Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

David Cuthbert Thomas (1895 – 18 March 1916) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

soldier of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

who served during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. He is best known for his association with the poet

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

, who after his death became the subject of some of the greatest war poems by Sassoon and Robert Graves.

Biography

Thomas was the son of Evan and Ethelinda Thomas of

Llanedi Llanedi () is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Once the name of a parish, Llanedi is now a community taking in the hamlet of Llanedi and the villages of Hendy, Fforest (suburbs of Pontarddulais) and Tycroes. The community pop ...

Rectory,

Pontarddulais Pontarddulais (), also known as Pontardulais (), is both a community and a town in Swansea, Wales. It is northwest of the city centre. The Pontarddulais ward is part of the City and County of Swansea. Pontarddulais adjoins the village of Hend ...

, Glamorgan, and was educated at

Christ College, Brecon Christ College, Brecon, is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the cathedral and market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It currently caters for pupils aged 7–18 years. History Christ College was founded by Royal ...

. His first commission was as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

in the 3rd Battalion,

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designat ...

. That regiment also included the writers Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon, with whom he became close friends. After training, Thomas was posted to the regiment's 1st Battalion, which was then serving on the Western Front and attached to the 22nd Brigade, itself part of the 7th Infantry Division. On 18 March 1916 Thomas was leading a working party to repair wire emplacements in

no man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

at the Citadel, near Fricourt in France when he was shot in the throat. He then walked to a first aid post for treatment but died soon afterwards after he began choking. He is buried at New Military Cemetery at Fricourt (reference D3 in Point 110). Graves wrote the poem 'Not Dead' in Thomas's memory and Thomas also appears in Graves' autobiography ''

Good-Bye to All That ''Good-Bye to All That'' is an autobiography by Robert Graves which first appeared in 1929, when the author was 34 years old. "It was my bitter leave-taking of England," he wrote in a prologue to the revised second edition of 1957, "where I ha ...

'', Sassoon's '

Sherston trilogy The Sherston trilogy is a series of books by the English poet and novelist, Siegfried Sassoon, consisting of '' Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man'', '' Memoirs of an Infantry Officer'', and ''Sherston's Progress''. They are named after the protagonist ...

' of fictionalised autobiographies (as "Dick Tiltwood") and several other poems by both men.

References

External links

Entry
on the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mi ...

Debt of Honour Register
West Wales War Memorial Project: Llanedy
1895 births 1916 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel killed in World War II Military personnel from Swansea Royal Welch Fusiliers officers People educated at Christ College, Brecon {{UK-army-bio-stub