Thomas William Stokes (1894-1915)

Thomas William Stokes, nicknamed Tom, was born in February 1894 in Geraldton, Western Australia to Thomas and Jane Stokes (reference; reference; reference; reference). He had three sisters - Ivy, Muriel and Lilly and his father worked as the Superintendent of the Bunbury Fire Brigade (reference; reference; reference). As a child, Thomas attended the Bunbury State School and the family lived on Wellington Street and recorded their address as the Bunbury Fire Station (reference; reference; reference; reference). When Thomas left school, he became an engine cleaner (reference).

When the Great War was declared in 1914, Thomas immediately volunteered for service, enlisting on 7 September 1914 (reference). He was one of 593 men assembled at the Bunbury Drill Hall on 15 August 1914 to be examined and possibly selected for the Bunbury detachment. He became one of the 60 men initially chosen (reference). These men departed Bunbury via the train station to the training camp (reference). They were farewelled by the Bunbury Band playing patriotic tunes, crowd cheering and mothers crying (reference).

Thomas was assigned to the 11th Battalion 3rd Brigade and departed Australia via Fremantle on the Ascanius on 31 October 1914 (reference; reference; reference). He disembarked at Suez in November 1914 and trained in Egypt before being sent to Gallipoli (reference; reference). 

Sadly, Thomas never returned home from Gallipoli (reference). He was killed in action at Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli, on Sunday 2 May 1915 at 21 years of age (reference; reference). Thomas is memorialised at the Shell Green Cemetery Artillery Road Plot 27 on the Gallipoli Peninsula (reference).