DRIVER, Thomas William
(Service number 10/580)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 22/03/1893 | Place of Birth | Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 21 August 1914 | Age | 21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Dannevirke, New Zealand | ||
| Occupation | Labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | Two years seven months with Port Chalmers Naval Unit | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | George Driver (father), Fairlie; later 28 Elizabeth Street, Timaru, New Zealand | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Wellington Infantry Battalion, 17th Ruahine Company | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Arawa | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, New Zealand | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Wellington Infantry Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Egyptian & Gallipoli | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
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 | 8 August 1915 | Age | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Gallipoli, Turkey | ||
| Cause | Killed in action | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Chunuk Bair (NZ) Memorial, Chunuk Bair Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Fairlie War Memorial | ||
Biographical Notes
Thomas was born in Port Chalmers on 22 March 1893, the only son of George and Louisa Alice (nee Burns) Driver. He was educated at the George Street, Port Chalmers and Sawyers Bay Schools, Dunedin.
At Masterton, on 21 August 1914, Thomas enlisted for war service with the Wellington Infantry Battalion, 17th Ruahines Coy. He gave his current address as Dannevirke, and his occupation as Labourer. Described as being Anglican, single, aged 21, 5 foot 8 inches tall, weighing 140 lbs, chest measuring 33 inches, of dark complexion, grey eyes, dark hair and teeth having no decay. He nominated his father, Mr George Driver of Fairlie, later of 28 Elizabeth Street, Timaru, as his next of kin. He also stated that he had had 2 years 7 months previous military experience with the Port Chalmers Naval Unit. Thomas left Wellington with the Main Body on 16 October 1914, aboard the SS Arawa, bound for Suez, Egypt. On 6 May 1915, he joined his unit on the Dardanelles and was reported missing in action on 8 August. A Court of Enquiry held at Moascar Camp, Ismalia, on 24 January 1916, found that he was “Now believed to be dead at the Dardanelles, 8 August 1915”. There being no body found to be buried, he is commemorated in the Chunuk Bair Cemetery on the NZ Memorial, Panel 20.
Thomas's father, in Timaru, was forwarded his war medals: the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal, along with a plaque and scroll, shortly after the war ended.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database (July 2015); Archives NZ (Personnel File); New Zealand Roll of Honour at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sooty/nzefrohD.html; New Zealanders on Chunuk Bair Memorial to the Missing (850 names) at http://www.anzac.govt.nz/gallipoliguide/names/chunuk-bair.html
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG & Timaru Herald; Ted Hansen, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.