{"product_id":"ww1-1914-15-star-trio-thomas-hull-east-surrey-regiment-prisoner-of-war","title":"WW1 1914-15 Star trio, 3567 Pte T.R. Hull, 9th East Surrey Regiment, POW St Quentin 1918","description":"\u003cp\u003eWW1 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood condition for age, with original ribbons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA Ponders End lad\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThomas 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTo France in 1915\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThomas 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCaptured on the first day of the spring offensive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePrisoner in Germany\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThomas 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe list gives his birth date, his home town, and his father as next of kin. It confirms exactly who he was.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis name did not appear on the British War Office lists until 3 August 1918, more than four months after he was captured.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHome again\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThomas 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA note on his number\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eNaming\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1914-15 Star: 3567 Pte. T.R. Hull, E. Surr. R.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBritish War Medal: 3567 Pte. T.R. Hull, E. Surr. R.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVictory Medal: 3567 Pte. T.R. Hull, E. Surr. R.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eRecords researched\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMedal index card\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWar Office lists, 3 August 1918 (prisoner of war) and 17 February 1919 (released)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInternational Red Cross prisoner list 24761\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1911 census\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Gradia Militaria","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54690039988552,"sku":null,"price":145.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0924\/1103\/5976\/files\/ww1-1914-15-star-trio-thomas-hull-east-surrey-regiment-prisoner-of-war-front.jpg?v=1794586022","url":"https:\/\/www.gradiamilitaria.com\/products\/ww1-1914-15-star-trio-thomas-hull-east-surrey-regiment-prisoner-of-war","provider":"Gradia Militaria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}