On the Arras Memorial, France is the name of 81395 Corporal Thomas Cairns, serving with the “Z” 61st T.M. Battery Royal Field Artillery who died 13/10/1917.

The son of Mrs. Nancy Cairns, of 92, Haig Street, Dunston on Tyne, Co. Durham.

He is listed as a player with Newcastle United Football Club in To the Glory of God: Newcastle United and the Great War; Paul Joannou; 2018; Novo Publishing Ltd., ISBN 978 0 95 681562 0.

The Newcastle Journal 23/10/1917 reports:-
ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL.
NEWCASTLE UNITED PLAYER KILLED.
Information been received in Chopwell that Private Thomas Cairns, R.F.A., has been killed in action. He was 22 years of age, and one of the most promising footballers in the North of England. Prior to enlistment he was a member of the Newcastle United A, team, in which he usually played at centre forward, though on the last occasion Aston Villa visited Newcastle he figured at inside left. He commenced his career with the Chopwell School Boys’ team and was one the team which won the Derwent Valley Schools’ League.

Thomas Cairns is remembered at Chopwell as T.W. Cairns on C92.01 and C92.02 and in Newcastle on Tyne on NUT168.