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The Life of Thomas
Joseph Dalton (OR1911)
Thomas Joseph Dalton was born on 10
September 1893, one of six children of
Thomas Garrett and Mary Helene (nee
Condon) Dalton from Orange. Thomas
attended Riverview from 1906 until 1911,
along with his brothers James (1902-1908),
Gerald (1902-09) and William (1908-13).
When Thomas was two years old, his mother
passed away and in 1897, Thomas’ father
married Mary Butler and had two further
children, including a son, Walter. Thomas’
father died in 1911 while Thomas and his
younger brother, William were at Riverview.
When Walter arrived at the College in the
same year, it was noted in Our Alma Mater,
that there were members of the Dalton family
in all three boarding divisions.
While at Riverview, Thomas was a keen
sportsman. He was the stroke of the winning
crew which won the Yaralla Cup in 1911 and a
member of the 1st XV.
When Britain declared war on Germany on
4 August 1914, Australia quickly pledged
its support. Thomas was among the first
in Orange to make the commitment to
volunteer, and less than two weeks after
volunteer recruiting began in Australia, he
enlisted in the 1st Light Horse Regiment.
After celebrating his 21st birthday with his
sister in Sydney, he and his horse, Ginger,
departed for Egypt.
In May 1915, the 1st Light Horse Brigade
joined the Mediterranean Expeditionary
Forces and proceeded to Gallipoli, landing
on 11th May. The 1st Light Horsemen went to
Gallipoli without their horses and were used
as infantry in the trenches, as were other light
horsemen who arrived later. Thomas’ brother,
James, was also serving in Gallipoli and they
made a pact to meet at the Shepheards Hotel,
Cairo, for a celebratory dinner if they both
survived. This dinner was not to happen.
However, in a letter dated 26th August,
Thomas wrote about meeting his brother in
Gallipoli: “Jim is over here with the 7th Light
Horse. I went round and saw him one day.
He is on the right flank and looks very well. I
nearly stopped a couple of shells in paying my
visit. It is a rotten place, as the shells seem to
come from all directions…”
Thomas remained at Gallipoli until the last
night of evacuation on 20 December 1915.
Another Anzac, Company Quartermaster
Sergeant Albert Guppy of the14th Battalion,
wrote the following verse in his diary while he
waited to be evacuated, his words seeming to
speak for all those leaving:
“Not only muffled is our tread
To cheat the foe,
We fear to rouse our honoured dead
To hear us go.
Sleep sound, old friends - the keenest smart
Which, more than failure, wounds the heart,
Is thus to leave you - thus to part,
Comrades, farewell!”
After Gallipoli, Thomas transferred to the
artillery and joined the Western Front Force
in France as part of the 113 Howitzer Battery.
He was promoted to Corporal, but later, at his
own request, reverted to a Gunner.
When the war ended, Thomas returned to
Sydney and was discharged on 3 February
1919. A few months earlier, word had been
received that his brother James had died of
pneumonia in Chanak Hospital, Turkey.
Thomas returned to Orange where he
married Doris Morrissey in 1926 and devoted
himself to his family and the family business,
Dalton Brothers.
On 20 December, 1979, Thomas Joseph
Dalton died at Orange, NSW. He was well-
respected in the community and known for
being exceptionally good to children. Today,
he is still remembered as a faithful Australian
serviceman and wonderful father.
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