Thomas Edwin Richardson

Thomas Edwin Richardson was born in Cropwell Butler in 1891 the son of Jane Richardson (later Willimett). His mother Jane (b. 1869) was one of eight surviving children of George and Elizabeth Richardson of Cropwell Butler. In 1891 Jane was a domestic servant in Nottingham in the household of widower Thomas Revis and his son. Her parents were living in Cropwell Butler with their two youngest children, Eliza (12) and George (9) and a grandson, Arthur Richardson (b. Cropwell Butler 1889, mother's surname Richardson). By 1901 George and Elizabeth had the care of two grandsons, Arthur (who has not yet been traced after 1901) and Thomas Edwin (9). Thomas' mother had married William Willimett, a widower, at Meadows St Saviour, Nottingham, in December 1894 and in 1901 they were also living in Cropwell Butler with their son, William George (3). William, a market gardener, Jane and their son were still living in Cropwell Butler in 1911. However, Jane's son Thomas was working as a milk seller and living in Tollerton with farmer Henry Plowright, his wife and family. Thomas was still working for Henry Plowright when he attested in 1916. His mother was widowed in July 1912; her husband was buried in Tithby Holy Trinity churchyard with his first wife, Mary. When Thomas attested in 1916 he gave his mother's address as 15 Lamcote Street, Meadows, Nottingham. This was also the address in December 1915 of her younger brother George Richardson, a lace machine builder/fitter, who had attested in the Army Service Corps (M/302141). George had married in 1905 and he and his wife Mary (née Raynor) and their two children, George Alan (b. 1905) and Gertrude Marion (b. 1907) had been living off Glapton Road, Meadows, in 1911. Thomas' half-brother, William George, served in the Royal Field Artillery (L/42818 Driver) and according to a form completed by their mother in May 1919 listing Thomas' surviving blood relatives George was still serving in France ('C' Battery, 178 Bde). Thomas' half-brother, William George, served in the Royal Field Artillery (L/42818 Driver) and according to a form completed by their mother in May 1919 listing Thomas' surviving blood relatives his half-brother was still serving in France ('C' Battery, 178 Bde). His uncle George Richardson was transferred to the Army Reserve on 11 December 1915 and not mobilised until March 1917. He served in France from 18 May 1917 and was demobilised to 15 Lamcote Street in September 1919. Jane Willimett was still living at 15 Lamcote Street in 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled; her occupation was given as shopkeeper. She died in 1947.

In 1911 Thomas was a milk seller, employer Henry Plowright (farmer). Thomas was still working for Henry Plowright when he attested in 1916.

Tollerton, Nottinghamshire. Enlisted West Bridgford, Nottingham.

105th Coy Machine Gun Corps. Formerly 37103 Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment). Thomas Edwin Richardson attested on 2 December 1915 and transferred to the Army Reserve on 3 December. He was mobilized on 2 March 1916 and posted to the Sherwood Foresters. However, he was discharged on 25 July 1916 'in consequence of having re-enlisted into the Machine Gun Corps [authorisation reference indistinct].' Thomas trained at Belton, Grantham, and in August 1916 was awarded 7 days CB [confined to barracks] for being 'absent from tattoo until 9.30pm Aug. 13th (24 hrs).' He embarked Southampton on 15 March 1917 and disembarked at Le Havre with the 205th Company, which had been formed at Grantham, the following day. A machine gun company was attached to each infantry brigade and their subsequent division as well as an additional company attached as a division reserve; 205th Coy. was a unit of 5th Division. Thomas was killed in action seven months later on 6 November 1917, a date when the 205th Coy. would have been engaged in the Third Battle of Ypres, Second Battle of Passchendaele (26 October 1917-10 November 1917). He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium (Panel 154 to 159 and 163A). He qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal. CWGC - History of Tyne Cot Memorial (extract): 'The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war. The Salient was formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when a small British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter, pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge. The Second Battle of Ypres began in April 1915 when the Germans released poison gas into the Allied lines north of Ypres. This was the first time gas had been used by either side and the violence of the attack forced an Allied withdrawal and a shortening of the line of defence. There was little more significant activity on this front until 1917, when in the Third Battle of Ypres an offensive was mounted by Commonwealth forces to divert German attention from a weakened French front further south. The initial attempt in June to dislodge the Germans from the Messines Ridge was a complete success, but the main assault north-eastward, which began at the end of July, quickly became a dogged struggle against determined opposition and the rapidly deteriorating weather. The campaign finally came to a close in November with the capture of Passchendaele.' (www.cwgc.org)

Cropwell Butler Cemetery, inscription on family headstone: 'Thomas Edwin, beloved grandson of the above, was killed in action Nov 6 1917 at Ypres Menin Rd, Chelivelb (sic), Belgium, in his 26th year.' His grandmother Elizabeth Richardson died in 1919 and his grandfather George Richardson in 1924. Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his mother Jane Willimott was his sole legatee