Stuart Brown Posted 31 October , 2004 Share Posted 31 October , 2004 The soldier in the picture was photographed in Derby (UK) according to the studio stamp and it was found in a collection of postcards from that same place all of which were Great War period or before. I recently had the picture published in a local newspaper (Derby) asking for suggestions as to indentity. I received one reply suggesting that:- "I think his name was Ernest Thorp (e), he was a Scot from Dundee and emigrated to Perth, Australia before the First World War. He served in the Australian Army during that war, I believe in the Artillery, possibly in the Dardanelles and/or Gallipoli. He was very deaf as a result of the war and later returned to England where he married Sue (I don't know her nee name). They kept a sweet and tobacconist shop in Full Street, Derby for many years. After the Second World War they retired to Bournemouth." I have looked at the Australian War Memorial website / Biographical databases / First World War Nominal Rolls / Nominal Roll and have found four "Ernest Thorpes", one of whom was in the (7th) Field Artillery Brigade returning to Australia on 12.12.18. Not had any luck with the embarkation rolls yet. My question is, are there other nominal rolls apart from this site? It is simply a case of identification, I am not looking for soldier's paper searches or anything further more of curiosity than anything else. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edergole Posted 31 October , 2004 Share Posted 31 October , 2004 Try the AWM 'Official Records' connection to the Australian National Archives. Search for 7th Field artillery. They may have them and you should be able to order from there. I goth the 22nd FAB records from there. The one benefit is they have the rolls for the 'war' as oposed to the AWM site which requires you to know the original unit he left with. Whats the no. for the 7th FAB guy? Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brown Posted 31 October , 2004 Author Share Posted 31 October , 2004 Thanks Joe I made the number out to be 36677 Dvr Thorpe Ernest Charles The remaining names were:- 3865 L/Sgt Thorpe Ernest 4th ? Amb 28.5.15 RTA 3.7.19 7?25 Pte Thorpe Ernest 1st Btn 22.1.17 RTA 31.1.18 3058 Pte Thorpe Ernest George 26th Btn 23.6.15 KIA 5.6.16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edergole Posted 31 October , 2004 Share Posted 31 October , 2004 Looks like a late one ok. I'll see if I can find anything. I should add that 7th FAB well catered for in written documents. Try a search on abebooks.com 'australian filed artillery'- few books specifically about them -though ultimately they may not be much help. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted 1 November , 2004 Share Posted 1 November , 2004 If he enlisted in Perth WA my bet would be on the 4th Field Ambulance as there were several reinforcement groups from WA for this unit, while the 1st Bn was from NSW & the 26th Bn was from Queensland. Also I don't think the 7th Field Artillery Brigade had any reinforcement groups that left from WA, though he could have transferred to that unit later. But the number 36677 seems to high to indicate service at Gallipoli, but I may be wrong. Regards Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackblue Posted 1 November , 2004 Share Posted 1 November , 2004 No easy answer here I'm afraid. I suppose you can rule out the 26th Battalion chap who was KIA. He was from Houn in Tasmania. Have you considered 5226 Pte Ernest Leo Thorp of the 46th Battalion? He was travelled from on the with the 16th Reinforcements of the 14th Battalion. He was an 18 year old bricklayer from 380 Grady Street, Carlton, Victoria. His NOK was his father T A Thorp of the same address. 3865 L/Sgt Ernest Thorpe MM was with the 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance. He was 20 when he departed with the 1st Reinforcements from Brisbane on the 2nd June 1915. He was from Hamilton Street, Warwick (Queensland). His NOK was his father William Thorpe of the same address. He was awarded his MM when attached to the 11th Light Horse Regiment (he was recommended for a DCM). There is a picture of him in the AWM collection. He did not serve in the UK so this cannot be your man. http://www.awm.gov.au/database/awm28/frame...r=2/128&page=99 http://cas.awm.gov.au/pls/PRD/cst.acct_mas...lorer&bos=Win32 S36677 Dvr Ernest Charles Thorpe (7th Field Artillery Brigade) travelled to the Western Front with the 29th Field Artillery Reinforcements departing Sydney on the 5th November 1917. He was from 'Kismet', Dudley Street, Haberfield NSW when he enlisted. His NOK was his father Charles Thorpe of the same address. 