Thomas Joseph QUIGLEY

Year of Birth:  1891

Place of Birth:  Freshwater, Cairns, Queensland

Date of Enlistment:  19 May 1916

Date and Place of Embarkation:  5 June 1916, Sydney, New South Wales

Ship:  HMAT Borda A30

Rank:  Private

Unit(s):  11th Australian Machine Gun Company

Regimental Number:  122

Died:  27 January 1917

Thomas Joseph Quigley was born 30 August 1891, the second of 8 children born to Daniel Quigley and Honorah (Hannah) Quigley nee Herilihy. Daniel & Hannah were married in 1888. Their first child, Andrew John was born in 1889, followed by Thomas Joseph, then Sarah Louisa (1893), Margaret Lena (1896), Daniel Edmund (1899), Albert James (1903), Michael George (1905) and Henry Grattan (1909). Daniel Quigley died in 1931 and Honorah died in 1947.  Both are buried in the Martyn Street Cemetery, Cairns.

Daniel Quigley was in partnership with George Moody, whose son, George Henry Moody also died in France on 9 June 1917. Quigley & Moody were proprietors of a livery stable in Lake Street Cairns. Daniel’s son, Thomas Joseph, known as Joseph, was apprenticed as a butcher to Cairns Butcher Co. According to the 1915 Electoral Roll the family were living at Sachs Street (now Grafton St), Cairns.

Quigley Street Parramatta Park – Bungalow – this street is in the area of Dan Quigley’s paddock, where Moody and Quigley used to paddock and pasture their horses around 1905.

On his enlistment in Enoggera, he was 24 years of age, occupation a Butcher and next of kin his mother Mrs. H Quigley, Sachs Street, Cairns. His height was 5 feet 6 inches, weighed 9 stone 6 pounds, with a dark complexion, brown eyes and  dark/grey hair. He was Roman Catholic.

Thomas embarked from Sydney NSW on 5 June 1916 on the HMAT Borda A30 via Alexandria, Egypt to Southampton, England and arrived in France 23 November 1916. He was admitted to hospital sick a number of times and was killed in action on 27 January 1917 in France.

Thomas Joseph Quigley is buried in the Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery, Armentieres, France.

HMAT Borda A30 - photo courtesy Australian War Memorial
Cairns Post 21 February 1917 p4
Cairns Post 28 January 1918 p4

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