Bombardier Thomas Richard Truelove
| Date of Birth | c1888 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 29 |
| Date of Death | 25/11/1918 |
| Service Number | L/1214 |
| Military Service | 34 Reserve Bn Royal Field Artillery |
| Merton Address | 7 Ravensbury Cottages, Morden Lane, Mitcham |
| Local Memorial | Mitcham Parish Church |
Additional Information
Thomas Richard was the second child of Richard and Clara Catherine Truelove. His father Richard had begun working as an agricultural labourer, had met and married Clara Catherine Wales on 2nd March 1878 at Horsham in Surrey.
Thomas Richard, who was born in July of 1888, was baptized on the 2nd September in 1888 at the parish church of St Peter and Paul in Mitcham. Baptismal records reveal that his father Richard was now employed as a platelayer and that the family now resided at 7 Ravensbury Cottages in Mitcham.
In 1891, the Truelove family continued to reside at 7 Ravensbury Cottages, 37 year old Richard was employed as a domestic gardener with his 36 year old wife Catherine, 8 year old daughter Emily, 3 year old Thomas Richard and their 32 year old lodger John Bradley who was employed as a printer.
The 1901 Census records that the Truelove family residing in Mitcham, Emily Elizabeth Truelove had married Herbert Clement Collyer at St Saviour Church in Lambeth in 1907.
By 1911, 22-year-old Thomas Richard was employed as a tray maker at a firm of printers; he still resided at home with his parent and his 9-year-old niece Darthey Horcroft.
Thomas Richard’s service record is not available through Ancestry; he served in the Royal Artillery as a bombardier. Thomas Richard died at the Scottish General Hospital in Edinburgh on the 25th November 1918; he was buried at Mitcham Church Road burial ground.