10923 Sergeant Henry Thomas Kavanagh - AAMC-Dental Corps
Thomas Henry Kavanagh was born in Bunbury WA in 1897 to Robert and Frances Kavanagh, being one of ten siblings born into the family in Bunbury and Fremantle.
He was educated in Bunbury and completed his schooling at CBC in Fremantle. Tom served in the 86A Cadets during his school year. After leaving school he took up training and then employment as a dental mechanic. During this time the family lived at 17/19 Shuffrey Street Fremantle.
Tom enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force in Fremantle on the 10th May 1916. He was accepted as fit for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 7 & 3/4 inches tall;
Weight - 125lbs;
Chest Measurement - 33-35 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Blue;
Hair - Brown.
Upon his successful enlistment, To was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the Dental Corps section of the Australian Army Medical Corps. Tom left Fremantle Harbour on the 18th July 1916 aboard the transport ship HMAT Seang Bee. The ship set sail for England, arriving at Plymouth on the 9th September 1916.
Tom was then disembarked and after a few days at Parkhouse Camp he was sent to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth to begin his dentistry work as part of No.3 Dental Unit of the Australian Army Medical Corps. In February 1917 Tom was then transferred to No.62 Dental Unit, at the 4th Training Battalion at Codford Camp. At this stage Tom was now promoted to Staff Sergeant.
Tom would work at the 4th Training Battalion in England through to October 1918. He was then transferred to France and spent the next three months in Dentistry units at Le Havre and Rouen. In January 1919 he then returned to England where he was attached to the AAMC section of the Overseas Training Brigade Camp at Longbridge Deverell.
On the 11th March 1919 Tom was then transferred to No.70 Dental Unit attached to the 1st Australian General Hospital and spent the next several months on dentistry works in the Australian camps.
On the 9th August 1919 Tom boarded the transport ship Ceramic and set sail home for Australia, reaching Fremantle on the 20th September 1919. Tom was then discharged from the AIF on the 5th November 1919.
He then returned home to Shuffrey Street Fremantle and was married in 1922 to Helena Victoria Pritchett with a son Henry being born in 1924.
He continued with his career as a Dental mechanic in Fremantle but by 1925 had moved to East Perth. There was another move to Victoria Park in the 1930's. He lived here till the 1950's.
Henry Thomas Kavanagh died 17th October 1958 aged 61. He was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery plot Roman Catholic ZD 0243.
