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HAGAN, Thomas Percival
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(Lieut) Thomas Percival Hagan
Lieutenant Thomas Percival Hagan, a Soldier from Woolnough Road, Exeter, South Australia , prior to enlistment 8th August 1914, he embarked with the 32nd Battalion, B Company from Adelaide, South Australia, on board HMAT A2 Geelong on 18 November 1915.
| Religion | Church of England |
| Occupation | Soldier |
| Address | Woolnough Road, Exeter, South Australia |
| Marital status | Single |
| Age at embarkation | 20 |
| Next of kin | Mother, Mrs E A Hagan, Woolnough Road, Exeter, South Australia |
| Previous military service | Served for 4 years in the Senior Cadets; 3.25 years in the Citizen Military Forces. |
| Enlistment date | 8-Aug-14 |
| Rank on enlistment | Lieutenant |
| Unit name | 32nd Battalion, B Company |
| AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/49/1 |
| Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board HMAT A2 Geelong on 18 November 1915 |
| The 32nd Bn (Headquarters, Signallers, A, B, C, and D Companies) embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on two ships, HMAT A2 'Geelong', on 18 November 1915, and HMAT A13 'Katuna', on 24 November 1915. The Embarkation Roll does not distinguish between these ships, and it is therefore not possible from the Embarkation Roll to ascertain on which ship an individual embarked. | |
| Rank from Nominal Roll | Lieutenant |
| Unit from Nominal Roll | 32nd Battalion |
| Fate | Killed in Action 19 July 1916 |
| Place of death or wounding | France |
| Age at death from cemetery records | 22 |
| Place of burial | No known grave |
| Commemoration details | V.C. Corner (Panel No 4), Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France |
| Panel number, Roll of Honour, | |
| Australian War Memorial | 120 |
| Miscellaneous information from | |
| cemetery records | Parents: Thomas and Edith HAGAN, Mead Street, Peterhead, South Australia. Native of Semaphore |
| Other details | |
| War service: Egypt, Western Front | |
| Embarked Adelaide on board HMAT 'Geelong', 18 November 1915; disembarked Suez, 18 December 1915. | |
| Promoted to Lieutenant, Tel el Kebir, 21 March 1916. | |
| Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 17 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 23 June 1916. | |
| Posted missing, 20 July 1916. | |
| Reported 'Killed in action, 19 July 1917', 21 July 1916. | |
| Note on Red Cross File No 1240201: 'No trace Germany. Cert. by Capt. Mills, 10.10.19.' | |
| Statement, Lt C.B. THOMAS, 32nd Bn, 4 August 1916: 'I knew Lt Hagan, he was in B Coy and I saw him fall on the morning of July 20th at Fleur Baix. We had just made an extensive attack and I saw him as we were returning between the 2nd and 1st line of German trenches. He was hit by a machine gun and by the way he fell I think it must have struck his heart as his legs absolutely collapsed and he fell with his head right between his feet. I had to stoop down to make sure who it was. One of his men went over to see if he was alive but did not stop as we were so hotly engaged. I am practically certain that he was killed.' | |
| Second statement, 1577 Pte T.J. THOMAS, 32nd Bn (patient, 1st Australian Auxiliatry Hospital, Harefield), 12 August 1916: 'Informant saw Hagan in third line of German trenches - he was reported wounded that night, 19th July 1916.' | |
| Third statement, 472 Pte J.F. DAVIS, 32nd Bn, 24 August 1916: 'I saw him lying in No Man's Land, S. of Armentieres, on 290.7.16. I passed right by him and am quite sure that he was dead. He was hit in the left side of the head. This was as we retired and the Germans advanced right up to our lines.' | |
| Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal | |
| Sources | NAA: B2455, HAGAN Thomas Percival |
| Red Cross File No 1240201 | |
Collection Photograph
Object type Black & white - Digital print
Photographer Unknown
Date made c 1915Description
Portrait of Second Lieutenant Thomas Percival Hagan, 32nd Battalion. A soldier from Exeter, South Australia, prior to enlistment, he embarked from Adelaide aboard HMAT Geelong on 18 November 1915 for Suez. He was promoted to Lieutenant (Lt) on 21 March 1916. His battalion relocated to the Western Front, France, during June 1916. Lt Hagan was reported missing in action on 20 July 1916 after the Battle of Fromelles. Subsequently, he was determined to have been killed in action on that date. He was aged 22 years. Lt Hagan has no known grave and is commemorated on the VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, France.
Three officers of the 32nd Battalion
DESCRIPTION Three officers of the 32nd Battalion. Left to right: Lieutenant Hagan [?]; Colonel Coghill; Major Hughes. These officers trained the volunteers of 32nd Battalion, camped at Cheltenham Racecourse and their first major action was at the now famous Battle of Fromelles in July 1916, where they suffered great casualties. Some men from Coghill's original squad are among those recently identified from mass graves, such as Private Walter Hainsworth Pretty of Kilkenny. Coghill was the first Headmaster of Woodville High School and also taught at Adelaide and Unley High Schools. According to a researcher, the officer on the left is probably Lt. Percy Hagan of Woolnough Road, Semaphore. His exact resting place has not been found after being lost at Fromelles.
