Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Thomas McClelland Livingstone, known as Tom, was born on 18 August 1885 at St Bathans, Otago, New Zealand, the second son of Thomas and Mary Ann (née Potts) Livingstone. Thomas and Mary Ann were married in 1874 in Ireland and their first child was born in 1875 in New Zealand. By the Otago Police Gazette of 10 June 1875, Thomas Livingstone had been appointed a constable with the New Zealand Police Force. The Livingstone family, therefore, moved about the South Island, and even briefly Gisborne, and the children attended many schools. Sergeant Thomas Livingstone took up detective duty at Timaru in March 1890. His longest posting was to be at Timaru where he held many positions. Thomas (junior) started at Timaru Main School a week after his fifth birthday and left for Christchurch in December 1898, furthering his education there. In Class E of the Infant Department at Timaru Main, Tom received a third placing in his first year at school. In mid-1902, Detective T. Livingstone was transferred to Dunedin. He moved to Lyttelton in 1906 and into Christchurch in 1908. After thirty-five years in the Police Force, Detective Livingstone retired at the end of June 1910 and intended living with his sons at Fendalton. On leaving school, young Tom was employed by the New Zealand Farmers’ Co-op., Christchurch. About 1905-06, he went to Australia where he was engaged as a commercial traveller in Sydney. In 1914, Thomas McClelland Livingstone was a traveller, resident at the Palace Hotel, Brisbane. He was also a senior Rugby footballer. The Timaru Herald of 14 May 1910 noted that T. Livingstone, an old Timaruvian, was in the scrum for the Sydney Club.

When war broke out, Thomas Livingstone joined the Australian Advance Force sent to seize German New Guinea, and he was engaged in the operations leading to the capture of Rabaul. 143 Private T. Livingstone had embarked at Sydney per the “Perrima” on 19 August 1914, for service with A Company, 1st Tropical Unit. He was discharged on 4 March 1915 on the termination of his period of engagement. So, after six months’ service in New Guinea, his time having expired, he returned to Sydney and volunteered for the Front with the Australian force, being despatched to the Dardanelles. He signed up – as Thomas Livingstone – on 25 March 1915. A single man of Church of England affiliation, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Livingstone, Durham Street, St Albans, Christchurch, New Zealand. He had served 3½ years with the City Rifles and 2½ years with the Highland Rifles at Christchurch, New Zealand.

On 30 March 1915 at Liverpool, New South Wales, Thomas Livingstone swore - “I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force from 25/3/15 until the end of the War, and a further period of four months thereafter unless sooner lawfully discharged, dismissed, or removed therefrom; and that I will resist His Majesty’s enemies and cause His Majesty’s peace to be kept and maintained; and that I will in all matters appertaining to my service, faithfully discharge my duty according to law.” Tom had been medically examined at Sydney on 25 March. He was 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed 163 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 33-36 inches. His complexion was dark, his eyes brown and his hair dark brown. He had good vision; was free of diseases and physical defects; his heart and lungs were healthy; and he had free use of his joints and limbs. He was, thus, fit for Active Service. He was examined again on 27 May 1915 at sea on the “Kyarra”.

Private T. Livingstone, 2016, embarked with the 4th Battalion, departing from Sydney on 13 April 1915 per the “Kyarra”. He joined the Reinforcements Battalion at Gallipoli on 17 June. Suffering a shrapnel wound in the leg at Suvla Bay on 6 August 1915, he arrived at Alexandria on 13 August per the “Neuralia” and was admitted to No. 1 Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis. He was then transferred to No. 3 Auxiliary Hospital the next day. In late August 1915, Mr Thomas Livingstone, of 436 Durham Street, Christchurch, was advised that his second son, Private Thomas Livingstone, of the 4th Australian Battalion, was in the 1st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis, with a bullet wound in one of his legs. A sister of Private Livingstone, well-known in Christchurch, who had been in business in London for the last eight years, was at this time on her way out to New Zealand for a holiday visit. She broke her journey when passing through the Suez Canal and was surprised to find both her brothers in the same hospital, the other brother being Lance-Corporal R. H. Livingstone, of the Canterbury Infantry Battalion, who had been wounded a second time. This sister was Eliza Jane Livingstone, also known as Celia, who had an haute couture salon in Kensington, London and opened a similar business in Christchurch with her sister Rachel. Miss Celia Livingstone (New Zealand born) left London on 21 August 1915 per the “Khyber”, stopping at Port Said and arriving at Fremantle on 25 September on her way to 436 Durham Street, Christchurch, New Zealand – her parents’ residence. Celia resided in Paris and London. It appears that Thomas Livingstone may have been admitted to No. 2 Auxiliary Hospital at Blackheath, then sailed from England on 19 October 1915. To return to Australia for discharge, he embarked at Suez per Hospital Transport “Karoola” on 4 November 1915, disembarking on 4 December. He was suffering from phlebitis in his right leg as a result of a bomb wound. His father, Mr T. Livingstone, of Durham Street, Christchurch, received official information later in November to the effect that his son was returning to Australia. A photo of Private P. [sic] M. Livingstone, 4th Australian Battalion, wounded was printed in the Christchurch Star on 9 September 1915. A photo of his brother – Lance-corporal R. H. Livingstone, Canterbury Infantry, wounded, had been printed in the Otago Witness the day before.

