Thomas Hale Kensit

Personal Information
Date of Birth	unknown
Place of Birth	St Pancras, London, England
Death	13 Nov 1938, aged 48
Place of Death	Subiaco, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	24 years, 3 months
Description	5' 5½" (1.66m) tall; 120 lbs (54.4 Kg) weight; fresh complexion, brown eyes, brown hair
Occupation	farm hand
Religion	Church of England
Address	c/- Mrs Bunney, Kelmscott, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Aunt Mrs Anna Bunney
Military Information
Reg Number	5355
Date of Enlistment	12 Jun 1916
Rank	Sapper
Unit/Formation	1st Tunnelling Company
Date of Embarkation	30 Sep 1916 - 2 Dec 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A23 Suffolk
Date of Return	23 Dec 1919 - 2 Feb 1920
Ship Returned On	SS Port Napier
Fate	Wounded in Action (gassed) 31 Oct 1917 Returned to Australia
Monument	none currently
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

On enlistment Thomas was sent to Seymour in Victoria to join the Miners Reinforcements and sailed with 154 other reinforcements soon after for England. The voyage consisted of four legs, Melbourne to Fremantle where they arrived on 10 Oct 1916, Fremantle to Capetown arriving 30 Oct 1916, Capetown to Dakar in West Africa arrival 15 Nov 1916 and where they had a five day stay re coaling, and then on to Plymouth. Total voyage time was 64 days.

After less than a month in England, he sailed for France on HMT Arundel from Folkestone on 1 Jan 1917, and joined the 1st Tunnelling Company on 14 Mar 1917.

Hospitalised in France twice due to poor health in 1917 (conjunctivitis and teeth problems), he was also gassed on 31 Oct 1917 at Dranoutre south west of Ypres on the French - Belgium border. The unit war diary complains of heavy enemy shelling and gas attacks.

Tomas worked on the Hill 60 mine at Messines as a 'listener'. At one point he was blown up, and needed to be rescued by other tunnellers who bored a hole in the blocking earth and pumped air to him.

Hospitalised from Mar to Jun 1918 with VD, and again (with debility) from Aug to Sep 1918.

Married Emma Gray, a 23 year old Lady's Companion from Clapton while in England after hostilities had ceased (21 Jul 1919). On 27 Aug 1919 he was placed on indefinite leave awaiting a family ship.

Emma accompanied him on his return to Australia. Discharged 5th Military District on 21 Mar 1920.

Post War

Electoral Roll entries - 1916 "The Oaks", Warren road, Katanning, farm labourer; 1925 with wife Emma at Watheroo, farmer; 1925 - 37 East Marchagee, farmer. Daughter Eileen (b. Canning area 1920), son Frederick (1925 - ). Emma remained at East Marchagee until 1943 or later. [Aunt was Anne Bunney of Kelmscott.]

On 26 Jun 1934 Thomas signed a Statutory Declaration that he had lost his Discharge Certificate when a piece of wood fell out of the fire onto the floor, lighting the house which was lined by hessian, and everything we owned was burnt.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Virtual War Memorial

For further details relating to the 3rd Tunnelling Company, visit their website [1]