7326 Pte Ernest Thorpe (1st Battalion) travelled to the Western Front with the 24th reinforcements on the 10th February 1917. He was from Mongarlowe via Braidwood NSW. His NOK was his father G.H.Thorpe of the same address. You can order their service papers online at Australian National Archives if you wish to look at places of birth. http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/famil...d_services.html Rgds Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auimfo Posted 1 November , 2004 Share Posted 1 November , 2004 Andrew, Just did some brief checking. It appears the Ernest Thorpe you are referring to actually served with the 4th Light HorseField Ambulance which was formed originally in Queensland. Stuart, I was going to agree that the first suggestion seemed to be the most likely however when I checked the National Archives there was no WW1 record for Ernest Charles Thorpe. I then checked second world war records and found the following entry: THORPE, ERNEST CHARLES : Service Number - N281425 : Date of birth - 11 Sep 1896 : Place of birth - SYDNEY NSW : Place of enlistment - PADDINGTON NSW : Next of Kin - THORPE RUTH which would suggest that 36677 E.C Thorpe re-enlisted for WW2. If this is the same person then he isn't the one born in Scotland and hence not the one in the photo. Tim L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brown Posted 1 November , 2004 Author Share Posted 1 November , 2004 Joe, Andrew, Tim & Tim L Thank you very much for all of the information you have provided. The person who contacted me "thinks" his name was Ernest Thorpe so an element of doubt still remains regarding the name. You have provided lots of useful information but mainly, the way I see it, is that the main possibility ie "36677 Dvr Thorpe Ernest Charles" can be ruled out because of his high serial number (for Gallipoli) and also the fact that he served in WW2 and was not born in Scotland. Additional Ernest Thorpes have also been suggested. I sent the photo to the paper at this time of the year as with the approach of Remembrance Day many war related stories are published. I do not intend to go for paper searches (as indicated in the initial post) as it was a "for curiosity only" exercise which really has illustrated the power of this site. What I intend to do now is to send a further message to the newspaper with the pieces of information that I have gained and if there is further feedback then that can be compared with all of the information you have kindly supplied. Thanks Stuart PS I understand that a few more men from the Derby area were in the Australian Forces WW1 so if you have any on your databases with a Derby connection PM me - no guarantee though. The name Lumbers rings a bell with me as I type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackblue Posted 1 November , 2004 Share Posted 1 November , 2004 You can search most of these yourself Stuart. All the information we have provided was directly from the Australian War Memorial site. Make sure you search for your subject in the Biographical Databases and also the Collection Databases as there are sometimes photographs. http://www.awm.gov.au It is also worth running the name through the index of each volume of the official history. Sometimes men are mentioned. http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/index.asp You can also order service papers online from Australian National Archives. Sometimes you will find that they are already digitized on the site and can download them for free. http://www.naa.gov.au/ Together a few of us also have most of the WW1 AIF unit histories so once you have identified your man let us know. Rgds Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackblue Posted 1 November , 2004 Share Posted 1 November , 2004 There were two Lumbers in the AIF both in the 10th Light Horse (which was from Western Australia). 301 Pte Albert Lumbers enlisted 4 Nov 14 returned to Australia 21 Jan 16. He was 23 year old farmer from Perth, Western Australia. His NOK is listed as his father George Lumbers of Barrow-on-Trent, near Derby, England. He may well have been one of the survivors of The Nek. 1179 Pte Walter Lumbers enlisted 5 May 15 returned to Australia 5 Sep 19. He was a 20 year old farmer from Moors, Western Australia. He was with the 8th Reinforcements which departed Fremantle on 2 Sep 15. Same NOK as Albert. Rgds Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brown Posted 2 November , 2004 Author Share Posted 2 November , 2004 Albert and Walter Lumbers. (Barrow on Trent) Tim this cutting was from a paper dated 7 July 1916. Sorry to say, the usual poor quality photo copy. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackblue Posted 2 November , 2004 Share Posted 2 November , 2004 Stuart, Both thier service papers have been digitized an you can view them on line here: http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/ItemDetail.asp?M=0&B=8214037 and here http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/ItemDetail.asp?M=0&B=8214036 Rgds Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brown Posted 2 November , 2004 Author Share Posted 2 November , 2004 Tim, Found it "Wow" thanks again. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackblue Posted 3 November , 2004 Share Posted 3 November , 2004 No probs mate. If you need any explanation just let me know. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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