Sapper Thomas Albert Ricketts
| Date of Birth | c1887 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 30 |
| Date of Death | 24/05/1917 |
| Service Number | 24535 |
| Military Service | Royal Engineers, 513th attd (North Midland) Field Coy |
| Merton Address | 129 Ashbourne Road, Mitcham |
| Local Memorial | St. Barnabas' Church, Mitcham |
Additional Information
Thomas Albert was the eldest son of Eliza Jane Hill and Alfred John Ricketts; Thomas was born in Clapham during the second quarter of 1887. His father Alfred, a coach smith by occupation married Eliza Jane Hill on 18th December 1870, at the parish church of St Phillip in Lambeth, Surrey
.
The 1891 Census reveals that 4-year-old Thomas, his parents and 3 sisters resided at 11 Park Place in Clapham.
According to the 1901 Census, Eliza and Alfred resided at 87 Elm Park in Lambeth with their 7 children. Fourteen-year-old Thomas was employed as a coach builder.
In 1911, according to the Census, 24-year-old Thomas was employed as a carriage builder and still resided with his parents and their 3 youngest children at 101 Elms Road at Clapham Common in a 7-room house. Also living with the Ricketts family were 2 female boarders. Alfred describes his marital status as being widowed. It is unclear from records as to when his mother Eliza Jane died.
During January of 1913, Thomas married Emily McKew at Wandsworth.
The electoral register for 1915 reveals that the Ricketts family lived in a dwelling house at 145 Coteford Street. According to City directories in 1915-16, Emily and Thomas lived 145 Franciscan Road in Tooting.
Thomas enlisted in the Army at Tooting in 31st of March 1916, at the time of enlistment, he was 25 years and 9 months old, living at 129 Ashbourne Road in Mitcham. In 1916, Thomas was only 5ft and 3 inches tall and weighed only 106 lbs, he was a skilled blacksmith according to the Civilian tradesmen Harris & 0thers Ltd, Motor Carriage Builders.
According to Thomas’s service record, his occupation describes him as a blacksmith, transferred to France on 12th of May 1917 to the Royal Engineers Depot in France. It was while serving with the 468th Field Company, that he was injured and died from shell wounds to his thigh on the 24th of May 1917. He was buried at Longuenesse St 0mer Souvenir Cemetery in France.
Thomas’s widow Emily was awarded a pension of 13s and 9d a week from the 26th of November 1917. According to Probate of his will, Thomas left his estate of £98 to his widow Emily Mary Maud. Emily remarried on the 20th of July 1921 to 28-year-old John Whitelaw at St Barnabas’s Church in Mitcham.