Thomas Ignatius Jackson

  General Notes:

Thomas enlisted in the AIF on 22 July 1916 at the Royal Australian Show Grounds in Sydney. He was exactly 19 years old and a clerk and grocer by occupation. He listed his father, Thomas, as next of kin, address Farm 161, Leeton but this was later changed to Farm 261. He was described as 6 feet tall, 153 lbs with a Medium complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair. His religion was Roman Catholic. He was assigned the service no. 6756 and appointed to "C" Coy. of the 2nd Cootamundra Depot Battalion as a Private.

He spent his first couple of months in Cootamundra before being posted to Liverpool in Sydney where he was initially assigned to the No. 13 Depot School. He is recorded as having "Failed" here but then spent 10 days at the Bowburg School where his performance was rated as "Very Good" and "Passed". By 17 November 1916 he had been promoted to Acting Corporal with the 22 / 14 Battalion and was on board the Port Napier in Sydney bound for Devonport, England where he and his unit disembarked on 29 January 1917. After disembarking he went straight into training with the 4th Training Battalion in Codford, England and reverted to his previous rank of Private. By 12 March 1917 he was promoted to Lance Coporal and the following day he departed Folkestone for France. He was found to be AWL from 8:00 p.m. until apprehended at 10:30 p.m. on his first night in France and punished with the forfeiture of a day's pay.

On 6 April Thomas was assigned to the 29th Battalion.

In early 1917, the German Army withdrew to the Hindenburg Line, allowing the British front to be advanced. The Germans, however, made selected stands to delay this advance and the 28th Battalion was involved in defeating a counter-attack at Beaumetz on 23 March. The battalion subsequently missed the heavy fighting to breach the Hindenburg Line during the second battle of Bullecourt as the 8th Brigade was deployed to protect the Division's flank. The only large battle in 1917 in which the 29th Battalion played a major role was Polygon Wood, fought in the Ypres sector in Belgium on 26 September.

Unlike some AIF battalions, the 29th had a relatively quiet time during the German Spring Offensive of 1918 as the 5th Division was in reserve for a lot of the time. When the Allies took to the offensive again, the 29th fought in a minor attack at Morlancourt on 29 July, and then in August and September took part in the great advance that followed the battle of Amiens. The 29th fought its last major action in September when the 5th and 3rd Australian Divisions, and two American divisions attacked the Hindenburg Line across the top of the 6-kilometre-long St Quentin Canal tunnel; the canal was a major obstacle in the German defensive scheme. The offensive of 1918, however, had strained the AIF almost to breaking point. On 12 October the 29th Battalion was disbanded to provide reinforcements for other 8th Brigade units.
Source: AWM Website: https://www.awm.gov.au/unit/U51469/

In November of 1917 Thomas was admitted to hospital with a bout of scabies. He served with the 29 Battalion until 12 October 1918 when he was transferred to the 32nd Battalion. The war was almost over and this unit was resting and retraining at this time. After the official end of the war he was again punished for being AWL, from 23 November to 24 November and punished with forfeiture of 2 day's pay. On 27 December he was permitted some official leave and went to Paris to enjoy New Years celebrations there. He returned to his unit on 11 January 1919.

Thomas left England for Australia on board the HT Khyber on 31 March 1919 and arrived in Sydney on 15 May 1919. He was discharged from the AIF on 27 October 1919.

Lance Corporal Thomas Jackson was awarded the British War medal No. 64095 and the Victory Medal No. 61834.

  Noted events in his life were:

• He worked as a Clerk & Grocer at the time of his enlistment in the AIF on 20 Jul 1916 in Leeton, New South Wales, Australia.

Thomas married Vera Muriel Sullivan, daughter of Michael Francis Sullivan and Rosetta Munro, in 1922 in Narrandera,,New South Wales,Australia. (Vera Muriel Sullivan was born on 2 Mar 1892 in Narrandera,,New South Wales,Australia and died in 1975 in New South Wales, Australia.)