Matthew McGrath shares the story of his great uncle, Thomas Francis Denham.

Thomas Francis Denham, was born in Meredith, Victoria in 1895 and enlisted in the AIF at 19 years old in 1915. He was one of six children to Lillian and Robert. At the time war was declared, the family lived in North Geelong. Tom left Australia on 23 November 1915 on board the Ceramic with the 13th Light Horse Regiment.

After training in Egypt he was transferred to the 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column and embarked to France to serve on the Western Front. During his service he kept correspondence with his older sister, Mary, who lived in Geelong. On 20 October 1917, Tom was killed in action by a shell explosion while driving ammunition mules to the front lines between Ypres and Passchendaele, Belgium. He was buried at Reninghelst Military Cemetary in Belgium. He is honoured at the Peace Memorial in Johnstone Park, Geelong.

Tom Denham is my great uncle, and I recently had the great privilege to rediscover the original letters that he wrote his sister Mary (my great grandmother) from the front line. Mary had kept them preserved in a notebook together with newspaper obituary clippings and photos that were a heartbreaking testament to her little brother. Like so many others, Tom had grown into manhood during overseas service never to return, and kept the details of his letters free from the endurances and horrors that he witnessed to spare his sister the worry. After reading these letters of nearly 100 years ago, I have taken an interest in learning more about Australia’s first war. I am proud to know that our Anzacs showed the world their spirit as a new nation in commitment to battle, to support their mates, and that they fought bravely and fairly. It is testament to their action that certain villages in France and Belgium still honour the Australian battalions who defended their homeland so fiercely. Such was the reputation of the Anzacs, that during evacuation of their villages in the face of German attack, French refugees turned around when they saw Anzac reinforcements coming toward them. “The Australians are here, it is alright to turn back!”