Thomas James Lucas

Story:
Thomas James Lucas was born on 18th April 1898 in Ludwell, Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire, and baptised there on 22nd May 1898 (along with his twin brother Alfred John Lucas) the son of Alfred Lucas and Julia Anne Cox Lucas (née Reed).  He lived all his early life in Ludwell, Donhead St. Mary.  He enlisted on 5th September 1914 and joined the Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire) Regiment as a Private (Service No. 12873).  Very quickly thereafter he was transferred to the 6th (Service) Battalion of the Leinster Regiment (Service No. 6/1260) and posted to the Middle East on 5 Aug 1915.  He served at Gallipoli, Turkey, and was wounded.  He also suffered from enteritis plus being wounded a second time following which he lost a finger on his left hand.  His disability did not stop him being transferred to the Machine Gun Corps (Service No. 73994) and thereafter attached to the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) until his discharge on 9th March 1919.  He had been awarded a gratuity as a result of the lost finger but no pension.   He was also awarded the Victory and British War medals as well as the 1915 Star.  The 1921 Census shows him living at Beckingshill, Ludwell, Donhead St. Mary, working as a Painter and Decorator. He married Emma Margaret Alice Johnson in Bournemouth, Hampshire, during 1929 and they went on to have at least one child.  By the 1939 Register he was living at 94 Castlemain Avenue, Bournemouth, Hampshire, working as an Engineer's Labourer.  He died in the Salisbury, Wiltshire, Registration District during 1982.  His twin brother, Alfred John Lucas, also served in the conflict.