Can you help us identify Thomas James Clarke?

James Thomas Clarke, known as Tom, was born in 1882 in Brighton, Sussex, England. He was the youngest child of James Thomas Clarke (1844–1885), a plumber, and Mary Ann Eliza Clarke (née Aspenwall, 1850–1931), who was born in Blackfriars, Middlesex. James and Mary had married in Brighton in 1869.

The family emigrated to South Australia while Tom was still an infant, arriving aboard the Ashmore. On the passenger list, James was recorded as a plumber, travelling with his wife Mary and children Edith, Eliza, and James (Tom). They settled in Bowden, a working-class suburb of Adelaide.

Tragedy struck when James died in 1885, leaving Mary widowed with young children, including three-year-old Tom. In 1887, Mary remarried — this time to Thomas Gillies — and the family continued to grow in a blended household

Tom was raised alongside his siblings:

Before the war, Tom was living in North Adelaide and working as a driver. In 1905, he married Blanche Ethel Haines, and together they built a life grounded in family and hard work. They had four children:

Tom embarked from Adelaide on 7 February 1916 aboard HMAT Miltiades and disembarked in Suez on 11 March 1916. On 1 April, he was officially taken on strength with the 32nd Battalion while training at Duntroon Plateau, Egypt. He departed Alexandria on 17 June 1916, bound for France with the British Expeditionary Force, arriving at Marseilles on 23 June. He was assigned to B Company of the 32nd Battalion, which was quickly moved to the front lines for the upcoming operation at Fromelles.

As reported in The Adelaide Register “The 32nd Battalion went away with the determination to uphold the newborn prestige of Australian troops, and they were accorded a farewell which reflected the assurance of South Australians that that resolve would be realized.”

Source: THE 32ND BATTALION. (1915, December 16). The Register p. 6. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59988928

Many of the men would never have left their own state or town, so the journey at sea is the real beginning of the adventure. Their route carries them along the Great Australian Bight, then turning northeast around the tip of Western Australia. Seasickness is interspersed with army drills, sightings of albatross, flying fish and whales before reaching the hot, humid and calmer waters of the equator. Boxing matches are held in the evenings, and the men often sleep on the deck. After a month at sea the 32nd battalion lands at Suez.

After landing, they spent four weeks at the El Ferdan outpost, several miles into the desert. Toms platoon was assigned to Ridge Post, a smaller post a few miles south of El Ferdan and closer to the Suez Canal where they can bathe and fish while off duty. The battalion spent the next six months rotating through various outposts and at the major training camp at Tel-El-Kebir. The men are given leave on occasion and many take the opportunity to visit Cairo and the pyramids. The 32nd Battalion’s stay in Egypt is relatively quiet; the Turkish do not mount any major attacks through the desert on the canal and their chief enemy is the stifling Egyptian sun and sand. George Bonney wrote at the time:

Only weeks after arriving in France, the 32nd Battalion were rushed into battle at Fromelles on 19–20 July 1916 — their first action on the Western Front. The 32nd moved to the Front on 14 July and were into the trenches for the first time on 16 July, in preparation for an assault on the German trenches at Fromelles. D Company’s Lieutenant Sam Mills’ letters home were optimistic for the coming battle:

On the 17th they were reconnoitring the trenches and cutting passages through the wires, preparing for an attack, but it was delayed due to the weather. The Australian 8th Brigade, which included the 32nd Battalion, were to cross about 100 metres of No-Man’s-Land and assault the German trenches on the left flank of the Allied attack. Being on the extreme left flank made their job even more difficult, as, not only did they have to protect themselves from the front, but they also had to block off the Germans on their left while advancing in order to prevent the Germans from coming around behind them.

All were in position by 5.45 PM and the charge over the parapet began at 5.53 PM. C Company and A Company were the first and second waves to go, B & D the third and fourth. The first waves did not immediately charge the German lines, they went out into No-Man’s-Land and laid down, waiting for the British bombardment to lift. At 6.00 PM, the German lines were rushed. The Australians immediately suffered heavy casualties from the artillery and German rifle and machine gun fire. The 32nd were successful in their initial assaults and by 6.30 PM were in control of the German’s 1st line system.

Fighting continued through the night. The Australians made a charge at the main German line, but they were low on grenades, there was machine gun fire from behind and from the machine gun emplacement at Delangre Farm and they were so far advanced that they were getting shelled by both sides.

At 4.00 AM the Germans began an attack from the Australian’s left flank. Given the Australian advances that had been made earlier, their rear trench had been left almost empty, which then enabled the Germans to be in a position to surround the soldiers of the 32nd. At 5.30 AM the Germans attacked from both flanks in force and with bombing parties:

The 32nd Battalion suffered appalling losses: 718 casualties out of 800 men, including 90% of its front-line strength. Tom was initially reported missing in action. A Court of Enquiry later confirmed he had been killed on 20 July 1916.

Tom’s body was never recovered and he has no known grave.

He is commemorated at:

Tom’s death left a profound void in the life of his wife Blanche and their three surviving children. At just 34 years of age, Blanche faced widowhood, uncertainty, and the burden of raising Colin, Leonard, and Bernice on her own. The youngest, Bernice, born 5 Feb 1916, was only two days old when Tom embarked for war.

For years after his disappearance, Blanche tirelessly sought answers. In September 1917, she wrote to the Red Cross:

She also wrote to Sister Laird, head of the Red Cross Bureau:

Even in official correspondence to military authorities, Blanche expressed anguish:

Over a year later on 21st September 1917, she was still searching for answers:

Finally in 1921, in answer to another plea, she received the following response.

The years passed, but her grief never diminished. In 1928, on the twelfth anniversary of Tom’s death, she placed a tribute in The Advertiser:

Multiple memorial notices from family members spoke to the deep pain of his loss. Tom Clarke was never recovered, but he was never forgotten.

We can presume that Tom’s extended family (his mother died 1931) and Blanche’s family - who were all Adelaide based were a strong support for Blanche. Her mother and unmarried sister Minnie were living in Prospect, where Blanche was living in 1921.