John William Thomas
MSM (30 September 1890 – 1947) was an English professional
footballer who played in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
as an
inside right.
Personal life
Either side of the
First World War, Thomas worked as a
miner
A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...
,
latterly in
Sacriston
Sacriston is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England, situated north of the city of Durham, England, Durham.
Although the area has been populated since the Bronze Age, the first recorded settlement dated ...
.
After the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914,
he enlisted as a
lance corporal in the
Durham Light Infantry.
In 1915, Thomas took part in the
Second Battle of Ypres. During the battle, he was taken
prisoner of war near Boetleer's Farm and was sent to
Germany, where he was incarcerated with French prisoners and learnt
the language
"The Language" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his third studio album ''Nothing Was the Same'' (2013). "The Language" was produced by frequent collaborator Boi-1da, along with additional production by Allen Ritter and Vinylz. It also fea ...
.
He eventually escaped with four other French prisoners and by using a compass which had been hidden in a cake sent from home, he made it to the neutral
Netherlands.
Upon his return to Britain, Thomas was interrogated as a possible German
spy, but was then sent back to France to work in
counter-espionage,
by posing as a French
dock worker in
Le Havre and
Dieppe.
He won the
Meritorious Service Medal during the course of his service.
Career statistics
References
1890 births
1947 deaths
People from Sacriston
Footballers from County Durham
English men's footballers
Men's association football inside forwards
Spennymoor United A.F.C. players
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Newcastle United F.C. players
Northern Football League players
Southern Football League players
English Football League players
British Army personnel of World War I
World War I prisoners of war held by Germany
English miners
English spies
Durham Light Infantry soldiers
World War I spies for the United Kingdom
Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom)
Intelligence Corps soldiers
Military personnel from County Durham
British World War I prisoners of war
English escapees
Escapees from German detention
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