DATE 1915
Honours
Lieutenant Hagan was later awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal Trio which were sent to His Parents by Base Records Melbourne in about 1920.
The 1914-15 Star rewarded operational service within a theatre of war between the commencement of hostilities on 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915. Almost 2.3 million Stars were awarded throughout the Commonwealth, of which 82,000 were awarded to Australians serving in an Australian unit.
The British War Medal 1914-1920 was awarded to members of British and Imperial forces for service between the outbreak of hostilities on 5 August 1914 and the Armistice on 11 November 1918, although eligibility was extended to include service in various theatres up to 1920. There were 338,000 medals in silver awarded to Australians.
The Victory Medal 1914-1919 was awarded to members of British and Imperial forces for operational service only, between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918, although eligibility was extended to include service in various theatres during 1919. There were 336,000 medals in silver awarded to Australians.
Overseas Commemoration
At VC Corner there are no headstones. Under two large concrete crosses set flat on the ground, to the left and right near the cemetery entrance, are the remains of more than 400 Australians who were killed in action or died of wounds. They died all around here. The cemetery is in the middle of the old no-man’s-land between the Australian and German trenches of 19 July 1916.
Beyond the cemetery is a memorial wall commemorating by name 1,299 Australians who died in the Battle of Fromelles and who have no known grave.
Together, the wall and the cemetery mark the location of perhaps the greatest disaster to befall the AIF on the Western Front in World War I.
Lieutenant Thomas Percival Hagan is commemorated at V.C. Corner (Panel No 4), Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France
National Commemoration
Australian War Memorial Canberra - At the heart of the Memorial building is the Roll of Honour: a long series of bronze panels recording the names of over 102,000 members of the Australian armed forces who have died during or as a result of war service, warlike service, non-warlike service and certain peacetime operations.
Location on the Roll of Honour - Lieutenant Thomas Percival Hagan's name is located at panel 120 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial (as indicated by the poppy on the plan).
State Commemoration
South Australia National War Memorial on North Terrace "TO THOSE WHO NOBLY STRIVING NOBLY FELL THAT WE MIGHT LIVE"
Lieutenant Thomas Percival Hagan’s name is commemorated on the large honour rolls lining the walls of the crypt inside the South Australia National War Memorial on North Terrace, which was unveiled by the State Governor on Anzac Day 1931. Inside the crypt, bronze panels contain the names of the 5,511 South Australians who fell in the war.
Local Commemoration
The Semaphore War Memorial was dedicated in 1925 to honour all of those from the district who fought in the war, such as Lieutenant Thomas Percival Hagan.
The Semaphore War Memorial on the Esplanade was dedicated in 1925 to honour all of those from the district who fought in the war. A temporary ‘Memorial Arch’ of wood and iron was first erected at the entrance to the Semaphore Jetty bearing the banner title, ‘For King & Empire’. On 27 April 1924, four foundation stones for the new memorial were laid at the approach to the jetty – one on behalf of the citizens of Port Adelaide district, one for the RSSILA, one on behalf of the parents of the fallen men, and one on behalf of the widows and orphans.
No doubt Lieutenant Thomas Percival Hagan's Mother Edith and Father Thomas would have attended the laying of these foundation stones in 1924 – with its immediate relevance to her. The stone for the parents of those who fell, such as Lieutenant Thomas Percival Hagan was laid by Mrs Magnus Wald. The late Magnus Wald had been owner of Glanville Hall, proprietor of the South Australian Stevedoring Company and member for Scarborough Ward 1898-00.
This foundation stone for the Semaphore War Memorial was laid at the approach to the jetty on 27 April 1924 by Mrs Magnus Wald on behalf the parents of those who fell. For Mrs Edith Hagan, this memorial honoured her son Harold who died from Malignant malaria 16 October 1918.
They were also most likely among the several thousand people who attended the actual unveiling of the Semaphore War Memorial the following year.
The following year, a granite obelisk was erected on the foundation stones, with an electric ‘turret type’ clock and topped by a marble Angel of Peace with wings outspread. The local newspaper noted, “all the names of those who enlisted from the district or who made the supreme sacrifice cannot be placed on the monument” so it instead bears a simple commemorative plaque.
Semaphore & Port Adelaide RSL
For the 2015 commemoration of the Anzac Centenary, the Semaphore & Port Adelaide RSL has created a virtual Honour Board listing the names of over 2,000 local men who volunteered to serve in World War 1. Among them are counted Lieutenant Thomas Percival Hagan from Semaphore who served in the AIF 32nd Battalion in France.
