206452 Rfm. Thomas Owen British Army 5th Btn. Rifle Brigade from:Bolton, Lancashire Thomas Owen was my grandfather on my mother's side. Unfortunately I never knew him or anything about him and as my mother was orphaned as a very young girl, she never knew him either. The information I have here was gleaned from his War Service Record.
Thomas Owen enlisted in the army on 8 October 1914, just 2 months after the birth of his first child and the following day he found himself at Tidworth Park Camp. He was transferred to the 5th Battalion The Rifle Brigade in June 1915 and was posted to France on 28 July 1915. On 27 September 1915 he was wounded in France and returned to England. Thomas went back to France in January 1916 but on 26 March 1916 he was shot in the leg and returned to England. As a result of his wounds he was invalided out of the army and his discharge papers show that he was then in the 9th Battalion Rifle Brigade.
I would be very interested to learn anything about the battles fought by the Rifle Brigade that might help me piece together his WW1 service.
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