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Thomas Price (soldier)

2021-08-30T09:05:40Z

84.108.186.196: robot: Create/upgrade articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

{{EngvarB|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Thomas Price
|image=
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1842|10|21|df=yes}}
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1911|07|03|1842|10|21|df=yes}}
|birth_place= [[Hobart]], Tasmania
|death_place= [[Warrnambool]], Victoria
|placeofburial= [[Melbourne General Cemetery]]
|nickname=
|allegiance= [[United Kingdom]]
|branch= [[British Indian Army]] [[Colonial forces of Australia|Victoria Military Force]]
|serviceyears= 1861–1883 1885–1904
|rank= [[Colonel]]
|servicenumber=
|unit=
|commands= [[Victorian Mounted Rifles]] Victorian Rangers
|battles= [[Second Boer War]]
|awards= [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] [[Mentioned in Despatches]]
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}

'''Thomas Caradoc Rose Price''' [[Order of the Bath|CB]] (21 October 1842 – 3 July 1911), often known as '''Colonel Tom Price''', was an Australian soldier, and acting commandant of the Commonwealth Military Forces in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] in 1902. Joining the [[British Indian Army]] in his early years, he served 20 years in India before returning to Australia. In 1885, he raised the [[Victorian Mounted Rifles]], and was instrumental in establishing the concept of light horse units within the Australian Army. In 1900, he led a Victorian contingent during the [[Second Boer War]], and was the only Australian officer during that war to command a force of British regulars. He remained in the Australian military after the war, serving in Queensland until 1904 when he was medically discharged. He retired to Victoria again and died in 1911 at the age of 68.

==Early life==
Price was born in [[Hobart, Tasmania]], on 21 October 1842.<ref name=Dennis>Dennis et al 1995, p. 472.</ref> He was the fourth son of [[John Price (penal administrator)|John Price]], a police magistrate and convict superintendent, who was the fourth son of [[Cornish Australian]]<ref>Rowse, A.L. ''The Cousin Jacks, The Cornish in America''</ref> Sir Rose Price, 1st Baronet of the [[Price Baronets]].<ref name=Searle>Searle 1949.</ref> He received some basic education in Hobart and from 1854 was educated at [[Scotch College, Melbourne]]. In December 1859, he entered the [[Addiscombe Military Seminary|East India Military College]], in [[Addiscombe]], England, and was commissioned in 1861 into the [[Madras Infantry]].<ref name=Coulthard>Coulthard-Clark 1988, pp. 289–290.</ref>

==Military career==
Price undertook twenty years of service in India with several different regiments,<ref name=Coulthard/> during which time he was also seconded as a police superintendent.<ref name=Dennis/> He retired from the army in 1883 with the rank of [[lieutenant colonel]] and returned to Australia, securing a plot of farm land around [[Heidelberg, Victoria]]. In 1885, he was appointed to the Victorian Military Forces, taking up a commission as an officer in its small permanent force. He subsequently formed the [[Victorian Mounted Rifles]], an early light horse unit that helped establish the concept within the Australian military, which was raised from volunteers recruited from men based in rural Victoria. In establishing his new unit, Price obtained permission to dress them in khaki, instead of the red or blue uniforms that had been common at the time.<ref name=Dennis/> He also instituted the [[slouch hat]] as an item of their uniform, which subsequently became a defining icon of the modern [[Australian Army]].<ref name=AWM>{{cite web |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/slouch/army/ |title=The Slouch Hat: Trademark of the Australian Army |author=Aitken, Peter |publisher=Australian War Memorial |accessdate=23 August 2022}}</ref> In 1888, he briefly took command of the Victorian Rangers, commanding them until 1889.<ref name=Dennis/> During a civil disturbance in Melbourne in 1890 when maritime workers went on strike, Price's unit was called out to aid civilian police. The orders that he gave to his men to fire on the strikers if necessary later led to him being criticised by Premier [[Duncan Gillies]] and appearing before a court of inquiry. In the end, his actions were upheld and ultimately the strike was resolved peacefully.<ref name=Dennis/>

[[File:Frank Dadd - Company of the Victorian Mounted Rifles on manoeuvres in Victoria in 1889.jpg|thumb|right|A Company of the Victorian Mounted Rifles on manoeuvres in Victoria in 1889.]]

