Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Tower Hill Memorial | London | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.129 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 44B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Husband of Mrs. Matthews, of Bainbrough Terrace, North Shields. Born at North Shields.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: SS Combe |
GWF The COMBE (Official No.135180) was a steel-hulled 2,030-ton steam cargo ship that measured: 275ft 2in with a 39ft beam. Wood, Skinner & Co., Ltd., at Bill Quay on Tyne, near Newcastle completed her as Yard No.180 in December 1912 for Stephenson Clarke & Co., London. Her steel screw was powered by an aft positioned 3-cyl triple expansion steam engine. |
| Action : Naval Campaign |
Naval Campaign is defined as to include all sea operations where attrition rates are in ones and twos and which do not fall within specific naval battles such as Jutland, Coronel, Falklands etc. This includes Merchant Navy losses.
Detail :
Wrecksite EU gives what little account there is to befall that of the SS Combe: On October 12th, 1915, the British steel cargo COMBE, built in 1912 by Wood, Skinner & Co. Ltd. and owned at the time of her loss by Stephenson Clarke & Associated Companies Ltd., left Liverpool for Archangel [Russia] with a cargo of munitions, and went missing. She was not heard of ever since. 23 names are recorded as missing / lost.
According to the North East War Memorials Project, the SS Combe was "chartered by the RFA in 1915 to be used as an ammunition ship" and "lost her escort on 14/10/1915 and presumed lost." The shipping register at Lloyds posted her as "missing with all hands" on the 31st December 1915.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Lindisfarne No. 2762 E.C. | Northumberland |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
16th June 1908 | 27th August 1908 | 16th December 1908 |
Upon his initiation in 1908, Thomas is recorded as a Master resident at Chirton N. View, North Shields. Despite no war service recorded in the contribution register, the final annotation shows "Lost at Sea."
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley