Thomas Thomas – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Nelson Battalion, Royal Naval Division
Able Seaman Thomas Thomas – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Nelson Battalion, Royal Naval Division
Early Life
Thomas Thomas was born in 1880. He was the husband of
Mary H. Thomas, and the couple lived at 21 Clydach Road, Morriston,
Swansea.
Naval Service
Thomas served as an Able Seaman with the Royal
Naval Volunteer Reserve, attached to the Nelson Battalion of the Royal
Naval Division. Formed from naval reservists without ships to serve on, the
Division fought as infantry on some of the most demanding fronts of the First
World War, including Gallipoli and later the Western Front.
Nelson Battalion – June 1916
By June 1916, the Nelson Battalion was serving on the
Western Front in France. After the Gallipoli campaign, the Royal Naval
Division had been transferred to the Somme sector, where it held a line of
trenches in the Auchonvillers–Mesnil–Englebelmer area. Although the
major Allied offensive—the Battle of the Somme—would not begin until 1
July, the weeks leading up to it were marked by constant strain and danger.
During this period, the Nelson Battalion was engaged in
routine but hazardous duties: holding front‑line trenches, repairing and
strengthening defensive positions, manning observation posts, and sending out
patrols. Enemy artillery fire, trench mortar bombardments, and sniping were
daily threats. Even without a major attack underway, casualties were frequent
as the battalion prepared for the coming offensive.
It was during this tense and dangerous phase of trench
warfare, on 11th June 1916, that Able Seaman Thomas Thomas
was killed in action.
Commemoration
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| Thomas Thomas Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth credit - findagrave |
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