HOLT, Thomas L

Thomas Holt was married to Alice Beatrice and lived in King Street, Wollescote. He volunteered for the Worcesters and joined the 10th (Service) Battalion which served on the Somme in 1916 and in the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917. In the Spring of 1918 the Worcesters were situated near Bapaume and represented the second line of defence against the first of the German Spring offensives. This started on the 21st March with the Battle of St. Quentin and within three days the German attack had reached the old Somme battlefield. After suffering heavy casualties the Worcesters moved to Flanders, only to face the second German offensive. When they moved to the quiet sector near Reims in May, a much reduced battalion was hit by the third offensive. Along with the 1st and 3rd Battalions they put up a desperate resistance against the huge number of German troops and by the middle of June the line had been saved. It was another crucial turning point in the Great War. Casualties were so high that the 10th Battalion was disbanded. On the 18th June, the last day of the battle and after three years of front line service, Sergeant Thomas Holt was killed in action. He was 28 years of age and is commemorated on the Soissons, Lye and Wollescote and Lye church Memorials.