Places | |
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Accession Number | AWM2020.1.1.240 |
Collection type | Film |
Object type | Last Post film |
Physical description | 16:9 |
Maker |
Australian War Memorial |
Place made | Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Campbell |
Date made | 27 August 2020 |
Access | Open |
Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial![]() |
Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX4560) Private Thomas William Sherrin, 2/3rd Battalion, Second World War.
The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (NX4560) Private Thomas William Sherrin, 2/3rd Battalion, Second World War.
Film order formNX4560 Private Thomas William Sherrin, 2/3rd Battalion
KIA 3 January 1941
Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Thomas William Sherrin.
Thomas Sherrin was born on 22 January 1908, the son of Thomas and Sarah Sherrin of Richmond, Surrey, in England. Thomas’s early years were spent in England, where his father worked as a taxidermist on the staff of the South Kensington Museum of Natural History.
In 1922 the family came to Australia, and by the following year had established a boot shop in Berrima. Within the year, however, the shop was destroyed in a fire. Because their insurance was inadequate, the family moved to Tumut where Thomas, his father and his brother Robert formed a mining syndicate, establishing an alluvial claim at Argalong that they worked with experimental mechanised methods.
Thomas and Robert enlisted in the second Australian Imperial Force in November 1939. By this time they had left the mining venture, and Thomas was living in Bowral. He was posted to the 2/3rd Battalion, and left Australia for active service overseas with the first contingent.
The 2/3rd Battalion arrived in Egypt on 14 February 1940, and continued training in the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. It was nearly a year before the battalion became engaged in its first campaign, when it swung into action against the Italian advance in eastern Libya.
On 3 January 1941 the 2/3rd Battalion was part of the force that attacked the Italian fortress of Bardia. Assisted by air support and naval gunfire, and with a heavy artillery barrage, the infantry captured all of their objectives in a little over two days, together with some 8,000 prisoners of war.
During the battle, Private Thomas Sherrin was driving a Bren gun carrier – a light armoured, tracked vehicle used for everything from reconnaissance and anti-aircraft duties to simple battlefield transport. On the first day of the attack, he was killed in action.
Sherrin’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lamb, later wrote to Sherrin’s parents to tell them what had happened. He reported that Sherrin “had been going all day in the attack and had collected many prisoners. It was late in the afternoon and the attack for the day had just about finished. Your son returned to Battalion Headquarters with his carrier and had stepped out of it when a shell landed near him and he was killed … I wish to convey my sympathy to you, for your son was a good soldier and he did a great job of work and played the game right from the start.”
Thomas Sherrin was buried in the Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery in Libya, where he lies today under the words “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him”. He was 32 years old.
Thomas’s brother Robert also served in north Africa, but was invalided home with a serious heart condition. His father, Thomas senior, also served during the war, enlisting in the Royal Australian Engineers despite being in his mid-60s. He died of illness on active service in the Northern Territory later in 1941.
Thomas Sherrin’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.
This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Thomas William Sherrin, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.
Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section
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Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX4560) Private Thomas William Sherrin, 2/3rd Battalion, Second World War. (video)