Cpl
Thomas Dunlop
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 31/10/1885 |
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Place of birth: Pine Bush, New Zealand |
General information
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Last known residence: Gore, Southland, New Zealand |
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Profession: Cheese maker |
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Religion: Presbyterian |
Army information
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Country: New Zealand |
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Force: New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Corporal |
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Service number: 29753 |
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Enlistment date: 30/06/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Trentham, Wellington, New Zealand |
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Units: — Otago Regiment, 3rd Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 24/11/1917 |
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Place of death: Cameron Covert, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 32 |
Cemetery
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Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood Plot: special Memorial IX Row: AA Grave: 13 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Corporal Thomas Dunlop was already 31 years of age, when he enlisted the 3rd Battalion of the Otago Regiment part of the New Zealand Division.
The former cheesemaker lived in the town of Gore, New Zealand with his wife and three children.
In November 1917, just beyond the New Zealand Divisional boundary a well-marked spur ran eastward like a finger from the edge of the general plateau down to the flats. On the north its sides drained into the Reutelbeek and on the south to the corresponding valley of the Scherriabeek.
The British line had been arrested at the edge of the plateau, and the spur remained in German possession. From it the enemy not only enfiladed the forward trenches about Cameron Covert and Reutel, but fully commanded and incessantly harasses the whole of the British approaches to this sector of the front. On it were perched the piled ruins of Polderhoek Chateau and groups of pillboxes which occupied sites of the attached buildings amid the shattered trees of the once luxuriant and beautiful pleasances. The Ypres Battle had seen 3 assaults delivered on the spur, and the Chateau had been temporarily won, but only to be lost again to German counter-attacks.
For the satisfactory occupation of the Division’s sector, it was highly desirable that a fresh effort should be made to capture the Polderhoek Spur.
On the night of the 14th-15th November 1917 the New Zealand Division had relieved the 21st Division in its holding of the line from the Reutelbeek in the south to Noordemdhoek in the north, the Otago Regiment, now as part of the 2nd Brigade, being then in Divisional reserve at Chateau Segard. On the night of the 25th-26th November, as previously indicated, the Division entered into possession of the sector immediately to the right, the 2nd Battalion of Canterbury occupying the front line.
It was during these preparations that Corporal Thomas Dunlop, 32 years of age, was killed in action near Cameron Covert where he was buried immediately by his mates.
Later his body was exhumed and reburied at Buttes New British Cemetery, Special Memorial IX, row AA, grave 13.
The former cheesemaker lived in the town of Gore, New Zealand with his wife and three children.
In November 1917, just beyond the New Zealand Divisional boundary a well-marked spur ran eastward like a finger from the edge of the general plateau down to the flats. On the north its sides drained into the Reutelbeek and on the south to the corresponding valley of the Scherriabeek.
The British line had been arrested at the edge of the plateau, and the spur remained in German possession. From it the enemy not only enfiladed the forward trenches about Cameron Covert and Reutel, but fully commanded and incessantly harasses the whole of the British approaches to this sector of the front. On it were perched the piled ruins of Polderhoek Chateau and groups of pillboxes which occupied sites of the attached buildings amid the shattered trees of the once luxuriant and beautiful pleasances. The Ypres Battle had seen 3 assaults delivered on the spur, and the Chateau had been temporarily won, but only to be lost again to German counter-attacks.
For the satisfactory occupation of the Division’s sector, it was highly desirable that a fresh effort should be made to capture the Polderhoek Spur.
On the night of the 14th-15th November 1917 the New Zealand Division had relieved the 21st Division in its holding of the line from the Reutelbeek in the south to Noordemdhoek in the north, the Otago Regiment, now as part of the 2nd Brigade, being then in Divisional reserve at Chateau Segard. On the night of the 25th-26th November, as previously indicated, the Division entered into possession of the sector immediately to the right, the 2nd Battalion of Canterbury occupying the front line.
It was during these preparations that Corporal Thomas Dunlop, 32 years of age, was killed in action near Cameron Covert where he was buried immediately by his mates.
Later his body was exhumed and reburied at Buttes New British Cemetery, Special Memorial IX, row AA, grave 13.
Sources 3
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Byrne A.E., Official History of the Otago Regiment, NZEF in the Great War 1914-1918, 2nd Edition, (Uckfield, The Naval & Military Press Ltd Unit, 2003), p 230-232. Sources used |
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Stewart H., The New Zealand Division 1916 - 1919, (London, Authority of the New Zealand Government, Intype London Ltd, 1920),p304 - 306. Sources used |
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Stewart H., The New Zealand Division 1916 - 1919, (London, Authority of the New Zealand Government, Intype London Ltd., 1920), p310, map23. Sources used |
More information 5
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/480199 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=8a504e4f-4fb8-46d1-84a8-a74f2672c133 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7173937 |
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The NZEF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://nzef.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=71900 |
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Online Cenotaph (Auckland Museum) https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/c4278 |