Thomas's Story.
Thomas was born in 1897, he was the son of James and Sophia Hilditch of Hartford, Cheshire. The 1901 Census shows James aged 75 and a general labourer his wife Sophia aged 48 and then the children Edgar 13, Annie 9, James 7 and then Thomas 4
By 1911 the family are living in Beech road Hartford, James given age is 83 and Sophia as 55 which given that the census is ten years on doesn’t quite equate but that happened a lot. James and Thomas are living in the family home James now 17 is a general labourer and Thomas now 13 is at school.
Thomas joined the army on the 12th August 1914 just eight days after the war was declared, his given age was 17 years 3 months he was 5ft 6ins and weighed 120lbs, his given trade is a bricklayer’s labourer, after only a short period at home he was sent to France on the 18th December 1914, posted to base command.
On the 10th January 1915 he was taken into hospital with rheumatism he was discharged on the 29th to class B duties, by March 1915 he is employed as a telephone operator in Rouen, on the 11th August 1915 he joined his battalion.
Thomas had numerous tours to the frontline from August 1915 to January 1916 then on the 27th January he was admitted into hospital with shell shock, the war dairy for the day reads; Very fine day, our artillery active all day, Germans did not reply to any great extent it will need to assumed that a shell landed near Thomas causing the shock, he returned to duty on 7th February, for the most of February the battalion was at rest and in billets.
On the day that Thomas fell the war dairy states: A quiet day, only three aerial torpedoes were sent over in the morning, seven wounded 1 killed, Enemy showed a little activity in the evening but were silenced by our artillery.
The one man killed was Thomas.
Thomas is buried in Faubourg D’Amiens Cemetery, Arras. Grave Ref 1.A.18