Ton Gascoigne was the son of the pioneering family who had a large family estate at Putney on the Parramatta River. Joining the Navy in 1912 as Ordinary Seaman, he served on the HMAS Cerberus until he was assigned to the HMAS Sydney in June 1913. He was part of the Australian mission to destroy the radio station Rabaul at the beginning of the war. Promoted to a Able Seaman in October 1914, he was serving as a gunner in the victorious battle with the German light cruiser Emden when he lost a eye. It also ended his navel career but not his sense of humour which show through in this letter to family from Colombo Hospital.
A brief outline of his story was published in the weekly Ryde Remembers column.
Week 22 : 11 March 2015 - The Northern District Times, page 16 - the story of Thomas Gascoigne
Sailor Tom lost an eye in victory over Emden
[if you click on the title -- it should take you to the on-line edition of the newspaper]
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