WINNALL, Thomas

Thomas Winnall lived in Stourbridge and volunteered for the Worcesters. He probably joined the Territorials but by 1918 he was serving in the 4th Battalion. They had just emerged from the gruelling Battle of Cambrai and spent the winter of 1917-18 in the same area before moving north to Flanders. In the second of their 1918 Spring offensives the German forces attacked on the Lys on the 9th April. The Worcesters were hurriedly deployed to halt the rapid enemy advance and they clashed in the Battle of Bailleul on the12th April. The outnumbered British forces received the full weight of the German attack over a broad front. The Worcesters were at La Creche near Steenwerck in improvised trenches and were able to hold up the enemy for half a day. Among the casualties on this day was Private Thomas Winnall who is commemorated on the Ploegsteert, Stourbridge and St. Thomas's church Memorials.