216540 Pte. Thomas Woodall British Army 1/7th Bttn. Cheshire Regiment from:Staveley, Chesterfield (d.14th Oct 1918) Thomas Woodall was the eldest of two children to Samuel Woodall and Annie (nee Peabody). It is believed that after his mother’s death they went to live with their father and grandparents until Samuel remarried. Samuel's second wife did not want to look after Thomas, then aged 6, or his 5-year-old sister Mary Ann, so she put them both out on the street to fend for themselves. They were found roaming the streets in an unkempt state by their aunt's husband William Jackson. William took them both home to his wife Alice where they continued to live and thrived until they were of an age where they could find employment. Thomas apparently went to work in the coal mines and Mary Ann went into service.
When the war broke out Thomas was 19-years-old, and he enlisted in 1916. He married Alice Neale in 1917, and then set off to fight unaware that his wife was expecting their first child. Sadly, Thomas was killed in the Battle of Courtrai just under a month before the end of the war. Alice was left widowed with a young child to look after. Their son's name was Stanley Thomas Woodall.
I would like to find out more about his life in the army before his death. His grave is in Hooge Crater Cemetery in Belgium. If anybody could help I would be most grateful as I am trying to build a profile of Thomas for my famliy tree.
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