Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | St. Mary'S Churchyard, Harlow | ||
Awards & Titles: | Companion of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches x 2 Queen's South Africa Medal & 7 Clasps Deputy Lieutenant | ||
Early Life :
Born 1858 at Hafod, Ceredigion, Wales, Thomas was the eldest son of Sir Godfrey John Thomas, 8th Baronet Wenvoe and Emily Chambers. He succeeded to become 9th Baronet on 13th July, 1861. He married Mary Frances Isabelle Oppenheim, daughter of Charles Augustus Oppenheim and Isabelle Frith, on 30th April, 1887.Following his early death in 1919, he was succeeded in his title by his son, Godfrey, who served as a courtier to the Royal Family.
Education & Career :
Brighton College
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The Afghan War 1878-1879, Afghanistan.
- Mahdist War 1881-1899, Sudan.
- The Second Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, South Africa.
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 24th Division Artillery |
| Action : Natural Causes |
Natural causes is attributed those deaths due to causes that were not directly associated with the war. Included in this are wartime deaths resulting from, for example, theSpanish Influenza pandemic and its associated pneumonia problems and other attributions such as age and exhaustion. It also groups those who through Post Traumatic Stress committed suicide as a result of their experiences.
He was recalled and served in the First World War in France, initially commanding 24th Divisional Artillery and from 1916-1917 Thomas commanded No. 2 Reserve Brigade R.F.A. (Territorial Forces).
He was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1916.
Detail :
He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex on 1 May 1912. In the 1919 Birthday Honours, he was posthumously awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, "for valuable services rendered in connection with the War."
He died of influenza on 17 February 1919, was buried and commemorated on a plaque at St Mary & St Hugh, Old Harlow. He is further commemorated at Brighton College.
The memorial plaque reads: "IN MEMORY OF GODFREY VIGNOLES THOMAS XI BARONET OF WENVOE, GLAMORGAN BRIGADIER-GENERAL ROYAL ARTILLERY, COMMANDER OF THE BATH, MEMBER OF THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER, DEPUTY LIEUTENANT OF THE COUNTY OF ESSEX, ALSO OF CORNAHIR, COUNTY WESTMEATH IN IRELAND, THE HARTLANDS CRANFORD, MIDDLESEX, AND OF WYTNERS IN THE PARISH OF HARLOW BORN AT HAFOD CARDIGANSHIRE, 27 MARCH 1856. HE SERVED IN THE AFGHAN WAR, CANDAHAR 1879, EGYPT 1882, TEL-EL-KEBIR, EL-TEB, TAMAL ADJUTANT SUDAN FIELD FORCE 1884 COMMANDED P BATTERY ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY SOUTH AFRICA 1899, PAARDEBURG, DREIFONTEIN, JOHANNESBURG, DIAMOND HILL, WITTENBERG, KIMBERLEY, NOOiTGEDACHT WHERE HE SAVED HIS GUNS. HE RETIRED IN 1911 BUT WAS RECALLED FOR THE EUROPEAN WAR AND RAISED THE XXIV DIVISION ROYAL ARTILLERY 1914, BATTLE OF LOOS, FRANCE 1915. NOT ONCE WOUNDED, HE DIED OF THE SPANISH INFLUENZA AT WYNTERS. 17 fEBRUARY, 1919 - HE THOUGHT EVIL OF NO MAN."
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Northern Star No. 1463 E.C. | Punjab |
| Joined : | Aldershot Army and Navy No. 1971 E.C. | Hampshire & IOW |
| Joined : | St Ann's No. 593 E.C. | Guernsey & Alderney |
| Joined : | Ubique No. 1789 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
19th February 1880 | 1st April 1880 | 6th May 1880 |
Initiated into Northern Star Lodge No. 1463 in 1880
Joined St. Anne's Lodge No. 593, Alderney on 14th October 1884
Joined Ubique Lodge No. 1789 on the 9th November 1885.
Joined Aldershot Army and Navy Lodge No. 1971 on 21st March 1888.
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