Thomas Leslie "Jack" Axford, (18 June 1894 – 11 October 1983) was an Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Early life

Thomas Axford was born on 18 June 1894 at Carrieton in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. His father was an auctioneer, originally from Tasmania. When Axford was two years old, the family moved to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, settling in Coolgardie. Educated at Coolgardie Primary School, he worked at the Boulder City Brewery after completing his schooling.Edgar, 2007, pp. 45–46 In 1912, he enlisted in the 84th Infantry (Goldfields Regiment) of the

Citizen Military Forces The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

.The AIF Project
www.aif.adfa.edu.au. Retrieved on 9 September 2009.

First World War

In July 1915, at the age of 21, Axford joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for service in the First World War. He was assigned to the 11th Reinforcements of the

16th Battalion 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

on 9 August 1915, which left Australia on HMAT ''Benalla'' that November. He arrived in the Middle East to join his unit in March 1916, missing the just completed Gallipoli Campaign. In June 1916, Axford's battalion went to France to fight on the Western Front. During the

Battle of Mouquet Farm The Battle of Mouquet Farm, also known as the Fighting for Mouquet Farm was part of the Battle of the Somme and began during the Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September). The fighting began on 23 July with attacks by the British Reserve ...

on 11 August 1916, Axford was evacuated with shellshock. He returned to the battalion after two days. During most of 1917, the battalion was engaged in fighting in Belgium, attacking the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

. During the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

, in fighting at Gapaard Farm, Axford was badly wounded in the knee by shrapnel. After medical treatment in England he rejoined the battalion in January 1918. The following month, he was promoted to

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

. During the German spring offensive, from March to April 1918, 16th Battalion was heavily engaged in fighting around Hébuterne. In May he was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

(MM). It was during the Battle of Hamel, on 4 July 1918, that the events that led to Axford being awarded the

(VC) took place. His platoon was attacking towards Vaire Wood when a neighbouring platoon came under heavy fire. Axford took prompt action to remedy the situation. The citation for his VC read: In addition to being awarded the VC, Axford was promoted to

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

several days after the battle. Shortly before the end of the war, Axford returned to Australia on furlough. He was discharged from the AIF on 2 February 1919.

Later life

Axford returned to his old job at the Boulder Brewery, then went to learn a trade at Kalgoorlie Foundry, but was not eligible under the Australian Soldiers' Repatriation Act. He undertook various laboring jobs in the Eastern Goldfields. Later on he worked for a sewing machine company, and did casual work wherever he could get it until the early 1930s, when he worked initially as a

commissionaire In mainland Europe, a commissionaire is an attendant, messenger or subordinate employed in hotels, whose chief duty is to attend at railway stations, secure customers, take charge of their luggage, carry out the necessary formalities with respect t ...

, then as a records clerk with the Western Australian Department of Mines in Perth. He had married Lily Maud Foster, a shop assistant, at St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, on 27 November 1926. They lived in the Perth suburb of

Mount Hawthorn Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

and were to have five children. In June 1941, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he left his position at the Department of Mines to serve in the army's Western Australian Echelon and Records Office, in Perth, part of Headquarters Western Command. He was discharged with the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in April 1947, and returned to his position as a records clerk at the Department of Mines. He died on 11 October 1983 while aboard a flight returning to Australia following a Victoria Cross and George Cross Association reunion. Survived by his five children, he was cremated at the Karrakatta Crematorium in Perth. His wife predeceased him earlier in 1983.

Legacy

Axford's war medals, including his Victoria Cross, were donated to the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, where they are on display. Axford Park in Mount Hawthorn, and the Thomas Axford ward at the former Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood, are named in his honour. On Anzac Day 2018, Axford and fellow VC recipient

John Carroll John Carroll may refer to: People Academia and science *Sir John Carroll (astronomer) (1899–1974), British astronomer *John Alexander Carroll (died 2000), American history professor *John Bissell Carroll (1916–2003), American cognitive sci ...

, were honoured with a paver on the Walk of Fame in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

, Western Australia.

Notes

References

*Edgar, P. L. 2007
'Axford, Thomas Leslie (Jack) (1894–1983)'

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 17. Melbourne University Press: Melbourne.

External links

*
Burial location of Thomas Axford
"Western Australia"

"Australian War Memorial" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Axford, Thomas Leslie 1894 births 1983 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Coolgardie, Western Australia Australian recipients of the Military Medal Australian military personnel of World War I Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Military personnel from South Australia Australian Army soldiers