Unknown Australian Soldier WW1
 

This is a photo of a relation of mine in WW1, he is obviously Australian Army but I don't know anything about him. Nice photo though.

Looks like a Light Horse soldier as he has emu plumes in his hat.

Do you have his name and maybe what state he came from? I can then find out what unit he was in.

Mick

Australian Soldier
 

Hi Mick,

Sorry, don't know anything about him, my gran gave me the picture years ago, along with some other members of my familiy in the British Army in WW1. Always wanted to find out who he was though, but with no details I guess nothing can be done.:(

All AIF attestation papers are online and freely available. If you have just a surname you might get somewhere.

How many Light Horsemen, born in England, and with your family names can there be?

Even a name will be a good starting point.

Mick

The surname would either bee Thomas or Thirlwell, that's my grandparents names. Any ideas where I could find the AIF attestation records?

Thanks for your help with this.

You need the National Archives of Australia. they have all the AIF attestation forms scanned and online.

Try this search form:

http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/ResearcherScreen.asp

Thinking about it some more. One of the surnames you are interested in is not common, so not a problem. The other is common, which will leave you with vast numbers of soldiers records to trawl.

I assume that you know the part of the UK that your relative emigrated from? It will probably be quicker to use the "Mapping Our Anzacs" option. This enables you to search for a soldier by place of birth. See here:

http://mappingouranzacs.naa.gov.au/map.aspx?d=england

I would be very interested in the details if you do manage to put a name to your photo.

Good luck!

Tried to search by name and by area in UK where my grandparents came from but no luck. Guess I'll never know but many thanks for your help with this one.

All the best

Bill:(

Why does the surname have to be Thomas or Thirwell? You said that he was a relation but you did not say that he was a brother to one of your grandparents. Could he have been a cousin to one of them and have a different surname? Does your family history research show any emigration to Australia. Does the photo indicate where it was taken.....photographer's or studio name on the back?

Is the photo clear enouigh to show what that is on the epaulet above the AUSTRALIA?

Donny

hi snowdrop
thomas is a common name (1028 names on roll) but there were only 2 thirlwell in the 1st aif. here are there details

Joseph THIRLWELL
Regimental number 2680
Religion Church of England
Occupation Miner
Address Adelaide, South Australia
Marital status Widower
Age at embarkation 43
Next of kin Sister, Mrs Kate Ashbridge, Aspatria, Cumberland, England Enlistment date 27 June 1916
Rank on enlistment Private
Unit name 5th Pioneer Battalion, Reinforcement 5
AWM Embarkation Roll number 14/17/3
Embarkation details Unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board HMAT A73 Commonwealth on 21 September 1916
Rank from Nominal Roll Lance Corporal
Unit from Nominal Roll 5th Pioneer Battalion
Fate Returned to Australia 25 October 1917


or

William THIRLWELL

Regimental number 2436
Religion Church of England
Occupation Carpenter
Address 11 Ann Street, Williamstown, Victoria
Marital status Single
Age at embarkation 24
Next of kin Father, M Thirlwell, 131 Nelson Street, Williamstown, Victoria
Enlistment date 12 July 1915
Rank on enlistment Private
Unit name 22nd Battalion, 5th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number 23/39/2
Embarkation details Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board RMS Osterley on 29 September 1915
Rank from Nominal Roll Private
Unit from Nominal Roll 2nd Pioneer Battalion
Fate Returned to Australia 13 April 1919

Thanks to everyone for their input, it all helps.
The number above the Australia shoulder title is a 4.

My grandmother came from Northumberland, Cumbria, Co Durham area of England.
Am in the process of trying to find out if there was any emigrants to Australia.