100 years today my Great Grandfather L/8585 Corporal Thomas Tipper landed in France as Part of the British Expeditionary Force, 1st Battalion The Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment. Of the 900+ men that landed to fight at the battle of Mons, by November 1914 only 12 men would be left. My G.Grandfather then returned to the U.k to assist with reform of the Battalion and rose to the rank of C.S.M (Company Sergeant Major). He later returned to France and during this time received 2 mention in dispatches and The M.M, Military Medal for Bravery. His War ended in the opening days of Passchendale 1917 where his jaw and arm were badly damaged by a German Shell landing near to him. He luckily survived and returned to the U.K to receive surgery but was left permanently disfigured on one side of his jaw which was replaced by wire. Today I remember his bravery and the ultimate sacrifice that many of his colleagues made during this time. Lest We Forget.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 08:17:18 +0000