A letter dated 23 September 1915 was addressed to Messrs T. & M. Livingstone [sic], 436 Durham Street, Christchurch, NZ, in response to their letter of 25 August, concerning No. 2106 Private Thomas Livingstone, 4th Battalion. “I am . . . . . . and beg to inform you his next-of-kin is shown on the records in this office as mother, resident at Durham Street, St Albans, Christchurch, who ere this will have been notified through the Minister of Defence, New Zealand, that her son is reported by cable message from Heliopolis dated 17th August as having been admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital suffering from bullet wound in leg. I may state he is not reported as having been seriously wounded and the Egyptian authorities advise me to assume the absence of further particulars in such cases is indicative of satisfactory progress towards again becoming fit for active service. Next-of-kin will be immediately notified upon receipt of any later information. . . . . .” Mr and Mrs Livingstone knew that he was in Egypt but had not received any word that he was either wounded or sick.

Mr E. J. Livingstone, Records Office, Headquarters, NZ Defence Force, Wellington, NZ, wrote in early 1916 to the Department of Defence, Australia, concerning his brother, No. 2106 Private T. Livingstone, 4th Battalion. His letter was referred to the Staff Officer for Returned Soldiers, Victoria Barracks, Paddington, New South Wales. He was advised, it appears, that the soldier was “at present an inmate of No. 2 Auxiliary Hospital, Blackheath” – a miscommunication? Eric J. Livingstone had written, on 7 February 1916, from Headquarters, NZ Defence Forces, Wellington, to Headquarters, Melbourne, advising that he had received a number of letters written by him to his brother Private Thos. Livingston, No. 3016 [sic], 4th Battalion 1st Infantry Brigade A.I.F. who returned invalided in the “Karoola”, 1st Australian Hospital Ship. “I would deem it a great favour if you would obtain his present address and forward these letters on to him. . . . . I would be pleased if you could forward me [his] address. . . . . .” This letter was stamped ‘Base Records received 16 Feb 1916’. A note signed A. E. Grant, 18/2/16 which was added, reads “5 letters for Pte T. Livingstone, 4th Battalion, who returned to Australia 4/12/15, forwarded to S.O.R.S. (2nd M.D.) for disposal.”

On 22 March 1916, the Medical Board referred Pte T. Livingstone for further treatment for one month, discharge and pension also. He was discharged on 29 March 1916, medically unfit. Back home at 24 Park Road, Moore Park, Private Thomas Livingstone claimed a pension on 3 May 1916 and was granted £52 per annum from 30 March 1916. The pension was subsequently amended to £3 per fortnight. Thomas Livingstone was awarded the 1914-1915 Star. Referee, a Sydney publication, reported thus, on 29 March 1916 – “Tom Livingstone, the burly Sydney Club forward of 1907 and 1908, is trying the war for the third time next week. He was one of the first to volunteer and went to Rabaul. On his return he left for Gallipoli, where he was wounded in the trenches, and he is now about to make his third appearance in the firing line.” A third appearance obviously did not happen. A pension (for soldier’s incapacity) of £1/10s per fortnight was granted to his wife Mary Elizabeth Livingstone (“Selbourne”, Eastern Avenue, Kensington) from 8 March 1917. Thomas McClelland Livingstone married Mary Elizabeth Jones on 17 June 1916 at St Peter’s Anglican Church, Sydney. From 3 January 1918, Thomas’ pension was amended to £1 per fortnight and Mary’s to 10 shillings per fortnight. At this date, Thomas was at 35 Duckford Street, Paddington. Tom and Ruby (as Mary Elizabeth was known) lived at 246 Park Road, Paddington, Sydney, Tom employed as a clerk.

