Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 3A GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Early Life :
This soldier is not recorded in the 1921 book and was originally recorded as O.R. Thomas of Lodge No. 109. In their records he is just Owen Thomas. The only person we can find to match is Owen Reddrup Thomas, whose legend follows:Born April 1899, at Calcutta, Bengal to James Reddrup Thomas and Marian Annie. Owen is listed, on his marriage certificate as an Indigo Broker which ties with broker in the Masonic record. The Lodge of Industry and Perseverance, was at the time (1911) located at Calcutta, meaning he was located there until at least September 1911.
He was married on the 23rd May 1915 to Jessica Wilson (nee Cruttewell), of Oxford Lodge, St. Leonards, Surbiton and later of 24, Ewell Road, Surbiton, Surrey. Jessica Wilson, who received Owen's estate, to the sum of £1854 5s. 6d. went on to marry John Randall Potter in 1921 in Surbiton.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: Corps of Royal Engineers |
| Action : Post War |
Post War includes all operations in all theatres up to 31st August 1921. This excludes the campaign in Russia against the Bolsheviks. It also includes men who succombed to wounds post war and who died from various causes whilst still in the services but post war.
Detail :
Owen was present in the opening days of the war, having received the 1914 Star and serving with the British Expeditionary Force. He went on to serve at, and survived, Gallipoli.
He died of phthisis at the Grand Hotel, Leysin, Switzerland on the 4th March 1919, in the post war period. He had probably been suffering from tuberculosis for some time as a previous address records him at the Sanatorium Altein- Arosa, Switzerland. This was a recently opened facility specialising in the treatment of pulmonary and surgical tuberculosis.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Lodge of Industry and Perseverance No. 109 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
21st July 1911 | 18th August 1911 | 15th September 1911 |
The records of United Grand Lodge show that this 21 year old Broker (1911) with an annotation of "Resigned after 1917". Difficult to track down a name with high propensity of "Owen Thomas".
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