1206161 Pte. Francis Albert Thomas British Army 15th Btn. (Civil Service Rifles) London Regiment from:Milton Regis, Kent My Grandfather, Francis Thomas enlisted on 29 November 1915 at Somerset House. He was wounded by shrapnel I believe, although I do not know at which battle as I have only just started researching, and had probably revolutionary surgery for the time. A Canadian surgeon saved the use of his hand by swapping tendons to enable him to close his fist. He rarely talked about his service, but did suffer from nightmares. My father recalls, I suspect a fairly standard tale, of him jumping into a hole during a night bombardment and waking up next to a dead German soldier. I have seen at least one photo of him in uniform which I hope to post in due course.
|