PRIVATE 29433 THOMAS HUXLEY, 2/5th BATTALION WEST RIDING REGIMENT.


PRIVATE 29433 THOMAS HUXLEY, 2/5th BATTALION WEST RIDING REGIMENT. KILLED IN ACTION 30th JUNE 1917 AGED 29

Courtesy Whitchurch Great War History Hub



Thomas Huxley, the son of an agricultural labourer, was born in the tiny hamlet of Whixall near to Wem, Shropshire, in 1888. At about the beginning of the war Tom came to Ilkley to work as a cowman at Wharfedale Grange Farm, located off what is now called Ben Rhydding Road, which was owned by John (Jack) Abbott King with his brother Arthur and their sisters. Jack King was well known International Rugby player who represented England on many occasions and who had enlisted in the Yorkshire Hussars in August 1914 and would be killed during the Somme battles in 1916. Arthur, his brother, also enlisted and the sisters were left to look after the farm. It appears likely that Tom Huxley would have been in charge of the day to day running of the farm, especially the cattle.
Tom seems to have been a deeply religious man who was a staunch Wesleyan Methodist and this may have resulted in a reluctance to volunteer for the army. Nevertheless, he was conscripted and on March 1st 1916 enlisted in the West Riding Regiment in Halifax.


Tom arrived in France on 29th December 1916 and was sent to the Base Depot at Etaples where he would be allocated to a battalion of the West Riding Regiment. Etaples was notorious for its harsh discipline and was hated by the men who had to endure life there. Fortunately, for Tom his time there was brief and on 17th January 1917 he was sent to the 9th Battalion West Riding Regiment, which included the Ilkley Pals Company.


Tom did not last long in the front line for within less than a month he was evacuated back to Britain suffering from pleurisy and sent to the Western General Hospital, Manchester.Following a period of rest and recuperation Tom returned to France on 31st May. He would again endure the camp at Etaples before he joined the 2/5th Battalion of the West Riding Regiment on 20th June. Just ten days later Tom was with his new battalion in the front line at Aichiet-le-Petit a few miles south-east of Arras when he was killed. The battalion war diary gives no indication of how Tom met his end but in trench warfare death was never far away and it seems that he was struch by a German rifle grenade

Today Private Thomas Huxley lies in the British Military Cemetery at Queant Road and is remembered with pride on the war memorials at Newtown, Shropshire and here in Ilkley

http://thegreatwar.whitchurch-shropshire.co.uk/thomas-huxley/


Comments

  1. UnknownJune 30, 2021 at 7:06 AM

    Thomas Huxley 1888-1917, was my great uncle, and his father, my great grandfather, Thomas Huxley 1867-1911 was a corn miller. Thomas Huxley 1888-1917 was the eldest brother of my maternal grandfather William Henry Huxley 1897-1964, and was a regular attender at Whixall Parish Church, though the family did have strong Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist links in Whixall - I have his medals and Book of Common Prayer and a story book through which the shrapnel passed that killed him on 30 June 1917. His real name was Thomas Chidlow by which he was known for the first few years of his life, as his mother was not married to his father when he was born in 1888 - they married Feb 1889 at Wem. His name is on the Whixall Wesleyan War Memorial and on Newtown Parish Church War Memorial near Wem. Glad to know he is on Ilkley War Memorial.
    From Rev Philip Cook, 83 Test Rd, Sompting, West Sussex BN15 OEP

    ReplyDelete
  2. ilkleyremembersNovember 5, 2022 at 8:05 AM

    Dear Rev. Cook. My apologies for not contacting you sooner but unfortunately I was not notified of your interesting comment which I have just seen this afternoon. What an fascinating story and thank you for sharing it with me. Thomas probably only lived in Ilkley for a few years but I am pleased to say that the town did not forget him and saw fit to remember him alongside all those others who lost their lives. If you are able I would love to be able to add a photograph of the treasured possessions that you have of your great uncle

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