Thomas John Copp – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M. Drifter Boy Harold

Engineman Thomas John Copp – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M. Drifter Boy Harold

Thomas John Copp

Thomas John Copp was born in 1893 in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, the son of Thomas Copp and Florence Lavis. At the time of their marriage in 1892 at Shepton Mallet, Florence was a widow.

Family Background and Early Life

1901 Census

By the time of the 1901 Census, the Copp family were residing at 23 Pentreguinea Road, Swansea. Thomas Copp (33), born in Devon, was employed as a platelayer for the Harbour Trust, while his Somerset-born wife Florence (35) managed the household. The children recorded were Florence’s daughter from her earlier marriage, Eleanor Hodges (15), and Thomas John (8), George William (6), John Arthur (4), and Leonard Lavis (1).

1911 Census

At the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 15 Bevans Row, Port Tennant, Swansea. Thomas Copp (43) continued his work as a platelayer, and Florence was now 44. Their children were Thomas John (18), employed as a worker fireman; George (16) and John (14), both working; Leonard (11), who remained at school; and Melita Irene (8). Also residing in the household was Thomas’s brother, Henry Copp (56).

Naval Service and Death

Thomas John Copp later enlisted in the Royal Naval Reserve, serving as an Engineman aboard H.M. Drifter Boy Harold. His duties included the operation and maintenance of the vessel’s engines, a vital role aboard auxiliary patrol and minesweeping vessels operating in hazardous wartime waters.

On 3^rd March 1916, H.M. Drifter Boy Harold was sunk by a mine laid by the German submarine UC-12, while operating off Brindisi. The explosion caused the loss of the vessel, and seven members of the crew were killed, including Thomas John Copp.

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Thomas John Copp
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth
credit - findagrave

The British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records confirm his death on that date. With no known grave, Thomas John Copp is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which honours members of the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Reserve who lost their lives at sea during the First World War.