Born: 18 April, 1884 in Idle
Died: 15 July 1957, in Croydon, Surrey.
Buried: Bradford
Address: Tomlinson Buildings, Greenfield Lane, Idle
Parents: Joshua and Grace Ann, nee Watson
Spouse: Sabina, nee Halliday
Siblings: Uriah
Occupation: Mason’s labourer
Organisations/clubs:
Military
Rank: Pte
Medals/awards:
Rolls of Honour:
Children:
Regiment: 2 West Riding M C depot
Thomas Cordingley
Thomas wrote home from the trenches in
July 1915 to assure his mother that
despite being under constant shell fire, he
and his mates were “sticking it like good
ones in the trenches.
“As the long hours roll by we stick to our
guns for each lad knows his duty.”
All around towns and villages were being
devastated and Thomas noted “it makes
one’s heart sore to see the havoc wrought
in Flanders and to see children made
homeless as a result of the work of the
Hun.”
And he concluded: “If the Germans once
got to England they would bring the
slacker to his senses and teach him that
he ought to do his share. Let those at
home do their ‘whack’ and those at the
front will do their best not only to defend
old England, but also to drive
the Germans across the Rhine.
Thomas had enlisted soon after
war was declared when he was
30 years old but a story that
has been passed down the
years tells how he once joined
up by saying he was older than
he was, probably for the Boer
War.
Serving his country was
obviously important to him
and probably the whole family
because the following month
his mother passed on another
letter from him to the newspaper in
which he said: “it is time that the young
fellows at home came to their senses and
realised their responsibilities.
“It would do them good
to be under shell fire
for a few weeks instead
of walking about in the
highways and byways
in England. It is time
they showed they are
willing to do their bit.”
The next we hear of
Thomas is in gallery of
photos ‘Heroes who
have done their duty’
during the battle of the
Somme in which it is
revealed that he was
wounded, though no
details were given.
Thanks to research done by his
granddaughter, Margaret Cannon, we
know that Thomas was discharged from
the army in 1917 as a result of being
wounded, though it is not clear if this was
the wound he received at the Somme or
perhaps a second injury picked up after
returning to the line.
He returned to Idle and worked again as a
mason’s labourer and Margaret said: ‘My
mother told me that for several years after
the war, shrapnel from the wound would
work its way through his skin.’
Thomas’s first wife Sabina Halliday died
in 1919 and in 1920 he married again, to
Dora Corley.
Thomas died in Croydon on 15 July 1957
and was brought back to Bradford to be
buried
