Thank you to Patricia Brazier for the following research.
Thomas was born in Dorking in December of 1881. His parents are William John and Mary. William is a Carpenter.
Thomas’s parents married on 13th December 1879 in Dorking. Mary’s maiden name is Aldous. Thomas has one brother, George born in 1880, and a sister Rose born 1892.
In the 1891 census the family are living in Falkland Road in Dorking. William is still working as a carpenter and George and Thomas are at School.
In the 1901 census the family are still living in Falkland Road, George, Thomas’s brother is a Railway Engine Stoker, Thomas is a Carpenter and Rose is still at school.
On 2nd November 1901 Thomas married Amelia Luff in St Paul’s Church in Dorking. They had four children:- George, baptised at the parish church of Holmwood on 15th June 1902, William James, baptised at the parish church of Dorking 23 August 1903, Elsie Rose Mary, baptised at the parish church of Holmwood on 2 July 1906 and Florence Edith, baptised at the parish church of Dorking on 28th July 1907
In the 1911 Census Thomas, Amelia and their four children are living at Post Office Row, Leatherhead Road Chessington. Thomas’s occupation is Estate Carpenter. The Children are all at school.
Thomas died on 10th August 1917. On that day his regiment were involved in an attack on Inverness copse. 10 Officers and 272 other ranks were killed. A long account of the battle can be found on the Queens Royal West Surrey website. Thomas has no known grave and is remembered with honour on the Menin Gate memorial in Ypres. Every night at 8.00pm the last post ceremony takes place as a tribute to the courage and sacrifice of those who fell in the defence of the town of Ypres.
Amelia and the family continued to live in Post Office Row. They were still living there when Thomas and Amelia’s daughter Florence married Mr. Ralph Barnes in October 1932.
| Born | Dorking, Surrey | |
| Lived | Chessington, Surrey | |
| Son of | William John and Mary Smith | |
| Husband of | Amelia Luff | |
| Enlisted | Dorking | |
| Regiment | 7th Battalion, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) | |
| Number | G/37807 | |
| Date of Death | 10th August 1917 | |
| Place of Death | Near Ypres, Belgium | |
| Cause of Death | Killed in Action | |
| Age | 36 | |
| Memorial | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial |
