William Burton Thomas – Worcestershire Regiment, 1/7th Battalion, Territorial Force attached 2/8th Battalion

Lieutenant William Burton Thomas – Worcestershire Regiment, 1/7^th Battalion, Territorial Force attached 2/8^th Battalion

Birth and Family Background

William Burton Thomas was born in 1896 in Swansea, the son of Charles Dibley Thomas and Grace Emily Thomas.

Early Life

Only limited official records relating to William’s civilian life have survived, and little is known of his occupation prior to military service.

Military Service

William served as a Lieutenant with the Worcestershire Regiment, joining the 1/7^th Battalion, Territorial Force. During the later stages of the war he was attached to the 2/8^th Battalion, a common practice as Territorial units were reinforced and reorganised to meet operational demands.

By October 1918, the 2/8^th Battalion was engaged in the final Allied advance following the breach of the Hindenburg Line. Operations around Rieux-en-Cambrésis involved rapid advances, patrols, and consolidation of newly captured ground as German forces fought determined rearguard actions. Although the fighting was more fluid than earlier trench warfare, resistance remained fierce. Machine-gun fire, artillery shelling, and sniping continued to inflict casualties as infantry units cleared villages, secured crossroads, and advanced across exposed ground. As an attached officer, Lieutenant Thomas served alongside the battalion as it pushed eastward under persistent fire.

Death and Burial

William Burton Thomas
Wellington Cemetery, 
Rieux-en-Cambrésis, Nord, France
credit - findagrave

William Burton Thomas was killed in action on 24^th October 1918, during these closing operations. He is buried at Wellington Cemetery, Rieux-en-Cambrésis, Nord, France.

His death underscores the harsh reality that the final weeks of the First World War remained deadly, even as the Armistice drew near