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Thomas Cree cap badgePrivate Thomas Cree

2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders
Service No: 9306

Thomas Cree grave

1237

1

4

0

21
Personal details

Family Information

Son of William and Mary Cunningham Cree of 2 West Shaw St, Kilmarnock then Tichfield St, Kilmarnock. From the 1891 Census - Address - 13 Neephill Row, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire - William Cree aged 27, Mary C Cree aged 25, Thomas Cree aged 3, Dennis Cree aged 2, Margaret Cree aged 1 month. From the 1901 Census - Address - 8 Kiln Row, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire - William Cree aged 35, Mary Cree aged 33, Thomas Cree aged 13, Dennis Cree aged 12, Maggie Cree aged 10, Kate Cree aged 8, George Cree aged 4, Joseph Cree aged 2, Archibald Cree aged 1 month. Thomas' Pension was awarded to his mother Mary of Tichfield St, Kilmarnock on the 16/02/1917.

Born / Resided

Kilmarnock, Ayrshire / 37 Back Row, Coatbridge.

Died

Killed in Action on the 27/06/1915 in reserve on the Canal Bank near Zwaanhof Farm, North East of Ypres

Enlisted

Kilmarnock 1914

Employed

Miner in Rosehall Colliery.

Age

27

Buried / Remembered

Bard Cottage Cemetery (VI. C. 7), West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

or much of the First World war, the village of Boesinghe (now Boezinge) directly faced the German line across the Yser canal. Bard Cottage was a house a little set back from the line, close to a bridge called Bard's Causeway, and the cemetery was made nearby in a sheltered position under a high bank. Burials were made between June 1915 and October 1918 and they reflect the presence of the 49th (West Riding), the 38th (Welsh) and other infantry divisions in the northern sectors of the Ypres Salient. There are now 1,639 Commonwealth casualties of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 39 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate three casualties known to be buried among them.

Additional Information

Thomas and the Battalion arrived at Boulogne on the 23/08/1914 and were part of the 10th Brigade, 4th Division. He was Killed in Action on the 27/06/1915 in reserve on the Canal Bank near Zwaanhof Farm, North East of Ypres. Thomas was the only man killed on this day from the 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders. 11 others were wounded. The Battalion received heavy shelling all day on the 26th and in the morning on the 27th June. They relieved the Royal Irish Fusiliers in the front trenches on the evening of the 28th commencing at 09.15p.m. SEE PHOTOS x 13 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY JUNE 1915. Thomas was originally buried at Boesinghe and was reburied in Bard Cottage Cemetery (see reburial form). Grave photo donated by Mick McCann at the britishwargraves.co.uk. Thomas is also remembered on the St. Mary's Catholic Church Roll of Honour. Possibly Thomas' younger brothers listed on the Roll of Honour. George Cree and Dennis Cree, Rosehall, Highland Light Infantry (see Newspaper clipping). See photos for Thomas' Medal Index Card, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Reburial Form, his Headstone Report x 2, Bard Cottage Cemetery, the Seaforth Highlanders Cap Badge and Thomas' Pension Records x 3. Finally, see photos for Newspaper clipping for the Coatbridge Express 20/01/1915.

Photos
Thomas Cree Medal Index CardThomas Cree newspaper clippingThomas Cree remembered at homeThomas Cree remembered at homeThomas Cree remembered at homeThomas Cree remembered at homeThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photoThomas Cree additional photo

War Diaries

The battalion War Diary is available on the National Archives website.

Creative Commons License

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