THOMAS ADAMS

Private Thomas Adams was one of the older of the Papanui men to die. He was aged 36. He had taken over his parents' farm in Radcliffe Road, Belfast, when his father, also called Thomas, had died. He enlisted the same day as his brother Francis, and sailed with the same group of reinforcements in May 1916. Like his brother, he joined his unit in August 1916, though being brothers they were posted to different battalions. He survived the battle of Flers-Courcellete (unlike Francis) and after this returned to the Armentieres area near the Belgian border to hold part of the front line system there.

Thomas Adams was wounded in action on 2 January 1917, probably as part of a trench raid or an artillery bombardment. He was evacuated to a Casualty Clearing Station and thence to the New Zealand General Hospital at Brockenhurst in England where his leg was amputated, but he did not survive this treatment. He died on 7 February 1917 and was buried in St Nicholas' Church in Brockenhurst.

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