acwid Posted 16 June , 2012 Share Posted 16 June , 2012 My father has left me some personal effects of a second cousin Gunner Thomas Simmons Royal Marine Artillery B.M.A 14066 who was wounded in the head and arm on the Zeebrugge raid and died from his wounds in Chatham Naval Hospital. The information I have is the press cutting of Toms military funeral at Hartshill Cemetery Newcastle under Lyme,his 14-18 medal and ribbons also the bronze death plaque and some large photos of Tom in his uniform and one of all the Royal Navy ships.A letter home to his mother and a postcard home . I know Tom in-listed in April 1914 and was on board HMS Colossus at the Battle of Jutland and was serving aboard the Vindictive when he was mortally wounded on St Georges Day April 23rd 1918 he was 25 years old. Just hoped someone may be able to shed some light on Toms Naval career, many thanks Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted 17 June , 2012 Share Posted 17 June , 2012 You can download his record of service here (he enlisted in May 1914):- http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=8107109&queryType=1&resultcount=4 That document should give you a Discharge Number (or DB Number) and with that you can find his attestation and discharge papers at Kew under ADM 157/3152 to 3176. The DB Number should be a five-figure number in the range 16250 to 16899. These papers are not, however, on-line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acwid Posted 17 June , 2012 Author Share Posted 17 June , 2012 Thank you horatio2 for finding his record of service, are these records a generalisation of service in the navy or does it go into detail ie involvement in battles /raids etc. anyway many thanks for your help much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted 17 June , 2012 Share Posted 17 June , 2012 Individual records rarely record participation in particular actions although, for RMA and RMA men you can determine what their ships were involved in by research of ship's records and naval histories. The exception for men of the RMLI and RMA is that their records note their participation in the post-Zeebrugge VC ballot, which identifies those who took part in that operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelBully Posted 17 June , 2012 Share Posted 17 June , 2012 Hello Chris I take it that Thomas died on 20th May 1918 , from wounds incurred at Zeebrugge http://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead/casualty/396684/SIMMONS,%20T http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavalDreadnoughts.htm - there's a picture of HMS Colossus under 1911, generally www.naval-history.net is a great starting point . Local papers often published obituaries and items about men killed in action, but the information often needs to be cross-referenced. Hope research goes well Regards Michael Bully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acwid Posted 17 June , 2012 Author Share Posted 17 June , 2012 Hello Michael Thank you for the links showing his ship and a detailed account of the Zeebrugge raid, also the casualty list it brings it home as to the sacrifices the men made. I will continue the research and will visit his grave at Hartshill when I am next off .One last thing Tom was also given the 1914-15 star I have the box and ribbon but alas no medal . Many thanks Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domwalsh Posted 20 June , 2012 Share Posted 20 June , 2012 PM your email as I have quite a bit on him, including this cutting: Also his grave: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelBully Posted 20 June , 2012 Share Posted 20 June , 2012 Glad to be of some assistance Chris, good luck with the research, and hope that you will post again on this subject. Always interested to hear about the men who took part in the Zeebrugge Raid and instances where the man may have succumbed to wounds incurred during the Raid at a later date can get overlooked. And of course, well worth investigating previous GWF threads about 'Zeebrugge. Which war memorials have honoured Thomas? It might also be worth visiting churches (built at the time) near to where he lived or was brought up to see if he is commorated there. Regards, Michael Bully Hello Michael Thank you for the links showing his ship and a detailed account of the Zeebrugge raid, also the casualty list it brings it home as to the sacrifices the men made. I will continue the research and will visit his grave at Hartshill when I am next off .One last thing Tom was also given the 1914-15 star I have the box and ribbon but alas no medal . Many thanks Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acwid Posted 7 November , 2014 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2014 Just an update on Tom,we will be going to the village war memorial service on Tuesday 11/11/14 and have written Toms details on the wooden cross supplied by the Legion, GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domwalsh Posted 5 December , 2014 Share Posted 5 December , 2014 His memory lives on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domwalsh Posted 3 May , 2022 Share Posted 3 May , 2022 Hi Chris. Many years ago we were in contact, as you were going to copy some photos of Tom Simmons for me. It never quite happened, so just thought I'd try you in case you're still on the forum. You never know! All the best Dom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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