moved north for a time to work as a Station Hand.
Tom's brother Philip enlisted early in the war. Phillip Harrison was killed in action in August 1915 and after news finally came through of his death, Tom, who had been working as a station hand in the north west of WA, decided to enlist in the AIF.
On the 15th October 1915 Tom enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force in Carnarvon WA. He was passed as fit for service, with the medical examiner recording Tom's physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 9 inches;
Weight - 9 Stone;
Chest Measurement - 31-34 inches;
Complexion - Medium;
Eyes - Greenish;
Hair - Dark Brown.
Upon his successful enlistment, Tom was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp and was assigned to the depot training facility. He was taken through the basics of infantry work here for the next few weeks.
On the 11th November 1915 he was posted to the Field Artillery reinforcements but only spent four days there before being re-assigned to the 13th Reinforcements to the 12th Battalion AIF. He only spent a week with this group and was then transferred to the 12th Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion.
On the 2nd December 1915 Tom and his group embarked from Fremantle Harbour aboard the transport ship HMAT Ajana. The ship then set sail for Egypt, arriving there on the 28th December 1915.
The men were disembarked and sent into the AIF reinforcement camp. The Australian units were now returning from Gallipoli as that battlefield had been evacuated in December 1915.
However in January 1915 Tom had fallen ill with jaundice and had to spend some time in hospital. He eventually joined the 16th Battalion in March 1916. He then trained with this unit for the next two months.
On the 1st June 1916, the 16th Battalion departed from Egypt and made their way to France, arriving at Marseilles on the 9th June 1916.
The 16th Battalion were sent to the north of France in the Armentieres region. They would have their first experience of Western Front conditions in this sector. They only spent a few weeks here and then the 4th Division units including the 16th Battalion were sent to the Somme battlefield.
The 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions had been in action and captured Pozieres village and attempted to further the gains but were coming up against tough German resistance.
The 16th battalion went into the line in the first week of August 1916 and took part in the action around Pozieres. They then had a few weeks rest before taking part in the attempted capture of Mouquet Farm on August 30th 1916. The Germans had fortified the farm and despite making good gains, the 16th Battalion were unsupported on their flanks and had to withdraw. Tom had come through both these actions unscathed.
The 16th Battalion were then sent to Belgium for several weeks, where they were in the front line near Ypres. They then returned to the Somme battlefield and would spent the 1916/17 French winter in the vicinity of Flers in the very cold and muddy conditions.
On the 8th January 1917 Tom was transferred to the 4th Australian Machine Gun Company. For the next few months Tom served with the machine gunners as they provided fire support to the infantry.
On the 11th April 1917 the 4th Machine Gun Company advanced with the infantry into the Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt. Many of the Gunners were shot down before they got through the barbed wire defences but Tom made it through into the trench where unfortunately he was soon captured by the Germans.
Tom would spend the remainder of the war as a prisoner of the Germans. He was repatriated to England on the 18th December 1918 and was granted an extended period of leave. On the 3rd March 1919 Frank boarded the HMT Euripides and set sail for Australia, disembarking in Fremantle on the 10th April 1919.
Frank was sent to No.8AGH in Fremantle for a medical check up and after being released from hospital he was discharged from the AIF on the 5th June 1919.
Tom soon returned to Victoria and in 1924 he applied for a War Service Home Grant where he was residing in Geelong.
He had got married in 1921 to Rose Janvrin Marett in a Methodist church in North Melbourne. She had two children form a previous marriage but they then had their own, Phillis was born in 1922 and Ronald 1928.
For a time he worked at Ballarat and then as a wood merchant at Maribyrnong. They then moved in 1924 to Geelong where Tom found employment as a blacksmith striker.
In 1926 the family moved to Warburton. Sadly his wife died on the 15th September 1929 in Warburton Victoria.
Tom returned to WA 1931 and took up residence at 140 Watkins street south Fremantle (later renumbered to 120) and found work as a blacksmith.
His father died in Fremantle Hospital on the 25th September 1935. Tom soon secured employment at the Sugar Works at Rocky Bay North Fremantle. His job was as a Sugar Refiner.
By 1936 he was living on the corner of Carrington and Clarke street Fremantle but the following year moved to Blackwall reach parade Bicton.
Tom enlisted again in World War Two (W66686) and served with the Perth Battalion of the Volunteer Defence Corps. He was now living at Mosman Park.
Thomas died in Bicton WA on the 19th June 1971. He was buried at Fremantle Cemetery Methodist Mon B3 0282.