Thomas McClelland Livingstone (late 4th Battalion A.I.F.) – beloved husband of Ruby Livingstone - died at his residence, 246 Park Road, Moore Park, New South Wales, on 1 November 1937, aged 50 years. He was cremated at Rockwood Crematorium, his ashes placed at the New South Wales Garden of Remembrance, Rockwood. His next-of-kin at his death was his widow - Mrs Mary E. Livingstone, 246 Park Road, Paddington, NSW. Tom was a brother of Alexander Reuel Livingstone and Eric Joseph Livingstone who were both killed in action. His brother Robert Heaton Livingstone also served in World War One; Robert died in 1964 at Christchurch. Another brother, Lieutenant Henry Gillies Livingstone, of the Territorial Force, was stationed as adjutant to the C. Y. C. (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry) throughout the war. Captain H. G. Livingstone, of the Defence Department, acted as prosecutor in court-martial cases and followed up on those who neglected their cadet parades. In mid-November 1918, he was a sufferer of the prevalent epidemic. Henry who was awarded the Volunteer Decoration for his long military service, then the OBE in 1954, died in 1959 at Christchurch. A son of Henry, Robert Ruel North Livingstone, served in World War Two and was awarded both the OBE and the MBE. Another nephew of Tom, Claude Wilfred Alfred Kimbell (son of Laura Livingstone), served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in World War Two and was taken prisoner of war in Germany.

David William Livingstone, the eldest son of Thomas and Mary Ann, died in 1906 and was buried at Timaru in a family plot, leaving a young daughter. Percy, the third son, who was born at Timaru, died there in 1889 at two years [1892] and was buried at Timaru. Hamilton, the seventh son, died at birth in 1895. Celia/Eliza Jane Livingstone (eldest daughter) married James Lawson in 1919 in London. Eliza Jane Livingstone otherwise Celia (wife of James Lawson) died in 1944 in London. Laura, the second daughter, married Alfred Kimbell and died in 1946. Fanny Ruth, the third daughter married Conrad Denham, not long after Eric was killed. Conrad died in 1921, and in late March 1922, Fanny and her mother travelled to England. Rachel, the youngest daughter who married a Swede by the name of Behringer, had set up a small haute couture business in Christchurch in partnership with her sister Celia and lived for some time in Paris; she died in 1973 in Christchurch. Mr Thomas Livingstone, the well-known police officer who had served with the New Zealand police in Dunedin, Green Island, St Bathans, Cromwell, Oamaru, Timaru, Lyttelton, Gisborne and Christchurch, had four sons on active service, two of whom were killed in action, one invalided back to New South Wales, and one invalided home then rejoining the forces, Thomas Livingstone died on 23 November 1920 at his Christchurch residence. Mary Ann Livingstone died on 3 November 1923 at her Christchurch residence. Both were interred at Timaru Cemetery with their three sons who had predeceased them.

Sources

NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [08 May 2014]; Australian Imperial Force Attestation Paper (National Archives of Australia – digital copy barcode 8204004) [08 May 2014]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [08 May 2014]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [2014]; Rockwood Crematorium record (Australian Cemetery Index (1808-2007) per ancestry.com.au) [09 May 2014]; Australian Death Index (1787-1985) (ancestry.com.au) [09 May 2014]; South Canterbury Times, 18 August 1890, Timaru Herald, 14 May 1910, 2 September 1915, Press, 8 June 1915, 30 August 1915, 25 April 1917, 1 December 1917, Sun, 8 June 2015, 30 August 1915, Star, 30 August 1915, 9 September 1915, Lyttelton Times, 30 August 1915, 24 November 1915, Otago Witness, 1 September 1915, Evening Post, 23 November 1915 (Papers Past) [06 September 2014; 25 October 2015; 23 November 2015; 29 March 2017; 15 July 2023; 01 & 03 August 2025]; Australian Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [25 October 2015]; Referee (Sydney, NSW), 29 March 1916, The Sun (Sydney, NSW), 2 November 1937, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW), 3 November 1937, The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW), 3 November 1937 (Trove) [01, 02 & 03 August 2025]; Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers (ancestry.com.au) [02 August 2025]

External Links

Related Documents

• LIVINGSTONE Thomas - newspaper clippings (pdf, 475.8 KB updated 21-Nov-2025)

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society

Currently Assigned to

TS