THOMAS, MAURICE, Private, No. 1715, 1/4th (Service) Battn. the Royal Sussex Regt. (T.F.), s. of the late Thomas Henry Thomas, of Worthing, by his wife, Ellen (11, Stanhope Road, Worthing), dau. of William Knight, of Washington, Sussex; b. Worthing, co. Sussex, 4 April, 1897; educ. St. Andrew’s Higher Grade School there, and on leaving became a messenger boy at the Worthing G.P.O. and had passed his examinations for the staff when war broke out. He had joined the Royal Sussex Territorials, 14 Aug. 1913; was called up 4 Aug. 1914, and volunteered for foreign service, and left England for the Dardanelles in July, 1915. He was attd. to the machine- gun section of his battn., landed at Suvla Bay, 8 Aug. and was killed in action there four days later, 12 Aug. 1915, as his battn. was retiring after being relieved from the front trenches. The Turks opened a heavy machine-gun fire on them, and he was hit and killed almost immediately. He was buried where he fell at Anafarta Sagir, 1.20-000-105H, near Track to Chocolate Hill between 4-7 p.m. He was a prominent member of the Holy Trinity Church Lads’ Naval Brigade.
Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 1