4/1259 - Sapper

Thomas

EDWARDS

Main Body - Section No.1

Timeline


1915

1915

6 October

Enlistment

Auckland Military District

1915

11 October

Initial training

Avondale, Auckland

1915

27 November

Promoted 2nd Corporal

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

S.S. Ruapehu

1916

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

9 March

Embarked for France

1916

16 March

From the Front

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

Chantecler, Sector of Arras

1916

19 June

Detached to Mine School

1916

26 June

Rejoined the Company

1916

16 November

From the Front

The Company began the operations to connect old underground quarries in Arras in order to accommodate thousands of soldiers for an upcoming battle

1917

1917

9 April

Battle of Arras

British Offensive


From the Front

The Company was employed to rebuild a major road leading to the Front during the battle

Arras-Cambrai Road

1917

5 May

From the Front

The Company moved to Monchy, ten kilometres east of Arras, to work on the fortification of the new front line

The Billets in Monchy

1917

30 May

Detached to Assistant Provost Marshal, Boulogne

1917

1 June

Rejoined the Company

1917

2 June

Detached to Mine School

1917

8 June

Rejoined the Company

1917

8 June

Detached to Assistant Provost Marshal, Abbeville

1917

11 June

Rejoined the Company

1917

28 August

Promoted Corporal

1917

24 October

Appointed Acting Sergeant

1917

2 November

Relinquished appointment of Acting Sergeant

1917

22 December

Promoted Sergeant

1918

From the Front

The Company was still carrying out the digging of underground premises and defences on the Front near Arras

The Workshop in Arras

1918

22 February

Gassed

Admitted to hospital

1918

21 March

Spring Offensive

German Attacks


From the Front

The Company was engaged in the defence of Arras by digging new trenches and dug-outs under constant enemy shellfire

1918

29 March

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1918

25 July

Classified unfit for service in the field

1918

1 August

Embarked for England

1918

4 August

Marched in to NZ Depot, Torquay

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

27 September

From the Front

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

In front of the Havrincourt Bridge

1918

11 November

Armistice

Cessation of Hostilities


From the Front

The Company continued to build bridges to reconnect a fragmented territory

Over the Sambre River, Maubeuge
1919

1919

10 August

Classified unfit for active service

1919

8 November

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Rimutaka

1919

29 December

Admonished for neglecting of duty and failing to supply a picquet

1920

1920

28 April

Final discharge

End of Service

Decoration

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, AABK 18805 W5537 69/0037306, Military Personnel File: Thomas EDWARDS - 4/1259.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: Thomas EDWARDS.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 1.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “Thomas EDWARDS (4/1259)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 22 December 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=240