Walter Charles Thorne

Story:
Walter Charles Thorne was born in 1895 in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, and baptised there on 8th December, 1895. He was the son of Charles Stephen Thorne, a grocer's carter, and Agnes Charlotte Thorne (nee Stevens). (NB Up until the 1911 Census the family name was spelt 'Thorn' the 'e' was added for all purposes thereafter.) By 1911 the family had moved to the Shaftesbury, Dorset, area and at the time of the 1911 Census Walter was single, working as a Caker's Lad and living at Layton Lane, Shaftesbury, Dorset. He enlisted in Taunton, Somerset, and joined the 5th Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment (Service No. 1035) and at the time of his death he held the rank of Lance Corporal (Corporal was cited on the pension records however later on). He was posted to the Balkans on 8 Jul 1915 served at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, and was awarded the Victory and British War Medals as well as the 1915 Star. He was presumed killed in action on 16th August 1915 and his name appears on the Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey (Panel 55). He is also remembered on the Park Walk and St. James’ War Memorials, Shaftesbury, and also on the Roll of Honour inside St. James’ Church and on the Holy Trinity Memorial Plaque, now in St. Peter's Church, Shaftesbury. His name also appears on the Irish Roll of Honour.  His mother was awarded a dependent's pension which later transferred to his father on his mother's death in 1926. Walter's brothers Wilfred Henry Thorne and Cecil Bernard Longman Thorne, also served in the war and survived the conflict.