Military History

Thomas is listed as being killed in action on 7 Nov 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres. The 2nd Battalion war diary records for the period 28 Oct to 9 Nov 1914 were lost and so we have extracted a passage from the book The Story of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment by C.L. Kingsford. The book is on the Internet Archive and can be read here.

The Story of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment by C.L. Kingsford

Though the Brigade was withdrawn on November 4, two days later it was recalled to take part in a counter-attack. With General Lawford leading them on foot they advanced at dawn on November 7 in four lines and captured the enemy's position. That day the Royal Warwickshire [2nd Battalion] and South Staffords formed a composite battalion under the command of Captain Valentine [John Franks Vallentin] of the latter regiment, who was killed in action after winning the Victoria Cross by the gallantry of his leading.

For three weeks the 7th Division had withstood the repeated attacks of the enemy, who through their superior numbers could again and again hurl fresh troops into the battle to be met by the same worn and tired Battalions. Neverless at the end Ypres was uncaptured and for the time secure. But of that heroic Division there was left only a bare fifth of its original numbers. In the 2nd Royal Warwickshire the losses had been particularly heavy; of the officers seven had been killed, 6 wounded and ten were prisoners of war; of the men there were hardly enough to make one weak company.