Gunner 78971 Thomas Matthews

   
Further picture at the bottom of this page.

Killed in Action on Sunday, 6th October 1918, age 27.
Buried in Grave I. B. 1. at Flesquieres Hill British Cemetery, Nord, France.

Royal Horse Artillery, 14th Brigade, 400th Battery.

Son of Mrs Selina Matthews, of 12, Toll End Rd., Great Bridge, Tipton, Staffs.
Born: Tipton, Enlisted: Chester, Resident: Tipton.

First landed France & Flanders, 11th July 1915.
Medal entitlement: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Soldier's Papers at National Archives did not survive.

Commemorated on the Tipton Library Memorial, Hawarden Memorial, and Connah's Quay and Shotton Memorial. Also remembered on his parent's grave in Tipton Cemetery.
Commemorated here because he appears on a Tipton memorial.

Link to Commonwealth War Graves Site: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/336958/

Genealogical Data

Birth of Thomas Matthews registered December quarter 1889 in Dudley.

1901 Census
155 Toll End Road, Tipton, Staffs.
John Matthews (46, Iron Worker, born West Bromwich), his wife Selina (45, born Dudley), and their 6 children: Lilly E. (21, Dressmaker, born West Bromwich), Emma (19, Free Press Printing, born Tipton), Edward (16, Tube Worker, born Tipton), John (13, Tube Worker, born Tipton), Thomas (11, born Tipton), and George (6, born Tipton).

1911 Census
229 Toll End Road, Tipton, Staffs.
John Matthews (56, Rougher at Rolling Mill, born Tipton), his wife Selina (54, House Duties, born Pensnett), and 2 of their 7 children: Thomas (21, Tube Screwer, born Tipton), and George (16, LNW Railway Servant and Porter, born Tipton).

Personal Data

Thomas Matthews moved from Tipton to Connah's Quay, near Chester, at some time after 1911. He worked at John Summers and Sons, an Iron and Steel Producer in Shotton, at that time the largest manufacturer of galvanized steel in the country.

Thomas enlisted as a Driver with the Royal Field Artillery on 19th January 1915 in Chester. Despite living in Connah's Quay, he gave his address as 12 Toll End Road, Tipton – his parent’s address. He was 22 years and 9 months of age, and employed as an Ironworker at John Summers & Sons in Hawarden Bridge. His height cannot be read due to damage on his Soldier’s Papers, but he had a 34-inch chest, was a single man, and a Methodist.

He was initially posted to No. 2 Depot, RFA, at Preston, but then posted to the 15th (Scottish) Division Artillery. On 12th May 1915, he was appointed Shoeing Smith, presumably due to his skills as an Ironworker. He landed in France with 15th (Scottish) Division on 11th July 1915, their fist major action being the Battle of Loos in September/October 1915. In November he was promoted to Shoeing Smith Corporal.

In March 1916, Thomas requested that he revert to Gunner – the basic RFA rank. He was then posted from ‘B’ Battery of 71st Brigade to the 71st Brigade Ammunition Column and most likely employed as a Driver. 70, 71 & 72 Brigades were the 3 Artillery Brigades of 15th Division.

From 26th April to 11th May 1916, Thomas was in hospital suffering from Scabies (a skin condition resulting from burrowing mites layer their eggs beneath the skin). Shortly after his return to his unit, the 3 Brigade Ammunition Columns were merged to a single Divisional Ammunition Column. Thomas then saw service with the 15th (Scottish) Division through the Battle of the Somme (July/November 1916) and the Battle of Arras April/May 1917).

He was hospitalised from 11th May 1917 with ICT (Inflammation of the Connective Tissue) – Buttock; this may have been connected with the Scabies he suffered from a year earlier. He was treated at 89th Field Ambulance, 6th Stationary Hospital (Frevant), 2nd Canadian General Hospital (Le Treport) and 3rd Convalescent Depot (Le Treport) before being released to the Base Depot at Le Havre awaiting a return to his unit.

