SLIM, Thomas

Thomas Slim came from Halesowen and volunteered for the Worcester Territorials. He went to the 1/7th Battalion which arrived in France in the Spring of 1915. They landed in France in March 1915 and saw front line action in Artois. In July 1916 they were involved in the second phase of the Battle of the Somme. German resistance in the centre of the battle zone at the village of Ovillers was eventually overcome at heavy cost. The Worcesters returned in November to the front line and helped to push the front line up to the Butte de Warlencourt, the final objective of the Battle of the Somme. After a German raid on their trenches in early December a retaliatory raid was planned. It was highly successful but Private Thomas Slim was severely wounded. He was taken to the 45th Casualty Clearing Station and died of wounds on the 12th December. He is buried at Dernancourt Cemetery Extension (IV G 25) and is commemorated on the Halesowen Memorial.