Tom Hill

Tom Hill Tom was born in January 1891 at 29 Sandy Lane, Worksop, the second son of John Hill, a miner and his wife Harriet. By 1911, Tom himself was working as a miner and lodging with the Kenworthy family at Fence near Sheffield. An attraction developed between Tom and Evelyn, the daughter of Mrs Kenworthy, leading to a wedding in 1912 and then moving to 9 Tuffolds Close on the Manor Estate at Sheffield. At the outbreak of war, Tom left his bride to volunteer for the 8th Battalion of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry one of those New Army Battalions which underwent its baptism of fire on the notorious First day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. The battalion attacked the Ovillers spur with the following waves coming under heavy machine gun fire and losing 50% of their number while crossing “No Man’s Land”. It did engage in close quarter fighting in the second and third German lines. Relieved at night, it was found that only the Medical Officer and 110 other ranks returned out of 25 officers and 659 other ranks who had gone into action. Private Tom Hill was not one of those who returned but he has a small place in history as one of the 19,240 killed on that, to then, the worst day in the history of the British Army. Like so many more, he left a grieving young widow without even a grave to visit as his body was not recovered. His name appears on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing. Courtesy of Robert Illett

CWG additional information:- Son of John and Harriet Hill, of 13, Falconer Lane, Fence; husband of Evelyn B. Hill, of 9, Tuffolds Close, Manor Estate, Sheffield.