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William TOMMAS

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Surname: TOMMAS

Forename(s): William

Place of Birth: Whitewell, Yorkshire

Service No: 418731

Rank: L/Corporal

Regiment / Corps / Service: Canadian Infantry

Battalion / Unit: 'C' Coy 42nd Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada)

Division: 3rd Canadian Division

Age: 40

Date of Death: 1918-03-10

Awards: ---

CWGC Grave / Memorial Reference: G.W.V.A. 16.

CWGC Cemetery: TORONTO (PROSPECT) CEMETERY

CWGC Memorial: ---

Non-CWGC Burial: ---

Local War Memorial(s): Not Listed (View Names Not Listed on a Local War Memorial)

Additional Information:

William Tommas (born 22 February 1878) was the son of John and Ann Maria Tommas, née Moore. John, a widower, married Ann in 1876; he was born at Tosside, Yorkshire and Ann at Burnley, Lancashire.

1881 Bowland Forest (Lower Division) Yorkshire Census: Higher Whitewell - Willm Tommas, aged 3 years, born Bowland Forest L.D., son of John and Alice [sic] Maria Tommas.

1891 Bowland Forest (Lower Division) Yorkshire Census: Higher Whitewell - William Tommas, aged 13 years, born Bowland, Yorkshire, son of John and Ann Maria Tommas.

1901 Blackpool, Lancashire Census: 45, Warley Road - William Tommas, aged 23 years, born Whitewell, Yorkshire, son of Hannah [sic] M. Tommas, widow.

William was married to Esther Cunliffe in 1901.

William attested for the Canadian Army at Montreal on the 24 April 1915. He was invalided to Canada after serving in France and died of erysipelas and pneumonia at Spadina Military Hospital, Toronto.

William is commemorated on the Blackpool War Memorial and by a memorial inscription in St Helen's Churchyard, Waddington, on the gravestone of his sister, Hannah Marion Tommas. (When seen in 2018, the gravestone had been laid flat for safety reasons).

Canadian service records: http://www.baclac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef

Data Source: Memorial Inscription on Family Gravestone

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Entry in West Yorkshire Pioneer Illustrated War Record: ---

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No photo available for this Soldier
Regiment / Corps / Service Badge: Canadian Infantry

Regiment / Corps / Service Badge: Canadian Infantry

Divisional Sign / Service Insignia: 3rd Canadian Division

Divisional Sign / Service Insignia: 3rd Canadian Division

Data from Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914 - 1919 Records

Soldiers Died Data for Soldier Records

Surname: No entry in SDGW - Canadian Forces.

Forename(s):

Born:

Residence:

Enlisted:

Number:

Rank:

Regiment:

Battalion:

Decorations:

Died Date:

Died How:

Theatre of War:

Notes:

Data from Commonwealth War Graves Commission Records

CWGC Data for Soldier Records

Surname: TOMMAS

Forename(s): William

Country of Service: Canadian

Service Number: 418371

Rank: Lance Corporal

Regiment: Canadian Infantry

Unit: 42nd Bn.

Age: 40

Awards:

Died Date: 10/03/1918

Additional Information: Son of the late John and Maria Thomas, of Warley Rd., North Shore, Blackpool, England; husband of Esther Tommas, of 24, Durley Rd., Bloomfield Rd., Blackpool, England.

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View Additional Text For Soldier Records

England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966

1920

TOMMAS William of 137 Rhodes-avenue Toronto Canada died 10 March 1918 at Spadina Military Hospital Toronto Administration (with Will) London 7 April to Esther Tommas widow. Effects £194.

1920

TOMMAS Hannah Marion of 11 Clevedon-road Blackpool spinster died 1 June 1910 at the Royal Infirmary Blackburn Administration London 27 April to Esther Tommas widow. Effects £194.

[Hannah was William’s sister.]

1945

TOMMAS Esther of 26 Durley-road Blackpool widow died 16 November 1944 Administration Lancaster 6 February to John Robert Cunliffe retired tramway inspector and Sarah Jane Taylor (wife of Robert Taylor). Effects £710 17s. 6d.

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Additional Photo(s) For Soldier Records

King's Arms Hotel, Moor Street, Ormskirk, Lancashire ('Ormskirk Advertiser' c. 1905-07)

King's Arms Hotel, Moor Street, Ormskirk, Lancashire ('Ormskirk Advertiser' c. 1905-07)

William Tommas, who was the proprietor of the King’s Arms, is pictured with his wife, Esther, in front of the Hotel

Kindly supplied by Dorothy Broady-Hawkes

Memorial Chamber of Canada’s Parliament Buildings, Ottawa

Memorial Chamber of Canada’s Parliament Buildings, Ottawa

In the Memorial Chamber are the eight ‘Books of Remembrance’ that contain the names of more than 120,000 Canadians who gave their lives in the service of Canada

Source: Canadian Virtual War Memorial (Kindly supplied by Shirley Penman, Clitheroe)

Page from the First World War ‘Book of Remembrance’: Private William Tommas

Page from the First World War ‘Book of Remembrance’: Private William Tommas

Source: Canadian Virtual War Memorial (Kindly supplied by Shirley Penman, Clitheroe)

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    One Response to William TOMMAS

    1. Dorothy Broady-Hawkes May 10, 2021 at 2:02 pm #

      William Tommas ran the Talbot Hotel, Lytham, Lancashire in 1901 and then took on the King’s Arms Hotel, Ormskirk in 1905. He emigrated to Niagara in 1912.

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