BALDWIN, Thomas Gordon MID

BALDWIN, Thomas Gordon MID – A Southern Downs Veteran

CONFLICT : WWII
SERVICE NO : QX11165
RANK : Lance Corporal
UNIT : Headquarters Command Australian Service Corp
ENLISTMENT DATE : 18/07/1940
AGE : 24
PLACE OF ENLISTMENT : Warwick, Queensland
PLACE OF BIRTH : Toowoomba, Queensland
RELIGION : Presbyterian
OCCUPATION : Mechanic
DATE OF DEATH : 17/07/2011
PLACE OF BURIAL : Stanthorpe, Queensland

MEMORIALS : Southern Downs Rats of Tobruk Memorial

View Veteran’s Service File : BALDWIN, Thomas Gordon

NOTES :

BALDWIN, Thomas Gordon (Tom) was born on the 7th July 1916. When Tom was four years of age, his family moved to the Stanthorpe region. This was a memory he would never forget, as it was the first time he had ridden in a motor vehicle.

By the outbreak of the Second World War, Tom was working as a mechanic and going steady with Jean Middleton. Jean’s family owned the Cottonvale store across from where Tom lived and her father John (Jock) Morrison Middleton 775 had served in the First World War. The couple became engaged before Tom enlisted on the 18 July 1940. Jean’s brother, Thomas (Tom) Yapp Middleton QX14427 had enlisted in the army the week before Tom Baldwin. It would be another two years before her brother, William (Bill) John Middleton was to enlist in the RAAF.

Tom Baldwin was attached to the 9th Division Ammunition Corp. and served in the Middle East and was one of Australia’s famous Rats of Tobruk before going on to fight in Papua New Guinea and Borneo.

An article titled, Long life for Tobruk Rat goes on to describe one of Tom’s tales.
…Tom was a modest man but he did consider his dugout as one of the flasher ones in Tobruk, being completely lined with cypress pine he had acquired from around the place. He was ‘dugout proud’ and was offended one day when a real rat decided to take up residence. A quick shot with his revolver put an end to the sharing arrangement …

Tom and Jean were married in early 1944 after Tom returned from service in Papua New Guinea and before he left for service in Borneo. On 22nd October 1945 Tom was discharged from the army having well and truly undertaken his service for his country.

In 1947, Thomas Gordon Baldwin became the recipient of the ‘Mentioned in Dispatches’ (MID) award for the bravery and ingenuity he displayed in the field. Receiving the award was a very significant day in Tom’s life.

Tom and Jean settled down on a farm they purchased in Cottonvale. They raise their family of two girls and a son here. Tom was a hard worker and ran his orchard, petrol depot and agricultural chemical agency there for many years. Family and friends were always warmly welcomed to the couple’s home.

Later in life, after his retirement, Tom decided to delve into goat herding. This was much easier than the hard work he had undertaken earlier and suited his semi-retirement, while still giving him an interest in the land.

Life took another turn when Tom lost his beloved Jean in 1991 and then his daughter Jenny in 2006. Throughout his life, Tom remained patience, kind and thoughtful until his own passing in 2011.

He was a well known and respected member of the community. Many of us who grew up with Tom and his family, remember Tom with great fondness and miss his amazing strength of character and his words of wisdom and encouragement.

Read about Southern Downs Military History here.