Sam was born in Idle around 1880, the second of seven children of Jermiah and Hannah Thornton. He married Mary Ann in 1908 and by the 1911 census the pair had a daughter, Edna. The first we know of Sam’s war record is a short piece in the Shipley Times & Express on 8 June 1917: Pte Sam Thornton, Duke of Wellington’s Regt, whose wife and family reside at 7 Lees Place, Albion Road, is reported missing. Sam, who is well known in the neighbourhood, joined up last Idle Feast and went to France towards the end of January. Judging from his letters, he has had many exciting adventures. The next mention of Sam is a long list the newspaper published on 15 November 1918 of local men they thought had been prisoners of war and would soon be home. But any hopes Mary Ann and Edna might have had were dashed the following month with the announcement: Previously reported missing since 3rd May 1917, Pte S H Thornton, Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regt, of 7 Lees Place, idle, is now officially reported to have been killed on that date.