Thomas Willmott
Memorial: Kingswood - Holy Trinity Church
Regiment: Royal Navy
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Stoker 2nd Class K/30781
Parents: Thomas and Annie Wilmott (nee Smith)
Marital status: Married
Home address: 3 Alsop Terrace, Downend, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Paper Hanger for S Cordy Building Contractor
Date of birth: 14/06/1892
Place of birth: Warmley, Bristol
Date of death: 31/05/1916
Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated on Plymouth Naval Memorial and Kingswood Holy Trinity Memorial
Age: 23
Further information:
Thomas was born in Warmley, the son of a bootmaker and a middle child of six children with four brothers and one sister. He enlisted in February 1916 requesting immediate action in the Navy under Lord Derby’s scheme. He married Dorothy Victoria (nee Yeoman) that same month which was just 3 months before his death. He was described as 5' 7 3/4" tall with black hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.
Thomas died when HMS Indefatigable was sunk on 31 May 1916 during the Battle of Jutland off the coast of Denmark. The vessel was hit several times in the first minutes of the opening phase of the action. Shells from the German battlecruiser Von der Tann caused an explosion ripping a hole in her hull, and a second explosion hurled large pieces of the ship 200 feet in the air. Only three of the crew of 1,018 survived. His brother in law Philip Yeoman died on active service 2 years later.
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/
https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/community/2750
Kingswood Heritage Museum