253600 Pte William Thomas Thompson British Army 2/4 Btn East Lancashire Regiment Tyneside Irish Brigade from:104 Tamworth Road, Newcastle upon Tyne My father joined the Army in early 1916 after been given a white feather by a girl friend.
As he worked at Vickers Armstrong in Newcastle upon Tyne, he did not have to go to war.
I believe he joined the Tyneside Irish Brigade firstly and was transferred to the East Lancashire Regiment in Oct/Nov 1917.
He fought at the Somme in July 1916, Passchendaele, and Arras. Hhe also mentioned Vinny Ridge.
At one point he was gassed, and on returning to England, they were greeted by Queen Mary and given a small box each.
Sometime in 1918 he was taken prisoner by the Germans and sent to a camp in Germany.
He said: "One day all the camp guards disappeared. We were left locked up without food or water. Two days later the British arrived and told us the war was over".
He was repatriated back to England 1918-11-30. He stayed with the 2/4 East Lancs after the war ended serving in Ireland as a Majors' Groom.
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