In 1900, Price saw action in [[South Africa]] in the [[Second Boer War]] in command of the second Victorian contingent and was [[mentioned in despatches]]. He also commanded a force that included British regulars during the conflict, the only Australian commander to do so during the war. After his return from South Africa, he was briefly assigned the position of State commandant of the Victorian forces. This was the second highest position available to an officer at the time in Australia. He held the position between March and July 1902, before relinquishing the position to assume the same role in [[Queensland]]. He served there until he retired, medically unfit, in August 1904.<ref name=Dennis/>

==Later life==
Following his discharge, Price retired to [[Warrnambool, Victoria]], his health having been affected by his services in India and South Africa. He lived there until his death on 3 July 1911. He was buried with military honours in the [[Melbourne General Cemetery]]. He married twice, firstly in 1874 to Mary, daughter of Thomas Baillie, who died in 1899, and secondly in 1902 to Emeline Shadforth, daughter of the [[Robert Dyce Reid|Robert Reid]]. Emeline survived him with three sons; Price's daughter from his first marriage also survived him.<ref name=Coulthard/> He was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] in 1900.<ref name=Dennis/> One of his sons died on active service with the Royal Navy during World War I, while another reached the rank of brigadier in the British Army.<ref name=Coulthard/><ref name=Searle/>

==References==
;Citations
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
*Coulthard-Clark, C. D. "[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110297b.htm Price, Thomas Caradoc Rose (1842–1911)]", ''[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]'', Volume 11, [[Melbourne University Press|MUP]], 1988, pp. 289–290
* {{cite book |last1=Dennis |first1=Peter |last2=Grey |first2=Jeffrey |authorlink2=Jeffrey Grey |last3=Morris |first3=Ewan |last4=Prior |first4=Robin |last5=Connor |first5=John |title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Melbourne, Victoria |year=1995 |isbn=0-19-553227-9 }}
* {{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Thomas Caradoc Rose|Last=Price|shortlink=0-dict-biogP-Q.html#price2}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Thomas}}
[[Category:1842 births]]
[[Category:1911 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Addiscombe Military Seminary]]
[[Category:Australian Army officers]]
[[Category:Australian military personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:Australian people of Cornish descent]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]

Thomas Price (soldier)

2017-08-30T09:05:40Z

84.108.186.196: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Thomas Price
|image=
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1842|10|21|df=yes}}
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1911|07|03|1842|10|21|df=yes}}
|birth_place= [[Hobart]], Tasmania
|death_place= [[Warrnambool]], Victoria
|placeofburial= [[Melbourne General Cemetery]]
|nickname=
|allegiance= [[United Kingdom]]
|branch= [[British Indian Army]] [[Colonial forces of Australia|Victoria Military Force]]
|serviceyears= 1861–1883 1885–1904
|rank= [[Colonel]]
|servicenumber=
|unit=
|commands= [[Victorian Mounted Rifles]] Victorian Rangers
|battles= [[Second Boer War]]
|awards= [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] [[Mentioned in Despatches]]
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}

'''Thomas Caradoc Rose Price''' [[Order of the Bath|CB]] (21 October 1842 – 3 July 1911), often known as '''Colonel Tom Price''', was an Australian soldier, and acting commandant of the Commonwealth Military Forces in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] in 1902. Joining the [[British Indian Army]] in his early years, he served 20 years in India before returning to Australia. In 1885, he raised the [[Victorian Mounted Rifles]], and was instrumental in establishing the concept of light horse units within the Australian Army. In 1900, he led a Victorian contingent during the [[Second Boer War]], and was the only Australian officer during that war to command a force of British regulars. He remained in the Australian military after the war, serving in Queensland until 1904 when he was medically discharged. He retired to Victoria again and died in 1911 at the age of 68.

