Robert William THORNBER

17 August 1917

THORNBER – August 1st 1917, killed in action on the Western Front, Private William Thornber, son of Mr. and Mrs. Briggs, Bolton-by-Bowland, aged 19 years.

17 August 1917

BOLTON-BY-BOWLAND– ROLL OF HONOUR

The gloom of the war has again fallen on the little village of Bolton-by-Bowland, as last Friday news was received that Pte. Wm. Thornber, son of Mr. and Mrs. Briggs, had given his life for his country.

Deceased was only 19 years of age and joined up as soon as he possibly could. To his credit, he never wished to shirk his responsibilities; on the contrary he was quite keen on doing his ‘bit’, and joined the Army on May 17th 1916. He was attached to the Sherwood Foresters (‘A’ Company), and went to France in February of this year.

Previous to accepting military service, Pte. Thornber was employed as gardener to Mr. J. Kemp, Bank Hall, Sawley, and by his employer and many friends was much respected.

The following letter has been received by Mrs. Briggs from Capt. Lightfoot:– “It is with deepest regret that I have to inform you of the death of your son, Pte. W. Thornber, on August lst. Our company had taken part in an attack on the German trenches, and your son was struck down by a sniper’s bullet when we were holding on to what we had won. He will be much missed in the Company, and I take this opportunity of offering my sincerest sympathy to you in the loss which you have suffered.”

Lance Corporal W. Hand writes to Private Thornber’s mother:– “It is with deep regret that I write to inform you of your son’s death. I cannot tell you how much we miss him, as he was in my section and was one of the best lads anyone could wish for, and was always willing to do anything for anyone. He was on sentry in the trenches after we had taken our objective and accounted for a few more Germans, when he was hit by a sniper and died at the same moment without feeling any pain. A parcel has arrived from you, and we have shared its contents with his old pals, as is usually the case with parcels under similar conditions.”

24 August 1917

BOLTON-BY-BOWLAND – IN MEMORY OF THE BRAVE

On Sunday morning a memorial service for Pte. Wm. Thornber was held in the Parish Church. There was a large congregation, and the Rector took for his text I Kings 18c. 3v.:–

“There were two common excuses for not serving God and leading a religious life; one was that there was no time – people were too busy with their profession, trade or labour, but they were not too busy for pleasure. Our worldly calling and God’s service are not separate things, so we ought to serve God in the former. At the last day, such excuses will vanish and leave the man who had relied on himself condemned and speechless. The other excuse was from opposition and ridicule of relatives and friends, and soldiers coming back from the trenches have had to face this difficulty. But Christ warned us when he said ‘He that hateth not (i.e. loveth me not better than) father and mother – yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.’ Today we are thinking of and regretting the loss of one who made no excuses, urged no reasons why he should not serve God and his country. He was a humble minded unassuming lad and was one of our communicants. When the time came he went willingly, even joyfully, to be trained to fight for his country. On August 1st he attacked with his battalion, and the objective was successfully achieved. It was when they were holding the newly captured position, and he was acting as sentry, that the sniper’s bullet struck him down and his career was ended. For him, when the great day of judgement arrives, there will be no need of excuses. Can we doubt that the words, bringing happiness beyond conception, will be addressed to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.’”

Special hymns were sung, and the Dead March was played after the Blessing.

02 August 1918

THORNBER – In loving memory of our dear son, Private R. W. Thornber, who was killed by a sniper August 1st, 1917, in his 20th year.

O Lord, we cannot tell what it is for
To take away the only one,
One we loved so well –
In the best of his days.

From his loving Mother and Father, Bolton-by-Bowland.

01 August 1919

THORNBER – In loving memory of our dear son, Private R. W. Thornber, Sherwood Foresters, who was killed on August 1st, 1917.

“Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away.”

From his Mother and Father, Bolton-by-Bowland.