Thomas Cartwright Private 11518 - 1st Bn. Coldstream Guards Died of wounds Friday 24th November 1916 age 27 Buried Grove Town Cemetery, Somme, France Thomas Cartwright was born in 1889, the son of Thomas and Harriet Cartwright (née Tildesley). His family (farm bailiff’s and waggoners) had lived at the Hollies in Gnosall parish since around 1865. He had three older siblings (Fanny, Harry and David – who died before he was demobilised in 1919) and three younger (Beatrice, Arthur and Charles). Thomas did not follow in the family footsteps: by 1911 he was working as a brewer’s assistant in Stafford. Thomas entered the war in France on the 22 nd  January 1915 as private 11518 in the 1 st   Bn. of the Coldstream Guards. After the war he was awarded the British War medal, the Victory medal and the 1915 Star. He fought at the Battle of Aubers which lasted one day, when 10,000 men were killed and no progress was made. In August the remaining 1 st  Bn. Coldstream Guards was transferred to the 2 nd  Brigade of the same Division. Thomas then fought at the Battle of Loos (25 th  September-14 th  October 1915) which was also known as ‘The Big Push’ (no less than six Divisions were pushed into it). In 1916 came the Battle of Albert in Picardy (1 st  to the 13 th  July) which was the beginning of the Battle of the Somme, quickly followed on the 14 th  July by the Battle of Bazentin, which led to a tactical British victory 3 days later. The Coldstream Guards then fought at the battles of Pozieres in July-August, Flers-Courcelette (15 th -22 nd  September) and then Morval which had been the final target of Flers-Courcelette but was postponed to the 25 th   September due to the heavy rain, fog and mud (and shorter days) which had frequently affected operations that month. Thomas, one among thousands was in all this, had gone through all and had survived. But then he was wounded, severely. He died of those wounds, aged 27, on the 24 th   November 1916 and was buried at Grove Town Cemetery at Meaulte, on the Somme. His grave is in plot 2, row K, number 15. The inscription (chosen by his parents) reads: