Thomas John Richards – Worcestershire Regiment, 11th Battalion

Company Quartermaster Serjeant Thomas John Richards – Worcestershire Regiment, 11^th Battalion

Birth and Early Life

Thomas John Richards was born in 1884 in Swansea. Surviving official records relating to his early life are limited.

Marriage and Residence

At the time of his enlistment, Thomas was residing in Burton, Staffordshire, having married Mabel Winifred Richards, of Field House, Outwoods Street, Burton-on-Trent.

Military Service

Thomas enlisted in the Worcestershire Regiment, serving with the 11^th Battalion. During his service he rose to the rank of Company Quartermaster Serjeant, a senior non-commissioned appointment responsible for the supply, equipment, and administration of his company.

Worcestershire Regiment, 11^th Battalion — Salonika Front, April 1917

In April 1917, the 11^th Battalion was serving with the British Salonika Force on the Macedonian (Salonika) Front, one of the most demanding and least-publicised theatres of the First World War. At this time the battalion was operating in the Doiran sector, an area characterised by rocky hills, exposed ridgelines, and strongly fortified Bulgarian positions.

Although no major offensive was underway on 24^th April 1917, the front remained highly dangerous. The battalion was engaged in trench holding, patrols, working parties, and artillery exchanges, all of which exposed soldiers to shellfire, sniping, and sudden bombardment. Movement along supply routes and communication trenches was particularly hazardous.

Conditions in the Salonika theatre were harsh. In addition to enemy action, troops faced extreme weather, poor living conditions, and widespread disease, including malaria and dysentery. Senior non-commissioned officers such as Company Quartermaster Serjeants were frequently required to supervise supply and labour duties under fire, placing them at constant risk.

It was during this period of routine but deadly front-line service on 24^th April 1917 that Thomas John Richards was killed in action.

Death and Commemoration

Thomas John Richards has no known grave and is commemorated on the Doiran Memorial, which honours those who died during the Salonika campaign and whose burial places are unknown.

His service stands as a reminder of the sacrifices made by British soldiers serving far from home in the difficult and often overlooked Macedonian theatre of the First World War