Pte 454 Thomas Abbott x

[Tim Bell]

Pte 454 Thomas Abbott
Pte Abbott had been a GPO Postman (since 1905) when he enlisted in 5th Bttn at Wigan on 21/5/1908.  Thomas had previously served with the 1st VB from 10/3/1904. He Embodied as a Bugler on 5/8/1914 and embarked for Egypt on 10/9/1914. Thomas returned home on 26/1/1915
Discharged unfit at Wigan on 31/3/1915, he received a pension for an unspecified condition.
Thomas died at home on 20/5/1915, from acute Phthisis contracted on active service, aged 29.
Widow Esther received a pension at 49 Holme Terrace, Wigan. Father Alexander. Younger brother Sydney also served in 5th Bttn. He was discharged due to Dysentery in 1916.
No confirmation that death was due to service.  Thomas is commemorated on Wigan Cenotaph.

[mack]

Thomas[tom] was a very popular a well respected soldier and workmate,his funeral on 26th may was attended by a massive turnout of family,friends,neighbours and workmates,amongst the mourners were CSM 435 William Christy and CQMS 156 john,i'anson cartwright,both 5th manchesters and a contingent from the 5th manchesters under the command of Lt widdows,CQMS cartwright was also his neighbour at 7 holme terrace,he was also his boss in the postal dept,the postmaster of wigan and the head postman and 35 fellow postmen were also in attendance,the coffin draped in the union jack was followed by 7 carriages of family and friends,he was buried in wigan cemetery 303.CE

Article added below

[PaulC]

CWGC will now accept cases where the cause of death was contracted on active service, so Abbott might be worth another look.

[Tim Bell]

Hi Paul,
This change in qualifaction seems right to me.  Too many 1914-16 deaths didn't qualify until the Pension rules were relaxed in 1917.
I reckon we have @ 50 further cases of deaths contracted in service, including some where I already have the DC - not this one.  I'm pausing for a few days.  You're welcome to order some other DCs.  It my be worth sending me a PM to check before you pay.
Tim

[Tim Bell]

PaulC has obtained the DC confirming death at home from TB. Paul also has a headstone photo showing an inscription that is just legible. Case to be submitted to IFCP.  Evidence does not confirm that TB was contracted during Embodied service.

[PaulC]

I submitted this case myself after IFCP turned it down. Unfortunately, he has now been rejected. The following is the comment received from CWGC:

We have now received an adjudication from the military service authorities regarding your Non-Commemoration case submission (NC 11776) for Private Thomas Abbott.
I'm afraid they have instructed us that this individual does not qualify for commemoration as a Commonwealth war casualty, according to CWGC's eligibility criteria. They noted the short period of time between Private Abbott's discharge and death from tuberculosis; however, there was insufficient contemporary evidence to show that the military authorities assessed his tuberculosis as attributable to war service at the point of discharge. In the absence of an evidenced link between a casualty's death and their period of First World War service, we cannot confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria today.