Thomas Alleyne Bosworth

Bosworth emigrated to Canada in 1914 but stayed only two years, returning as one of over 600,000 men to join Canada’s Great War forces when S.S. Corsican sailed into Liverpool on November 5th1916. Bosworth spent ten months in reserve before September 1917’s transfer for machine gun training at Shoreham. He was promoted to corporal on June 6th1918. He moved overseas to the Canadian Machine Gun Depot in November 1917 and was posted in December to the 7th Machine Gun Company which was reorganised as part of the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion under the command of Lt. Colonel Moorhouse on March 15th 1918. On May 7th the battalion was redeployed to Marles Les Mines for recuperation and training. 'Men in poor condition,' reported their CO, 'on account of long period in the line and could not have marched much further'. In early July, Bosworth returned to the line. There was some but casualties seem to have been light with no fatalities until July 15th when the war diary recorded ‘No. 6442206 Cpl. Bosworth T.A. Killed in Action (Shrapnel).’ Bosworth was evidently the unlucky victim of stray or occasional shell fire during one of the conflict’s less dangerous months at the Front. Bosworth’s gravestone in the isolated Wailly British cemetery near Arras acknowledges with a maple leaf his connections with Canada but below the cross is inscribed that ultimate expression of the patriotism that had compelled his return to Europe: ‘There is a corner of a foreign field that is forever England.’

Source: Britannia Calls: Nottingham schools and the push for Great War victory by David Nunn