GILLIES, Thomas Sinclair
(Service number 11/2006)
| First Rank | Second Lieutenant | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 25 January 1895 | Place of Birth | Temuka |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Waihao Forks, Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | B. GILLIES (father), Wildforks, Waimate; Mt Nessing, Albury | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 9th Reinforcements, Wellington Mounted Rifles, B Squadron | ||
| Date | 8 January 1916 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
London Gazette, 26 November 1917
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | *May 1971 | Age | 76 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Temuka Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Thomas Sinclair Gillies was the eldest of the four children of Bruce and Elizabeth (née Pringle) Gillies. Known as Sinclair, he was born on 25 January 1895 at Temuka. He was educated at Watohi, Gleniti and Fairlie schools before returning to Gleniti and then on to the High School. Sinclair Gillies was awarded the Military Cross for bravery in the field (Timaru Herald, 16 November 1917, Waimate Daily Advertiser, 17 November 1917; reference Cenotaph Database).
After the war Thomas married Norah Olive Harvey (b.1890) in St Saviour's Church, Paddington, London, in 1919. The couple had two sons: Bruce Harvey, who died at El Alamein in WWII, aged 23; and James Sinclair who died at Temuka in 1925, aged only 4 years. Norah, his wife, died in Temuka in 1940. Like his son Bruce, Thomas also saw service in World War Two.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [22 May 2018]; Timaru Herald, 16 November 1917, Waimate Daily Advertiser, 17 November 1917 (Papers Past) [21 May 2018]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [23 May 2018]; School Admission records; Temuka Cemetery burial record (Timaru District Council) [23 May 2018]; SCRoll web submission by J MacDonald, 16 November 2021.
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