THOMAS JEANES 1895-1916

Thomas Jeanes was born on 20 January 1895 and baptised in Ashcott Parish Church on 9 June 1895.
His parents were John, a haulier, and Caroline Jeanes (nee Hancock).His father was born in Walton and his mother in Stepney, London.
‘Tom’ Jeanes was admitted to Ashcott School on 12 June 1899 (when his date of birth was entered as 13 January 1895), and he left school on 10 September 1908.
At the time of the 1911 census Thomas was working as a ‘groom’ prior to joining the 7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry formed at Taunton in 1914. The battalion landed in France in July 1915.
On 15 September 1916 the village of Lesboeufs, north-east of Amiens, was attacked by the ‘Guards’ and captured from the Germans after eight days. Thomas, now a Lance Corporal, died on the 16 September 1916 and was buried in the Guards Cemetery at Lesboeufs with 1500 other men who died in the period 1916-1918.
Thomas’ mother was informed that he had been wounded on 16 September but received no further news of her son by the end of October. The Bridgwater Mercury published a letter from Mrs Jeanes on 1 November in which she appealed for any information about Thomas. The Bridgwater Mercury of 8 November reported that the Record Office at Exeter had now confirmed Thomas as ‘wounded in action on 16 September’, and that the War Office was inquiring into the case. The following week Mrs Jeanes was informed that Thomas had in fact died from his wounds on the 16 September. Such delays were not uncommon following major front line battles.
Thomas was awarded the Victory, and British War Medals.

 

Attachments – Commonwealth War Graves Commission Certificate
– Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery Details
References – Ashcott Parish Church Baptisms No. 800, 9 June 1895
– Ashcott School Admission Logs No. 67, 1899
– Ashcott Parish Church Marriages No. 79, 1 February 1877
– Bridgwater Mercury November 1916
– World War 1 Medal Cards

 

In Memory of
Lance Corporal T JEANES

20543, 7th Bn., Somerset Light Infantry
who died
on 16 September 1916

Remembered with honour

GUARDS’ CEMETERY, LESBOEUFS

 

Cemetery Details

Cemetery: GUARDS’ CEMETERY, LESBOEUFS
Country: France
Locality: Somme

Location Information: Lesboeufs is a village 16 kilometres north-east of Albert.
Historical Information: Lesboeufs was attacked by the Guards Division on 15 September 1916 and captured by them on the 25th. It was lost on 24 March 1918 during the great German offensive, after a stubborn resistance by part of the 63rd Bn. Machine Gun Corps, and recaptured on 29 August by the 10th Bn. South Wales Borderers. At the time of the Armistice, the cemetery consisted of only 40 graves (now Plot I), mainly those of officers and men of the 2nd Grenadier Guards who died on 25 September 1916, but it was very greatly increased when graves were brought in from the battlefields and small cemeteries round Lesboeufs. There are now 3,136 casualties of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 1,643 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 83 soldiers known or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials record the names of five casualties buried in Ginchy A.D.S. Cemetery, whose graves were destroyed by shell fire, and three officers of the 2nd Bn. Coldstream Guards, killed in action on 26 September 1916 and known to have been buried together by the roadside near Lesboefs, whose grave could not later be located. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. The more considerable burial grounds concentrated into this cemetery were the following:- FLERS DRESSING STATION CEMETERY, GINCHY, between Delville Wood and Flers, containing the graves of 33 soldiers from Australia and eight from the United Kingdom who fell in September, 1916-March, 1917. FLERS ROAD CEMETERY, FLERS, on the Flers-Longueval road, containing the graves of 17 soldiers from the United Kingdom, three from New Zealand and one from Australia, who fell in October, 1916. GINCHY A.D.S. CEMETERY, on the North side of Ginchy village. This was a Field Ambulance cemetery, used from November, 1916 TO March, 1917, and containing the graves of 77 soldiers from the United Kingdom and one from Australia. GINCHY R.F.A. CEMETERY, between Ginchy and Flers, containing the graves of 16 Artillerymen from the United Kingdom and five from Australia who fell in October, 1916-February, 1917. GUARDS’ BURIAL GROUND, GINCHY, on the East side of the village, containing the graves of 21 officers and men of the Guards Division who fell on the 15th September, 1916. NEEDLE DUMP CEMETERY, LESBOEUFS, on the road to Flers, containing the graves of 23 soldiers from Australia and four from the United Kingdom who fell in October, 1916-March, 1917. NEEDLE DUMP SOUTH CEMETERY, LESBOEUFS, about 50 yards South of Needle Dump Cemetery, containing the graves of 14 soldiers from Australia and nine from the United Kingdom who fell in October, 1916-March, 1917. SWITCH TRENCH CEMETERY, FLERS, a little East of the Flers-Longueval road, containing 110 (mainly Australian) graves of 1916-17. On the site of another part of Switch Trench, further West, the New Zealand Government have erected one of their two Battlefield Memorials in France. WINDMILL TRENCH CEMETERY, LESBOEUFS, on the road leading North from Lesboeufs. It was used from September, 1916 to March, 1917, and it contained the graves of 27 soldiers from the United Kingdom and 16 from Australia.
No. of Identified Casualties: 1493
This figure includes Foreign and Non-World War graves in CWGC care

Casualty Details

 

 

Name:	JEANES
Initials:	T
Nationality:	United Kingdom
Rank:	Lance Corporal
Regiment/Service:	Somerset Light Infantry
Unit Text:	7th Bn.
Date of Death:	16/09/1916
Service No:	20543
Casualty Type:	Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:	III. A. 10.
Cemetery:	GUARDS’ CEMETERY, LESBOEUFS