Private Thomas Boys Birch
| Date of Birth | c. 1897 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 20 |
| Date of Death | 25 October 1917 |
| Service Number | 51160 |
| Military Service | 19th Battalion Manchester Regiment |
| Merton Address | |
| Local Memorial | Mitcham War Memorial |
Additional Information
Born in Mitcham, Thomas was baptised on 4th April 1897. He was the son of Alfred & Ellen Matilda Birch (nee Peston) and in 1901 he had five sisters and three brothers. His father was a gas works labourer and the family lived at 31 Allen Terrace, Mitcham.
By 1911 the family had moved to 23 Bruce Road Mitcham. The younger children were living with their mother who is shown on the census form as being married although their father does not appear on it. It is not known where he was at the time but there is no record of his death in the intervening years between the two censuses. Thomas’s older brother Harry, aged 26, was now head of house and was working as a general labourer. Two of his sisters were laundresses and another older brother, Arthur, was a milkman.
Thomas enlisted in Mitcham. He was killed in action in Belgium on 25th October 1917. At the time of his death his mother was living at 26 Inglemere Road, Tooting
Private Birch is buried at Derry House Cemetery, No. 2. West Vlaanderen, Belgium Plot 2 Row F1. Grave 1. He is also remembered on the Mitcham War Memorial