Heslop’s Local Advertiser
Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
Thomas Keenan, known at Tom, was born 1893 at Felling, Gateshead, County Durham, one of 10 children of whom only 8 survived, he was the youngest of 4 sons and 4 daughters. His father James Keenan was born 1845 in Ireland and brought to England by his parents. He married at Gateshead in 1872 to Elizabeth Short native of Heworth born 1853. By 1881 he and his wife and 4 children were living at East Terrace, Felling where he was employed as a chemical labourer, later they moved to 17, Simpson’s Buildings. Having moved by 1901 to Carlisle Street James was joined as a general labourer by his sons Henry (23), Peter (20) and James (18), daughter Mary (15) helped her mother with domestic chores, Isabella (10) and Thomas (8) were scholars.
James Kennan died in 1905 when Thomas was 12 years old, his widow Elizabeth went to live in 3 rooms at 9, Carlisle Street with 3 of her elder children and 8-year-old granddaughter Elizabeth (Keenan). James and Thomas supported them employed as miners.
Thomas Keenan enlisted at Felling on the outbreak of war assigned as Private 13396 Durham Light Infantry. The new recruits left Newcastle-upon-Tyne by train in late September early October for Buckinghamshire. At Aylesbury some were formed into the 14th (Service) Battalion whilst the remainder were sent to Halton Park as the 15th Battalion. Private Keenan was assigned to the 14th Battalion which joined the 15th at Halton Park, October 3rd 1914, attached to the 64th Brigade, 21st Division. Bad weather, no uniforms, dummy rifles and few officers made training difficult and little more than basic drill. By early December both battalions were moved into billets at High Wycombe where their training began in earnest having been issued with uniforms and rifles. By early April 1915 they returned to Halton Park for further training before moving to Witley Camp near Aldershot where they were prepared for service overseas.
September 11th 1915 both the 14th and 15th Battalions landed at Boulogne as part of the British Expeditionary Force. Two weeks later still inexperienced and unprepared they were sent into battle at Loos in the first major British offensive on the Western Front. After a long march cold, wet and hungry they attacked the German trenches at 2 a.m. September 26th, later that morning they were driven back by machine gun fire to the old German front line. The 14th Battalion lost almost 300 men killed or wounded, the 15th over 450.
November 28th 1915 the 14th was transferred to the 18th Brigade, 6th Division and sent to the Ypres salient in Belgium to relieve troops that had fought during the 2nd Battle of Ypres. They had a relatively quiet time for the rest of that year and the spring of 1916.
Private 13396 Thomas Keenen Durham Light Infantry was killed in action May 18th 1916 and is interred at Bard Cottage Cemetery, West Vlaanderen, near Ypres in Belgium, grave I. H. 2. His grave is a joint grave with that of Private 15620 J. A. Brewis Durham Light Infantry which indicates that their remains were found together during the clearing of the battlefields and due to decomposition it was impossible to give positive identification to either individual in order to bury them in individual plots. In these circumstances the headstones marking the plot will have been placed touching one another. Private Keenan at the time of his demise was 23 years old and single.
Thomas had nominated his sister Isabella as his beneficiary, she received all monies due to him and his awards of the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
His mother Elizabeth Kennan nee Short died at Gateshead, County Durham in 1929 aged 76 years.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
His death was reported in Heslop's Local Advertiser 23/6/1916:
"Private Tom Keenan, D.L.I., killed in action on May 18th, aged 23 years. Youngest son of Elizabeth and the late James Keenan, Felling."
He is remembered at Felling on F32.06
He is also remembered in The DLI Book of Remembrance page 122
