Name
Thomas Rance
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
04/11/1918
34
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
307772
Royal Warwickshire Regiment
1st/8th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Navy Star, British War Medal and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
LANDRECIES BRITISH CEMETERY
A. 32.
France
Headstone Inscription
I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVETH HIS SORROWING MOTHER
UK & Other Memorials
Not on the Tring memorials, Buckland, Memorial, Buckland, Bucks.
Pre War
Thomas Rance was born in 1884 in Buckland, Bucks. to Thomas Rance, and Agnes, straw plaiter nee Langston).
On the 1891 Census Thomas was living at Kings Ash, Buckland with his mother Agnes and his sister Daisy (born 1888).
On the 1901 Thomas (horse boy on farm) was living with the Keen family in Cottage Close, Charteridge, Amersham, Bucks.
On the 1911 Census Thomas was a farm labourer living with his mother and Daisy now married to William Norwood with daughter Elsie (born 1911).
Wartime Service
Thomas attested on 28 Feb 1916 (aged 32) as a Territorial and was mobilised on 28 Apr 1916 as Private 5333 Royal Warwickshire Regiment and posted on 30 Apr to 1/6 Battalion.
He left for France from Southampton on 19 Sep 1916 arriving in Rouen on 15 Sep and going onwards to join 1st/8th Battalion on 24 Sep 1916. He was attached to 214 Company Royal Engineers as engine driver on 7 Dec 1916, to 149 Company R E on 17 Mar 1917, to 353 Company RE on 26 Apr 1917 and to 352 Company RE on 28 Jun 1917. Thomas was renumbered to 307772 in the Territorial Force renumbering in 1917. Thomas had leave in UK in Jun 1918 and rejoined 1st/8th on 4 Jul 1918. As Part of 75 Brigade, 25 Division they took part in the Final Advance in Picardy and were engaged in the Battle of Sambre (5 Nov 1918) although close to the end of the Great War, casualties were high and Thomas was killed in this action on 4 Nov 1918.
Additional Information
War Gratuity £14 10s and arrears of £5 16s was paid to his mother.
Acknowledgments
Neil Cooper
Jonty Wild
