Family :

Education & Career :

Harrow School 1899-1902. Professional Soldier

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

The Gallipoli Campaign was fought on the Gallipoli peninsula 25th April 1915 to 9th January 1916. in a failed attempt to defeat Turkey by seizing the Dardanelles and capturing Istanbul. Ill-conceived and planned, the initial effort by the Royal Navy failed to force passage through the Dardanelles by sea power alone. It was then realised that a land force was needed to support the project by suppressing the Turkish mobile artillery batteries. By the time all was ready the Turks were well aware and well prepared. Despite amazing heroics on the day of the landings only minor beachheads were achieved and over the succeeding 8 months little progress was made. Eventually the beachheads were evacuated in a series of successful ruses.

Despite Gallipoli rightly becoming a national source of pride to Australians and New Zealanders, far more British casualties were sustained, and these days the substantial French contribution is almost forgotten.

Detail :

AUBREY JOCELYN NUGENT THOMAS CAPTAIN, 1/LANCASHIRE FUSILIERS Aubrey THOMAS was the elder son of Jocelyn H. W. Thomas (O.H.), J. P., formerly Captain Scots Fusilier Guards, of Belmont, Carlow, Ireland. He was educated at Harrow between 1899 and 1902 and at the Royal Military College Sandhurst. He received his Commission in the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1905, and was promoted Captain in January, 1915. He went to the Front in February, 1915, and was killed at W Beach (Lancashire Landing), in Gallipoli, on April 25th, 1915. W Beach, on the other side of Cape Helles from V Beach, was about 350 yards long and 40 yards wide at its widest point. While it lacked the strong defensive positions provided by the fort and castle at V Beach, it was mined, had extensive barbed wire entanglements and the only exit was via a gully that could be easily defended. There were about three platoons of Turks at W Beach. British accounts say there was at least one machine gun, Turkish accounts say there were none. The 1st Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers came ashore from 32 cutters. As at V Beach, the defenders held their fire until the boats were almost to the shore. Unlike V Beach, the Lancashires were able to get ashore and, knowing that to stay on the exposed beach meant being annihilated, they kept moving forward, despite suffering horrendous losses. The battalion suffered 533 casualties, over half its strength. At 7.15am, about an hour after the landing began, the beach was secured. With V Beach still closed, the main force began to come ashore at W Beach, which would become the main British base at Helles through the campaign. Six Victoria Crosses were awarded at W Beach, which thereafter was known as Lancashire Landing. The VC recipients were elected by the survivors of the battalion because it was deemed to contain equally brave and distinguished men. Aubrey THOMAS was a member of Mooltan Lodge in India as was one of the six VC winners at W Beach – Captain (later Major) Cuthbert BROMLEY.

Masonic :

Initiated into Invicta Lodge. Chakrata in 1909 and joined Mooltan Lodge No. 1307 also in August, 1909. Resigned from Invicta 11th September, 1911 and shows "Killed in Action" on the records of Mooltan.

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley