Thomas Francis Henry Cornock

Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial

Regiment: The Welsh Regiment

Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Private 201478

Parents: Harriet and William Cornock

Marital status: Married

Home address: Home Address: Gillingstool, Thornbury, Bristol Lived: Cromwell Street, Birmingham

Pre-war occupation: Carrier in the Saw Mills

Date of birth: 1882

Place of birth: Thornbury, Bristol

Date of death: 26/03/1917

Buried/Commemorated at: Commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial, Israel. Not commemorated on a local memorial

Age: 35

Further information:

Thomas was born in Thornbury, the son of a sawyer and the second eldest of six children with two brothers and three sisters. His older brother Victor also saw war service but survived. In 1905 Thomas married Annie Onions and moved to Birmingham. They had four children, two girls and two boys, the youngest being only 12 months old when Thomas died.

Thomas initially served in the Gloucester Regiment (23348) later transferring to the 1st/4th Battalion, Welsh Regiment. His regiment served in Gallipoli before being evacuated to Egypt in December 1915 after they had lost 85% of their men. The Battalion fought in various engagements in the Palestine Campaign and Thomas was killed in action in the First Battle of Gaza during the Advance to Jerusalem (December 1916 and December 1917). The Battle of Gaza (26th March 1917) was an Ottoman victory at a cost to the allies of 5,000 casualties. Thomas was originally recorded as missing and later was presumed dead although his body was never found. The Jerusalem Memorial where he is remembered commemorates 3,300 Commonwealth servicemen who died during the First World War in operations in Egypt or Palestine and who have no known grave.

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
http://www.thornburyroots.co.uk/war/ww1-soldiers-a-l/