This ended his time with the 15th (Scottish) Division, as Thomas was posted to 400th Battery of 14th Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery on 13th June 1917. Shortly after joining, Thomas was graded Class I for Proficiency Pay – an additional payment of 6 pence per day.

The only other entry in his records before his death was that he was granted 2 weeks leave from 15th to 29th July 1918. His father had died in August 1915 whilst Thomas was in France, this would be the last time that his mother would see him.

After Thomas's death, his outstanding army pay and allowances amounted to £11/6/11d (11 pounds, 6 shillings and 11 pence); this was paid to his mother, Selina, in February and April 1919. His War Gratuity was £17/10/0d (17 pounds and 10 shillings), this was also paid to his mother in December 1919.

A Dependant’s Pension Card exists for Mrs Selina Matthews in respect of her son Thomas. There is no indication on the card if a pension was ever granted.

Action resulting in his death

At the time of his death Thomas was serving with 400th Battery, one of the 4 batteries in 14th Brigade of the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). The 400th Battery was one of the 3 18-pounder batteries in the brigade, the other being a 4.5-inch howitzer battery.

14th Brigade RHA landed in Belgium with 7th Division in October 1914 and served with 7th Division until February 1917 when it became 14th Army Brigade RHA, attached to 3rd Army. ‘C’ Battery joined at that time and was later re-designated as 400th Battery.

Thomas joined 400th Battery on 13th June 1917, just after their involvement in the Battle of Messines. In December 1917 the 14th Brigade moved to Italy, returning to France in March 1918. By July 1918, the German Spring Offensive had stalled, and from August 11th onwards the Allied forces began a period of successful advances over the whole line. This period of success, ‘the Hundred Days’, only ended with the signing of the Armistice.

From August onwards, the 14th Brigade, including Thomas’s 400th Battery, had been advancing eastwards from the old Somme battlefields. By the end of September they were located about 5 miles south-west of Cambrai, supporting the advance of 2nd Division.

On 2nd October, the 14th Brigade RHA crossed the Canal de St Quentin near Noyelles, but on 5th October the 400th Battery were frequently under machine gun fire and shelling and forced back across the canal into the outskirts of Noyelles. Cambrai would be captured on 8th October.

The Tipton Herald reported a letter from Thomas’s officer saying that Thomas was working in the Wagon Lines when he was struck by a German shell and killed. The War Diary for 3rd October records the Wagon Lines for 400th Battery being at map reference L.20.a which was about 1000 yards south-east of Flesquières; Thomas is buried in Flesquières Hill Cemetery.

Newspaper Cuttings

Tipton Herald 2nd November 1918
TOLL END SOLDIER FALLS
KILLED BY A LONG RANGE SHELL
S.S. (Shoeing Smith) T. MATTHEWS
Mrs Matthews of 12 Toll End Road, Tipton, has received the intelligence that her son, S.S. T. Matthews, 14th Brigade, R.F.A., has made the supreme sacrifice. His Captain in the field writes that the deceased was struck in the head and instantly killed by a splinter from one of the enemy's long-range shells. At the moment of his death, he was quietly at work in the wagon lines, doing his duty in the same unobtrusive way that always distinguished him. He had no pain, nor even any knowledge of the danger that approached him. He was buried in a ruined French village southwest of Cambrai, called Flesquieres.
The officer adds: - "He was always happy and appreciated from the day when he first joined us. He has done his work willingly and well. He was always cheerful and ready to help in a hundred different ways that were not within the scope of his strict duty, and we can ill afford to lose such men. He will be greatly missed. This is, I fear, cold comfort for the loss of a son, but you may be justly proud of him and of the way he lived and died."
Two other letters of condolence were also received, one from his sergeant and one from his comrades, in which they paid eulogistic tributes to the worth of their friend.
Deceased, who was 27 years of age, was up to joining, engaged at the works of Messrs John Summers and Sons, Harwarden Bridge, Shotton, Chester. He attended the New Connexion Sunday School, Great Bridge, and was for a number of years a scholar at St. Martin's Early Morning School, Tipton. He was greatly respected in the neighbourhood.

Commemorated on his parent's grave, Tipton Cemetery.