Other Information:Thomas had served as 5978, Pte in the Essex Regiment during the Second Boer War, he was promoted to Cpl in 1908 and left the Essex Regiment as a Sjt around 1911. [Information provided by family (see below)]. He enlisted into the RAMC on the 8th August 1914 and joined Aldershot on the 9th. He was a Coal Miner by trade and was 32 years and 3 months old. He entered the war in France on the 17th August 1914 and served there as a General Duty Orderly until the 30th November 1915, when he was transferred to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. Thomas appears to have contracted malaria and was sent home permanently - disability caused or aggravated by military service, on the 27th September 1916. He was transferred to Class P, Army Reserve on the 6th January 1917, and awarded the Silver War Badge and a pension by the Commissioners of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea on the 6th March. He was discharged from the army 'no longer fit for war service'. Thomas lived at 49 Bowlby Street, Durham. He was the husband of Louise Jane, they had two daughters - Lily Louise and Winifred. [Information source: Thomas's service record]
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