Thomas Glover

Thomas Glover served with 9th Bn Sherwood Foresters in Gallipoli and was with 3rd Bn by 16/11/1915. He was then posted to the 1st Battalion 21/12/1915 wher he served with 'A' Coy. He was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps 18/2/1917 and later to 3rd Battalion Royal Tank Corps as No 77416. He is buried in Busigney Communal Cemetery Extension, Grave Reference: III D 5

Nottingham Evening Post, ‘In Memoriam’, 8 October 1919: ‘Glover. In loving memory of my dear husband, Thomas Glover, Beeston, who fell in action October 8th, 1918. Ever in my thoughts. Wife.’ (www.britishnewspaper.co.uk) Thomas Glover was the last member of the Beeston Old Boys Association to be killed during the Great War. He was in the original party of ex-Beeston Boys Brigade young men who marched with their founder to join the forces at a Recruiting Office in Nottingham. Both Thomas No 14069 and Hubert Harper No 14068 who survived the war must for some reason have registered after the others because of the gap between their service numbers. The Royal Tank Regiment's formation had followed the invention of the tank. Tanks were first used at Flers in September 1916 during the battle of the Somme. At that time, the six tank companies were grouped as the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps (MGC). In November 1916 the eight companies then in existence were each expanded to form battalions, still lettered A through H. Another seven battalions, I through O, were formed by January 1918, when they all were converted to numbered units. On 28th July 1917 the Heavy Branch was, by Royal Warrant, separated from the rest of the MGC and given official status as the Tank Corps. The Corps saw heavy action through 1917 and 1918, with special note being given to the Battle of Cambrai 1917. During the war four members of the Corps were awarded the Victoria Cross. However, heavy losses and recurrent mechanical difficulties reduced the effectiveness of the Corps leading the Bovington Tank School to adopt a doctrine that emphasised caution and high standards of maintenance in equal measure. The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment is a direct descendant of one of the original companies (C Company) of the Heavy Branch, Machine Gun Corps. 'C' Company, HBMGC was formed at Bisley in June 1916 and went to France the same year.