WW1 1914-15 Star trio, 3567 Pte T.R. Hull, 9th East Surrey Regiment, POW St Quentin 1918

WW1 1914-15 Star trio named to 3567 Private T.R. Hull, East Surrey Regiment. Thomas Hull of Ponders End served on the Western Front from 1915. He was captured at St Quentin on the very first day of the German spring offensive, 21 March 1918.

Good condition for age, with original ribbons.

A Ponders End lad

Thomas was born at Ponders End, near Enfield, on 17 April 1893. In the 1911 census he was 18 and living at home with his parents, Thomas and Mary, his brothers Albert and Sidney, and his sisters Florence and Hilda.

To France in 1915

Thomas joined the East Surrey Regiment and landed in France on 5 October 1915. Arriving that early earned him the 1914-15 Star, the first medal in this trio.

Captured on the first day of the spring offensive

On 21 March 1918, Germany launched its huge spring offensive on the Western Front. Thomas was serving with the 9th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, and was taken prisoner at St Quentin that same day.

The German prisoner list that records him also names men from many other regiments, all captured at St Quentin on 21 March. About half of all British soldiers captured in the whole war were taken between that day and the Armistice.

Prisoner in Germany

Thomas was held at Kassel (Cassel) in Germany. His name appears on a German prisoner list headed Mannheim, which reached the International Red Cross on 5 June 1918.

The list gives his birth date, his home town, and his father as next of kin. It confirms exactly who he was.

His name did not appear on the British War Office lists until 3 August 1918, more than four months after he was captured.

Home again

Thomas survived captivity. By 17 February 1919 he was listed as a released prisoner who had arrived back in England. He left the army for the reserve on 28 March 1919.

A note on his number

The German clerk wrote his number as 3551. His medals and British records give 3567. Errors like this are common on German lists, and every other detail matches.

Naming

• 1914-15 Star: 3567 Pte. T.R. Hull, E. Surr. R.
• British War Medal: 3567 Pte. T.R. Hull, E. Surr. R.
• Victory Medal: 3567 Pte. T.R. Hull, E. Surr. R.

Records researched

• Medal index card
• War Office lists, 3 August 1918 (prisoner of war) and 17 February 1919 (released)
• International Red Cross prisoner list 24761
• 1911 census