==Early life==
Price was born in [[Hobart, Tasmania]], on 21 October 1842.<ref name=Dennis>Dennis et al 1995, p. 472.</ref> He was the fourth son of [[John Price (penal administrator)|John Price]], a police magistrate and convict superintendent, who was the fourth son of [[Cornish Australian]]<ref>Rowse, A.L. ''The Cousin Jacks, The Cornish in America''</ref> Sir Rose Price, 1st Baronet of the [[Price Baronets]].<ref name=Searle>Searle 1949.</ref> He received some basic education in Hobart and from 1854 was educated at [[Scotch College, Melbourne]]. In December 1859, he entered the [[Addiscombe Military Seminary|East India Military College]], in [[Addiscombe]], England, and was commissioned in 1861 into the [[Madras Infantry]].<ref name=Coulthard>Coulthard-Clark 1988, pp. 289–290.</ref>

==Military career==
Price undertook twenty years of service in India with several different regiments,<ref name=Coulthard/> during which time he was also seconded as a police superintendent.<ref name=Dennis/> He retired from the army in 1883 with the rank of [[lieutenant colonel]] and returned to Australia, securing a plot of farm land around [[Heidelberg, Victoria]]. In 1885, he was appointed to the Victorian Military Forces, taking up a commission as an officer in its small permanent force. He subsequently formed the [[Victorian Mounted Rifles]], an early light horse unit that helped establish the concept within the Australian military, which was raised from volunteers recruited from men based in rural Victoria. In establishing his new unit, Price obtained permission to dress them in khaki, instead of the red or blue uniforms that had been common at the time.<ref name=Dennis/> He also instituted the [[slouch hat]] as an item of their uniform, which subsequently became a defining icon of the modern [[Australian Army]].<ref name=AWM>{{cite web |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/slouch/army/ |title=The Slouch Hat: Trademark of the Australian Army |author=Aitken, Peter |publisher=Australian War Memorial |accessdate=23 August 2014}}</ref> In 1888, he briefly took command of the Victorian Rangers, commanding them until 1889.<ref name=Dennis/> During a civil disturbance in Melbourne in 1890 when maritime workers went on strike, Price's unit was called out to aid civilian police. The orders that he gave to his men to fire on the strikers if necessary later led to him being criticised by Premier [[Duncan Gillies]] and appearing before a court of inquiry. In the end, his actions were upheld and ultimately the strike was resolved peacefully.<ref name=Dennis/>

[[File:Frank Dadd - Company of the Victorian Mounted Rifles on manoeuvres in Victoria in 1889.jpg|thumb|right|A Company of the Victorian Mounted Rifles on manoeuvres in Victoria in 1889.]]

In 1900, Price saw action in [[South Africa]] in the [[Second Boer War]] in command of the second Victorian contingent and was [[mentioned in despatches]]. He also commanded a force that included British regulars during the conflict, the only Australian commander to do so during the war. After his return from South Africa, he was briefly assigned the position of State commandant of the Victorian forces. This was the second highest position available to an officer at the time in Australia. He held the position between March and July 1902, before relinquishing the position to assume the same role in [[Queensland]]. He served there until he retired, medically unfit, in August 1904.<ref name=Dennis/>

==Later life==
Following his discharge, Price retired to [[Warrnambool, Victoria]], his health having been affected by his services in India and South Africa. He lived there until his death on 3 July 1911. He was buried with military honours in the [[Melbourne General Cemetery]]. He married twice, firstly in 1874 to Mary, daughter of Thomas Baillie, who died in 1899, and secondly in 1902 to Emeline Shadforth, daughter of the [[Robert Dyce Reid|Robert Reid]]. Emeline survived him with three sons; Price's daughter from his first marriage also survived him.<ref name=Coulthard/> He was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] in 1900.<ref name=Dennis/> One of his sons died on active service with the Royal Navy during World War I, while another reached the rank of brigadier in the British Army.<ref name=Coulthard/><ref name=Searle/>

==References==
;Citations
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
*Coulthard-Clark, C. D. "[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110297b.htm Price, Thomas Caradoc Rose (1842–1911)]", ''[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]'', Volume 11, [[Melbourne University Press|MUP]], 1988, pp. 289–290
* {{cite book |last1=Dennis |first1=Peter |last2=Grey |first2=Jeffrey |authorlink2=Jeffrey Grey |last3=Morris |first3=Ewan |last4=Prior |first4=Robin |last5=Connor |first5=John |title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Melbourne, Victoria |year=1995 |isbn=0-19-553227-9 }}
* {{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Thomas Caradoc Rose|Last=Price|shortlink=0-dict-biogP-Q.html#price2}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Thomas}}
[[Category:1842 births]]
[[Category:1911 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Addiscombe Military Seminary]]
[[Category:Australian Army officers]]
[[Category:Australian military personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:Australian people of Cornish descent]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]