Name
Thomas Sorell Arnold
1897
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
11/10/1917
20
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Second Lieutenant
East Surrey Regiment
3rd Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
NINE ELMS BRITISH CEMETERY
III. A. 12.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
THE GREATEST OF THESE IS CHARITY
UK & Other Memorials
Berkhamsted Town Memorial, St Peter's Church Memorial, Berkhamsted, Berkhamsted Collegiate School, Berkhamsted
Pre War
Thomas Sorell Arnold was born in Manchester in 1897, the son of Francis Sorell Arnold and Annie Arnold and one of three children, although one died in infancy. He was baptised at St Cross Church, Knutsford, Cheshire on 7 October 1897.
On the 1901 Census the family were living at 332 Oxford Street, Chorlton, Manchester, Lancashire, where his father was a physician (born in Dublin, Ireland). His mother had been born in Manchester as had his younger brother Francis. They also employed a cook, a housemaid and a nurse.
By 1911 the family had moved to 'Dormers', Bovingdon, Herts where his father continued to practice as a physician and his mother took in boarders. Dormers had 15 rooms and, as well as the family, four boarders are listed, along with five 5 servants. Thomas and his brother Francis were both scholars.
Thomas was educated at Berkhamsted School (1910 - 1916) where he became a House and School Prefect, and Head of the School (from Christmas 1915 to Easter 1916). He was a talented scholar and top of his class by the time he left in 1916, showing" much promise both in Classics and English". He had secured a place at Magdalen College, Oxford University but instead decided to enlist. His father wrote a letter on 14 October 1917 to the President of Magdalen College, Thomas Warren, in which he said that Thomas had "hated war & the whole military business & until the war came always refused to join his school Corps. When, however, during the Summer holidays of 1914, he saw the spirit which animated Germany, he felt that he must take his part when his time came in the great struggle against an evil thing. He joined the Corps when term began again & worked hard to prepare himself for his responsibilities"
His parents later lived at 114, High Street, Berkhamsted, Herts.
Wartime Service
Thomas originally joined the 28th London Regiment (Artists’ Rifles) in 1916 as Private 7812 (later 761975).
On 14 August 1916 he applied for a commission and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the East Surrey Regiment on 24 January 1917. Two weeks later he was attached to the 2/7th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers (Territorial Forces) and was sent to France at the end of February 1917, landing at Le Havre on 28 February as part of the 197th Brigade in the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division.
On 9 October 1917 during the Battle of Poelcapelle, while leading his platoon over saturated ground that was pitted with shell-holes, he was wounded twice by sniper fire just after midday. He was hit once in the face and once in the body and was found by his Colonel lying unconscious in a shell-hole and taken back to No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station at Nine Elms. He regained sufficient consciousness to insist on writing a hopeful field postcard home but the trauma was too great and he died of his wounds on 11 October 1917, aged 20.
Thomas is buried in Nine Elms British Cemetery, Poperinge, Belgium.
The objectives were taken on 9 October, but Arnold's Battalion alone lost 12 out of 17 officers and 373 out of 640 other ranks, killed, wounded or missing. Although they fought off two German counter attacks, the Allies were eventually forced to withdraw.
Additional Information
His father received a war gratuity of £5 and pay owing of £75 18s 7d, and, while living at, 114 High St, Berkhamsted, Herts., he ordered his headstone inscription of: "THE GREATEST OF THESE IS CHARITY".
N.B. Thomas's middle name of Sorell is often mispelt with two 'rr's, including on CWGC website.
Thomas was the great grandson of Dr Thomas Arnold the reforming Headmaster of Rugby School and a cousin of the writer Aldous Huxley.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Jonty Wild, Niki Salfranc, slowdusk.magd.ox.ac.uk (Magdalen College)
