212329 Pte. John Thomas Wright British Army 22nd Battalion Northumberland Fuiliers from:Bedlington, Northumberland (d.1st July 1916) Through researching my family tree and speaking with my family I have discovered that my great grand uncle Thomas Wright died at the battle of the Somme on 1/7/1916 in the first wave of soldiers who ventured into no man's land. We have a commemorative plaque with his name inscribed which must have been given to the family at some point but have no other documentation to go with it. From researching the family tree I discovered that he was part if the 22nd battalion and was in the 3rd division of the Tyneside Scottish Fusiliers. As far as I can tell, they were stationed in France in January 1916 and were located across from a small fortified village called la Boisselle. I have read that the battalion were played into battle on the first day of the battle by the regiments pipers so was really pleased to see another story on this site of a piper from the same division.
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