Thomas George Roy Champion
Thomas George Roy Champion was born during May 1894, at West Maitland, NSW.
He was appointed to the Grafton Volunteer Fire Brigade on the 1st of March 1912. His occupation was Carpenter and he resided at 61 Turf Street, Grafton, NSW.
Champion resigned from the Grafton Brigade on the 31st August 1914, to enlist for active service with the First AIF.
679 Private Thomas George Roy Champion enlisted at Grafton, on the 26th of August 1914, stating previous service with the Senior Cadets and Militia and was attached to “D” Company, 9th Battalion, AIF.
The 9th was one of the first Battalions raised at the start of the war and is considered a Queensland Battalion. Champion, like other NSWFB Firemen from the Northern Rivers area of NSW, found themselves enlisting into Queensland raised Battalions.
Champion was promoted to Corporal on the 10th of September 1914 and embarked at Brisbane on A5 HMAT SS “Omrah” on the 24th of September 1914.
He embarked to join MEF on the "Ionian" for the Gallipoli Campaign at Alexandria on the 2nd of March, 1915, travelling to Lemnos Island and arriving on the 4th of March.
The Battalion, then embarked onto the Transport "Malda", on the 8th of April, getting ready to sail to Gallipoli.
In the early hours of the 25th, "C" and “D” Companies, 9th Battalion, were transferred to a Destroyer, en route, then into lifeboats for the landing. The 9th is considered as being the first Battalion to ashore, but was landed about two miles North of their intended destination of Gaba Tepe.
Champion and his comrades of "D" Coy, landed under rifle fire between 04:30 and 05:00hrs and pushed forward until Turkish reinforcements arrived to drive the Australians back into the sea. The 9th, like so many other Battalions, at this time, dug for their lives and established trenches to not only shelter from the rifle and artillery fire, but to also consolidate ground won and maintain the attack. A Turkish counter attack at midnight was repulsed by the 9th.
But it is most likely, that by the time of these events, Champion was fighting for his life after being severely wounded.
After the landing, Champion was posted as missing, but there was some confusion amongst the authorities as to what exactly was the fate of Champion.
One witness, later interviewed by the Red Cross, stated that Champion was seen wounded not long after the Landing, during the charge up the hill, having suffered severe head wounds.
Chief Officer W. H. Jones of the “Itonus”, writing to the Rev R.J. Murray of The Parsonage, Grafton declared that Champion was "sent off to the ship from Gaba Tepe Beach during the evening of Sunday the 25th April, shockingly injured about the head" later dying and was buried at sea from the "Itonus" on the 27th April 1915.
After all of the exuberance, patriotism and hopes of adventure, Champion’s war, like so many others, possibly lasted only a few hours.
Champion’s Service Record details the confusion surrounding the determination of the exact date and details of his death, with the Military Authority confirming, on the 8th of December 1915, the date of death as Killed in Action on the 27th April 1915.
679 CPL Thomas George Roy Champion is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial, Turkey.
For his service Champion received the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal.