Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
Thomas Liddell was the only known child of Thomas Liddell Snr born 1867 at Cornsay Colliery, County Durham and Mary Richards born at Denbighshire, Wales in 1872. Her parents had migrated to the north east between 1874 and 1878 settling by 1881 at 145, Chadwick Street, Cornsay Colliery. Ten years later living with John and Mary Richards and their 7 children was Margaret Williams their niece and Thomas Liddell, boarder. John Richards and Thomas Liddell were employed as coal miners.
Thomas Liddell and Mary Richards were married in the district of Lanchester in 1896, Thomas Jnr was born in 1898 at Cornsay.
When war was declared in 1914 Thomas Jnr was barely 16 years of age, too young to enlist. He did so when he turned 18, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, assigned to the Reserve Army as Private 78410 Northumberland Fusiliers. Once he became eligible for service overseas, at the age of 19, he departed for the Western Front in 1917. Either prior to his departure or at the front he was transferred to the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry as Private 63761, 9th Battalion.
The 9th K.O.Y.L.I. attached to the 64th Brigade, 21st Division, after the final battles on the Somme was involved during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, in the Arras sector during the Battle of Arras, April 9th-May 16th 1917, they participated during the 3rd Battle of Ypres in Belgium, July-November 1917 and the Cambrai Operations. They returned to the Somme after the Germans attacked again on that front, March 21st 1918, then moved north in action during the Battle of Lys April 9th-29th, Battle of Aisne May 27th-June 6th, the 2nd Battle of the Somme August 21st-September 2nd, the Battles of the Hindenburg Line September 12th-October 12th 1918 and the Advance to Victory until the declaration of the Armistice, November 11th 1918.
Private 63761 Thomas Liddell was killed in action September 18th 1918 during the attacks on the Hindenburg Line on the first day of the Battle of Epehy. His sacrifice is recorded as one of the 9,847 names inscribed on the Vis-En-Artois Memorial, Pas de Calais, France, which forms the backdrop to the Vis-En-Artois British Cemetery, commemorating those who fell in the sector from August 8th 1918 until the Armistice, in the Advance to Victory, who have no known grave. Private Liddell was 20 years of age and single.
His mother Mary as his sole beneficiary received all monies due to him, a pension and his awards of the British War Medal and Victory Medal sent to her at 4, High Street, Cornsay Colliery, County Durham.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Thomas Liddell is remembered at Cornsay as T. Liddle on C116.01 as Thomas Liddell N.F. at Quebec on Q2.06
