Distinguished Conduct Medal: Private Thomas Arnott, 1st Battalion, AIF

Distinguished Conducted Medal (Geo V). Impressed around edge with recipient's details.

Born in Sydney in July 1894, Thomas Arnott was employed as a pattern maker when he enlisted in the AIF on 18 August 1914. He had already served in the Militia with 29th Infantry (Australian Rifles) for three years. Appointed a private, service number 74, to the 1st Battalion's Machine Gun Section, Arnott embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT A19 Afric on 18 October.

After training in Egypt in late 1914 to early 1915, Arnott and his battalion landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. He twice received minor face wounds during May.

On 30 May Arnott was Number 1 on his machine-gun when its crew were ordered to silence a Turkish machine-gun north of Quinn's Post, which was sweeping the front of the post. The Turkish trenches where it was placed could be seen from the back of Steele's Post so a special gun emplacement was to be built on the southern shoulder of Steele's, to allow one of 1st Battalion's machine-guns to fire across the rear of its own post up Monash Valley against the Turkish gun.

Shortly before the attack was due to start, General Walker, of the 1st Division, who was visiting Steele's noticed that the emplacement for the gun had not been prepared. Sandbags were quickly piled up to form an embrasure and Arnott's machine-gun was mounted a few minutes before the start of the attack at 1pm. Arnott immediately directed the fire of his gun on the Turkish weapon and killed or drove away its crew. A second Turkish gun began firing and while Arnott was shooting at it the first gun came back into action. Although a stream of hostile bullets cut across the cliff face near Arnott and ripped the sandbags on top of the loophole he kept firing until his gun jammed, forcing him to stand up to clear it. As he did so he was hit in the jaw by Turkish bullets, blowing away the teeth on his upper right jaw. His actions succeeded in diverting fire from an enemy gun to himself, rather than to the Australian attacking party at Quinn's.

Arnott was carried to the medical aid-post at Steele's where onlookers described his face as being almost cut in half. General Walker told him before he was evacuated from the post that he would be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The citation for the award reads: 'For conspicuous gallantry on the 30th May, 1915, in the neighbourhood of Gaba Tepe (Dardanelles), whilst serving in a machine-gun section. Although engaged by two hostile machine-guns which demolished the emplacement, Private Arnott served his gun whilst exposed to the enemy's fire until badly wounded. One hostile gun was destroyed.'

Arnott was transported to Egypt to hospital, where he was able to write to his family to assure them that he had not been so badly wounded. He was repatriated to Australia at the end of July, where he was welcomed as 'Balmain's hero', and discharged in January 1916.