8th Battery, 2A Reserve Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Thomas Albert Mann was born in the parish of St Mary de Lode, Gloucester on 30 May 1893.
His father, Thomas, died in 1917 and mother, Minnie Maud (née Davis) in 1905. At the time of his birth he was living at 18 Deacon Street, Gloucester.
It would appear that he had two brothers, William (born 1898) and Arthur George (born 1900) and two sisters, Lilley (born 1896) and Minnie Eleanor (born 1904). Thomas (senior) was a boatman and his son appears to have followed him as a waterman, the 1911 Census records him (age 17) living aboard a vessel named Kempsey in Gloucester Docks, along with his 26 year old uncle Walter.
Thomas Mann attested for military service, for the duration of the war, at Gloucester on 19 February 1915.
He gave his age as 21 years and seven months, his occupation as a boatman and address as 36 Tredworth Road, Gloucester.
He had no previous military service and stated a preference to serve in the Royal Horse or Royal Field Artillery (RFA).
His initial posting was to No 6 RFA Depot, Glasgow on 20 February 1915 and then, on 23 April 1915, to 32 Battery, RFA: he was appointed Acting Bombardier on 24 August 1915.
A posting to 6th Reserve Brigade followed on 18 July 1916 and promotion to Bombardier, which was the equivalent rank to Corporal, came on 9 November 1916, with 315th Brigade, RFA.
This coincided with his arrival in France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).
On 18 November he appears to have been temporarily attached to 63rd Royal Naval Division during what was the last day of the Battle of the Ancre, the final engagement of the almost five month long Somme Offensive.
He was back with 315 Brigade on 19 February 1917 and remained with the BEF until 7 September 1917. He returned to the UK on the following day and was posted to 8 Battery, 2A Reserve Brigade at Preston, Lancashire.
On Christmas Day 1917 he married Jessie May Peach at St Paul’s Church, Gloucester. The marriage record shows his occupation as a ‘soldier’ and Jessie’s as ‘munitions worker’. She was probably employed at the large munitions factory at Quedgeley on the southern outskirts of the city. There were no children.
During November 1916 Thomas had an accident which resulted to damage to his left knee and this eventually resulted in his discharge from the Army on 1 March 1918.
He was awarded a Silver War Badge, to denote discharge from military service: his military service comprised three years and 11 days.
Thomas Albert Mann died on 26 November 1920, aged 26. The cause of death was unknown and it seems very unlikely that this was directly related to the injury which resulted in his discharge.
He was buried in Gloucester Old Cemetery, where a standard CWGC headstone marks his grave.
His wife Jessie, re-married in 1922 to her late husband’s uncle Walter Sydney Mann who was about six years older than Thomas. They had eight children together and Walter died in 1947 and Jessie three years later.
Researched by Graham Adams 15 August 2019