There are few records available for Thomas Holland with the family name appearing in historical records as both Holland and variations on the Irish surname Houlihan (Houlaan, Holihan, Hoolihan, etc.).

He was a “working class” man from the Liverpool area in the north of England who migrated to Australia when he was 27. He never married. In 1915, he joined the Australian Army and he died in the Battle of Fromelles at the age of 32. His body was never found - he remains “Known Unto God”.
The Fromelles Association of Australia would like to find Thomas’ relatives who might be able to add some closure to his life story.

Thomas’ story is best told “in reverse”.

While not a lot is known about Thomas, he clearly had lived in a loving family. In a rather prophetic last letter to his widowed mother in Birkenhead - which was actually not dispatched until two days after he died - he had written:

Thomas Holland was born on 22 June 1884 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the busy shipbuilding and dockside town on the River Mersey opposite Liverpool. He was the second son of Edward Thomas Holland (Holihan) and Mary Jane Heywood. His father died in 1903, leaving Mary Jane a widow raising three sons.

Children of Edward and Mary Jane:

• George Holland – the eldest, who worked as a stoker at sea
  
• Thomas Holland (1884–1916)
  
• John Holland – the youngest
  

The family lived at 348a Price Street, in the heart of Birkenhead’s working-class district. Thomas attended Our Lady’s and St Edward’s Elementary School, just a short walk from home.

By the age of 17, Thomas was employed as a rivet boy in the shipyards, a common entry-level job for boys along the Mersey, carrying and heating rivets for boilermakers. His older brother George spent some time as a stoker in the merchant service, and Thomas soon followed the same path, working as a marine fireman, shovelling coal to power steamships.

Life on the docks was hard, but it offered steady work and the chance to see the world. In his late twenties, Thomas decided to try a new life in Australia. Around 1911–1912, he migrated, settling in Newcastle, New South Wales — itself a major coal and shipping port. He continued working at sea, still describing himself as a marine fireman at the time of his enlistment.

War broke out when Thomas was 31 and he enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force in Newcastle, NSW on 18 September 1915. He was assigned to the 31st Battalion, 3rd reinforcements. He began his training at the Liverpool New South Wales camp and then at the Broadmeadows camp in Victoria.

On 18 February 1916 he headed for Egypt on the HMAT A70 Ballarat, which docked in Suez on 23 March. With the arrival of the many new recruits, further reorganization was being done and Thomas was assigned to A Company, 1st Platoon. Thomas’ time in Egypt was spent doing further training and guarding the Suez Canal.

On 15 June, the 31st Battalion began to make their way to the Western Front, first by train from Moascar to Alexandria and then aboard the troopship Hororata, sailing to Marseilles. After disembarking on 23 June, they took trains to Steenbeque, 35 kilometres from Fleurbaix, arriving on 26 June 1916.

After settling in and continuing their training, they were into the trenches for the first time on 11 July. The battalion strength was 979 soldiers. For the next few days, they were in and out of the trenches. The original plan was for an attack on the 17th, but bad weather caused it to be postponed.
Thomas was then back into the front line on the 19th and at 4.00 pm they were in position for their attack. Their assault began at 5.58 pm, with four waves of men going over the parapet:

The pre battle bombardment did have a big impact on German first line trenches and the 31st quickly advanced to the second line, which was mostly ditches filled with water. Even with the initial support, they remained under heavy artillery from both sides.

Unfortunately, with the speed of their advances, ‘friendly’ artillery fire caused a large number of Australian casualties. They were able to take out a German machine gun, but they were being “seriously enfiladed” from their left flank. Fighting continued throughout the night with heavy firing from concealed machine guns from Delangre Farm and houses.

At 5.30 am the Germans attacked from both flanks in force and with bombing parties. Having only a few grenades left, the only resistance the 31st could offer was with rifles:

The 31st were out of the trenches by the end of the day on the 20th. The headcount was just 512 soldiers of the 979 who began the battle.

Thomas was one of the casualties. The bravery of the soldiers of the 31st was well recognised by their own Battalion commanders and Lt. General Haking.

Thomas’ body was not recovered from the battle and his name was not among the list of soldiers that the Germans recovered. Lance Corporal William Reid (1058) confirmed that he saw Thomas lying dead in a trench as the 31st were nearing the Germans’ lines.

Thomas was formally declared as killed in action at a Court of Inquiry on 1 August 1917 but his place of burial remains unknown.

After the War, Thomas was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal, a Memorial Scroll and a Memorial Plaque.

He is commemorated at:

• VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles (Panel 3)
  
• Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Panel 118
  
• Haymarket Railways Blacksmiths Honour Roll (NSW)

Finding Thomas

Thomas' remains have not been recovered, and he has no known grave. It is possible he was among those buried by the Germans in the mass grave at Pheasant Wood, discovered in 2008. As of 2025, over 180 soldiers from that grave have been identified using DNA from living relatives. Thomas may still be among the unidentified, but to confirm this, we need DNA donors from his extended family — especially from the (family) lines.

If you are related or know someone who might be connected to his family — particularly those with roots in ENG— please reach out.