Thomas Anthony Spurr
Stephen LearmonthThomas was born at Four Mile Creek, Victoria, in August of 1887. He would be the eldest of two sons for Anthony and Sarah Phoebe (née Dann), although both Anthony and Phoebe had children from other marriages, making seven children in all. At the turn of the century Anthony and Phoebe brought their extended family to establish a home along the Tallangatta Creek. Unfortunately, Anthony would pass away in 1905. The Australian Electoral Rolls state that Thomas worked as a labourer in the Cravensville and Tallangatta area from as early as 1909.
Thomas enlisted on the 14th of July, 1915, at Melbourne. He was allocated the Regimental Number 944 and initially placed in C Company of the 29th Battalion.
Thomas and his unit embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on the 10th of November, 1915. The Ascanius docked at Suez on the 7th of December, 1915. He was admitted to the 8th Field Ambulance at Serapeum on the 11th of January suffering from pleurisy and discharged back to duty eight days later. In mid-March he was transferred to the 13th Field Artillery Brigade of the 5th Divisional Artillery at Tel el Kebir, being taken on strength as a driver with the 49th Battery.
On the 16th of June, 1916, his battery was embarked on Rhesus at Alexandria and sailed across the Meditteranean, arriving at Marseilles on the 24th of June. Two weeks later he was granted two weeks furlough. Unfortunately there is no record as to where he spent his leave.
He rejoined his battery on the 28th of July, 1917. By this stage of the war, batteries consisted of six 18 pounder guns. These guns had a range of almost six kilometres and were able to fire a range of ammunition including high explosive fragmentation, shrapnel, smoke, gas, star (illumination) and armour piercing. As a drive in a battery, Thomas’ job would be to drive the horse and limber team (above), or perhaps the general purpose wagons that would transport materiel.
It’s not known what the 49th Battery was doing on October the 19th. Nor do we know what Thomas was doing or where he was going. His service records simply indicate that he was killed in action on that day.
Thomas was buried at the Hooge Crater Cemetery near Passchendaele, Belgium. He is also remembered on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, and the Towong Shire Boer War and WW1 Memorial in the Tallangatta Memorial Hall. For his service during the First World War, he was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
