Sunday 24 September 1916: Another Casualty of War

Thomas remained in the frontline for two months after the battle at Fromelles.  In August 1916 there was a lull in combat activity for several weeks.  Thomas' cousin, William Lynch, wrote an essay on Thomas' WW1 experience in the early 2000s.  William believes that during this relatively quiet period on the Western front Thomas wrote to his younger brother, Frank. William recalled that Thomas wrote, ‘it was hell over here' and urged his younger brother not to enlist.  Frank was under 21 years and required his parents consent to enlist. As fate would have it, his parents refused to provide their written consent and consequently Frank was was prevented from enlisting during the the early stages of the war.

On the 22 September 1916 Thomas marched 2 hours to Armentieres, arriving at 10.40am. On 23 September 1916 Thomas moved into the trenches, which were in very bad condition.  Soldiers were organised to patrol No Man’s Land at night and to undertake dangerous raids on the enemy.

On the 24 September 1916 Thomas became a casualty of war. It is not clear if he was in the trenches or patrolling No Man’s Land when he was injured by shrapnel from an artillery shell. His pay book only records that he was ‘in the field’. Official war records only listed the names of senior officers who were injured in battle. William Lynch did an amazing piece of research and this is his description of what happened when Thomas was wounded.

'From what can be ascertained the shrapnel entered his back below the left shoulder-blade, and pieces of metal went through his body and came out of his chest. This metal was hot. Thomas would have suffered some pain as well as been in a state of shock. A medical report written later in England mentions that he was spitting blood, so we know he was conscious soon after being wounded.’

Thomas’ official records state he became a casualty of war by GSW (gun shot wound). However GSW was a description used in WW1 to refer to injuries from both artillery fire or bullet. According to the chest x-rays (see below), Thomas' medical notes also record that 'shrapnel' from artillery was the cause of Thomas' injury.

On the 28 September 1916 Thomas boarded HS Patrick at Boulogne and taken to England, where he was admitted to the Chatham Military hospital for treatment.

# William Lynch was Thomas’ cousin.  In the early 2000s he wrote an untitled essay on Thomas’ WW1 experience. We are indebited to William for his research on Thomas.