CCB Gp Labour Corps
Thomas Henry Hawkins was born in Gloucester in 1896. He was the second eldest child (eldest son) of Samuel Hawkins (1873-1962), a corn miller and his wife Eleanor (Ellen) Sarah (nee Taylor: 1868-1939).
The couple had seven children, four boys and three girls and all had survived by the time of the 1911 Census. At that time the family lived at 25 Richmond Street, Coney Hill, Gloucester and Thomas (age 14) was recorded as being an errand boy for a butcher.
As is so often the case, thanks to the majority of Army Service Records being lost to enemy action in 1940, there is little documentary evidence available of Thomas’ military service.
It would appear likely that he was conscripted into the Army sometime during 1916 and was posted to the 92nd Training Reserve (TR), based at Chiseldon, near Swindon, Wiltshire. The TR had come into being on 1 September 1916 to provide basic training for newly enlisted men, prior to their posting to an active service unit. It replaced what had previously been a regimental based system and as a result men completing their training within the TR could find themselves posted to any unit and not necessarily to their local regiment. At TR an assessment would take place as to a man’s physical fitness for front line service. Those in A or B categories could (in most instances) serve abroad in some capacity, whilst those in ‘C’ were considered for service in the UK.
In the absence of an Army Service Record it is not known into which category Private Hawkins was placed but his posting to the Labour Corps (where he received the number 342409) probably indicates he was categorised as ‘C’. The significance of the initials ‘CCB Gp’ in relation to the Labour Corps is not known.
Thomas died at the family home of The Willows, Twigworth on 7 April 1921, aged 24 but the cause of his death is not known, in the absence of sight of a death certificate. A very short report of his funeral and burial appeared in the Gloucester Citizen of 13 April 1921. His grave, in the churchyard of St Matthew’s, Twigworth is marked by a standard CWGC headstone.
Researched by Graham Adams 19 April 2020