First World War Medal Trio – Private Owen John Thomas, 2nd/8th Bn. Middlesex Regiment, Later 1st/8th Bn. – K.I.A. Somme 1916
1914-15 Star – 4618. PTE. O. J. THOMAS. MIDDX. R.
British War Medal – 4618. PTE. O. J. THOMAS. MIDD'X. R.
Victory Medal – 4618. PTE. O. J. THOMAS. MIDD'X. R.
Owen John Thomas was born in January 1894 at Fulham, London, the son of Henry J. Thomas and Martha Catherine (née Kemp). He was raised in Fulham, appearing with his family in both the 1901 and 1911 Census, and by 1911 was living at 60 St Olafs Road, Fulham, where he was employed as a shop assistant. Coming from a large working-class household, Owen was one of several siblings, many of whom were still children when war broke out.
He enlisted into the Territorial Force, joining the 2/8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, a second-line battalion formed at Hampton Court on 14 September 1914. The battalion was initially accommodated at Cavalry Barracks and carried out its training at Bushey Park, before moving to Staines on 15 November 1914. As a second-line unit, the 2/8th Middlesex was responsible for training and reinforcement duties, and Owen’s early service was spent entirely within this battalion, not the 1/8th.
On 1 September 1915, Owen John Thomas arrived in Egypt with the 2/8th Battalion, which was by then serving overseas. The battalion formed part of the wider Middlesex presence in the Mediterranean theatre, where units were engaged in garrison and defence duties during a critical period of the war. Owen remained with the 2/8th Middlesex until its disbandment in France on 15 June 1916.
Following the disbandment of the 2/8th Battalion, Owen was transferred into the 1st/8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, which was serving on the Western Front with 167th Brigade, 56th (London) Division. From this point onwards, his service became that of a front-line infantryman during one of the most intense phases of the war.
In the summer of 1916, the 1/8th Middlesex was heavily engaged during the Battle of the Somme, taking part in sustained operations in the Gommecourt, Ginchy–Morval and Transloy sectors. In early September, the battalion was committed to fighting around Leuze Wood and the Ginchy–Morval Road, as British forces attempted to push forward following earlier gains.
Private Owen John Thomas was killed in action on 12 September 1916, during these Somme operations. He was 22 years old.
With no known grave, he is remembered with honour on the Thiepval Memorial, Pier and Face 12D and 13B, which commemorates over 72,000 officers and men of the British and South African forces who fell on the Somme and have no known resting place.
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