Thomas was born in Wolverhampton in 1893, the son of James and Julia Barker. He was baptised on the 1 October 1893 at St Jude’s Church, Wolverhampton. In 1901 they were living at 69 Sweetman Street, Wolverhampton, along with Thomas’s siblings Jane, Elizabeth, James, and Agnes. Thomas is incorrectly noted on the census as “Daughter”. They were still at the same address in 1911, by which date Thomas was working as a warehouse porter.
Thomas enlisted initially in the North Staffordshire Regiment (service number 22501), and later served in the 1st Battalion of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers (service number 28565). He was killed in action on 23 January 1917. He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial in France, as well as on the memorial at St Jude’s Church in Tettenhall.
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The research for this blog post was completed by remote virtual volunteer, Jacky de Escofet.