Thomas Mumby
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Tom was born on December 16th 1893 in Rockley but his birth certificate does not record his father’s name. His mother married William Mumby towards the end of 1894 and Tom was brought up as a member of the Mumby family. By 1901 they had moved in with William’s parents, Thomas and Frances Mumby at Askham, a village near Retford, and Tom then went to school in East Markham. Over the period of their married life, they had 13 children, 11 of them surviving into adulthood. The 11 offspring were born between 1894 and 1909 which came to an end as William died in 1910 age 40.After Tom's father's death in 1910, his mother, Mary Ann, found herself the head of a household comprising herself, her in-laws (who by then were aged 75 and 77) and nine children who were still at home, ranging in age from 2 to 13. After school, Tom worked as a farm servant at John Booth's on Church Street in East Markham but then left farm work to become a platelayer on the Great Central Railway.
He enlisted in the army shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The limited army records which are available say that he initially served with the Leicester Regiment before transferring to the 1st Battalion the Sherwood Foresters. He went to France with the Sherwood Foresters on March 16th. 1915 and was killed in action at the battle of the Somme on July 5th. 1916. His name is recorded on the Thiepval memorial , the War Memorials in East Markham (in the Parish Church and on the High Street) and on the Great Central Railway Memorial in Sheffield, which is now in the grounds of the Royal Victoria Holiday Inn.
Pte Thomas Mumby The Retford Times 25/8/1916 Pte Mumby who was the eldest son of Mrs Mumby, East Markham, made the great sacrifice on 1st July. Deceased was 21 years of age and had been in France about a year. He leaves a widowed mother and seven brothers and sisters to mourn his loss. He was a lad who was much liked in the village and the deepest sympathy is felt with his sorrowing mother and family.
