Private Thomas Palmer
| Date of Birth | c. 1872 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 43 |
| Date of Death | 14 October 1915 |
| Service Number | 8797 |
| Military Service | 7th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment |
| Merton Address | 23 Denison Road |
| Local Memorial | Christ Church, Colliers Wood |
Additional Information
Thomas was born in Alton, Hampshire in about 1873, to Frederick and Ann Palmer.
By the age of 17, he and his brother Ardal were living as boarders in Farnham with John and Bessie Patterson, where he worked as a carter.
He married Eliza Gertrude Berrymen at Holy Trinity Church in Upper Tooting on 7 June 1897, at the age of 24. By then, he was working as a general labourer for the building trade. They moved first to Tooting Graveney, and later to 23 Denison Road in Colliers Wood where they lived in a four room house with their six children: Lilley, Gertrude, Ella, Florence, Thomas, and Berty.
Thomas enlisted in Kingston on 22 February 1915. He appears to have lied about his age on his attestation papers, as he would have been about 41 at the time, but claimed to be 38, presumably to get around an age requirement. He is recorded as being 5’4” tall, with a 38.5” chest. He was posted to France on 6 July 1915, and was killed in action only three months later, on 14 October 1915. He is commemorated on the Loos Memorial.