Death by Drowning, 2nd/Queens (Royal West Surrey), 2 November 1918

[Malcolm12hl]

Private Thomas Granger G/21103, 2nd Battalion, the Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiments died in Italy on 2 November 1918, just a day before fighting ended on that front.  His Soldier's Effects entry shows him as having drowned, but there is no indication that I am aware of as to whether this was an operational casualty (on, for example, a river crossing) or a simple bathing accident.  The CWGC database shows only 24 losses in Italy on that day - of these, the only other casualty from Granger's unit died from flu, while there is one other burial in the Tezze Cemetery where Granger was re-buried after the war, a Lieutenant in the Durham Light Infantry.

 

I would be interested to know if anyone knows anything about the activities of the 2nd/Queens on 2 November 1918 which might provide a clue as to Granger's demise.

[GraemeClarke]

Hi

 

Died crossing a pontoon

 

WD here

 

http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/war_diaries/local/2Bn_Queens/2Bn_Queens_1918/2Bn_Queens_1918_11.shtml

 

Regards,

 

Graeme

[Malcolm12hl]

Graeme

 

Thank you very much!  I must confess that I did not expect to have the circumstances of poor Granger's demise uncovered so quickly and in such detail.  He was a very unfortunate soldier to lose his life in such circumstances so near to the end of hostilities in Italy - all the more so given that he was in his mid-thirties and had first gone overseas on active service away back in June 1915.

 

Malcolm

[GraemeClarke]

Hi Malcolm,

 

A pleasure, I had the website address stored away so no problem

 

Regards,

 

Graeme