Thomas Spurr
Rank: Driver
Service Number: 944
Units Served: 29th Infantry Battalion, 13th Australian Field Artillery
Personal Details: Thomas was born in Gerogery, New South Wales in August 1887. He lived with his widowed mother Sarah Phoebe Spurr in Tallangatta valley, where he was a labourer before he enlisted. He also had a full brother, George Spurr, who inherited all of Thomas’s belongings, including his war medals due to their mother’s death shortly after Thomas was killed.
Enlistment Details: Thomas was 27yr and 11mths old when he enlisted on the 14th of July 1915 at Tallangatta Valley. He was placed into the 29th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force. Thomas was 5 ft 10” tall weighing nearly 86kg. He had dark brown hair, grey eyes and a sallow complexion at enlistment. He also featured a distinctive scar on his right knee.
Details about his role in War: Thomas embarked on the H.M.A.T Ascanius on 10th November 1915, disembarking 27 days later at Suez, Egypt on the 7th December 1915. In January 1916 he was admitted to the 8th field ambulance due to Pleurisy and 2 months later he was discharged to duty. He was transferred to the 5th Division Artillery as a driver in the 13th Field Artillery Brigade on the 18th March 1916. Three months later, on the 16th June, Thomas embarked aboard ‘Rhesus’, disembarking at Marseilles on the 24th. He was granted furlough on the 19th October 1917, rejoining 17 days later. Thomas Anthony Spurr was killed in action on the 19th of October 1917, aged 30
Age at Death: 30
Cemetery or Memorial Details: Belgium 112 Hooge Crater Cemetery Zillebeke
Interesting Material: There is no inscription on Thomas’s gravestone, as the message she sent was too long. A letter was sent to notify her of this, however, by that time she had already passed away.
