Thomas Cumberlidge is interesting not only because he was the first of the Privates to be enlisted into the NSW Corps by Major Francis Grose in London on 6 June 1789. This was only the day after Grose, and his officers Nepean, McArthur and Foveaux were themselves commissioned into the Corps, but also because an extraordinary amount of information has somehow survived on him, giving an insight into his life. If the 1826 pension record at the end of this account is the correct man, then Thomas Cumberlidge was born c.1765 and had military service of some six years prior to enlisting into the NSW Corps
He was embarked aboard HMS Gorgon at Portsmouth with the Establishment of NSW Corps on 25 Jan 1790. The Corps were intended to be embarked to NSW aboard Gorgon but due to a variety of problems including outbreak of illness and ongoing desertions she remained at Portsmouth until Mar 1791 with the Corps subsisted aboard ship
Cumberlidge was discharged from the ship on 14th July 1790 (where he had been mistakenly recorded as John Cumberlidge)
He was turned over to the 29th Regiment along with ten other men who had been determined unfit for service in the colony in July 1790.
Normally this would be the end of the line in terms of service in NSW, however two men are known to have somehow returned from the 29th to the NSW Corps, with Cumberlidge being one of these, John Atkins was the other
After getting transferred back the the NSW Corps Thomas Cumberlidge next appears in a detachment of men under subsistance at Portsmouth awaiting transfer to NSW on 14 Nov 1791
Cumberlidge was one of the guard of 19 Privates aboard Royal Admiral under Serj’t Thomas Whittle, that arrived at Port Jackson 8 Oct 1792
Thomas was involved in a serious incident aboard ship when he was found asleep on Sentry Duty on 28 Jun 1792. He was very fortunate to avoid serious consquences
Having arrived in NSW he was tranferred with a detachment for duty on Norfolk Island aboard Kitty in Feb 1793. After an uneventful term of duty he was returned to Port Jackson in Nov 1794 aboard the colonal vessel Daedalus
Thomas Cumberlidge along with John Carr, Charles Freeman, Wm Neale, John Hubbard & Wm Meadum were granted 25 acres each at York Place 5th Sep 1795. This was likely sold soon after to an officer, as was the pattern at the time
Thomas Cumberlidge was discharged from Captain McArthur’s Company of NSW Corps in Sydney 20 Jan 1797
After a period of a little over two years he appears as a Vagrant on a list of Rogues, Vagabonds, idle and disorderly persons in Sydney 13 Jul 1799.
Along with Francis Burk, a convict who arrived aboard Boddingtons in 1793, Cumberledge
was convicted to work in the Gaol Gang. They were discharged on the surety of William Roberts £20 each on 7 Dec 1799 for 12 months service
In Mar 2025, colonial maratime researcher Chris Maxworthy determined that Cumberledge was able to spirit his way out of the colony in Jun 1801 as one of 19 stowaways aboard Fortune (Capt Sinclair Halcrow) and in the most suprising occurance, he next appears as one of 13 deserters captured off the Coast of Chile having escaped from the above ship now identified as Spanish privateer ‘La Fortuna’ 12 Dec 1802. He was held at Talcahuano then sent to Lima, Peru. He was likely then transferred to Port Royal in Jamaica.
We may next see Thomas Cumberlidge, aged 56 with 14yrs 5mnths accumulated service, recorded as a Pensioner from March 1819 and now a Candidate for admission to Greenwich Hospital 6 Jan 1826
Obscure, Eccentric and Missing Lists from the Colony of New South Wales 1783~1823 