| A Soldier of the Border Regiment | |
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| Remembered with Honour | |
| Name | Thomas Skinner |
| Born | 2 May 1893 Carlisle, Cumberland |
| Rank | Private |
| Service No. | 10932 |
| Company | A Company |
| Battalion | 6th Border Regiment |
| Enlisted | Carlisle, Cumberland |
| Former Unit(s) | 2nd Border Regiment |
| Theatre(s) of War | France and Flanders |
| Military Tactics | {{{tactics}}} |
| Died | 14 August 1915 Gallipoli (Lemnos, Greece) |
| Cause of Death | Died of wounds |
| Burial Type | {{{burial_type}}} |
| Reference No. | {{{reference_number}}} |
| Resting Place | East Mudros Military Cemetery |
| Location Map | {{{location_map}}} |
| Additional Memorial(s) | {{{additional_memorials}}} |
| Casualty Type | Commonwealth War Dead |
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Parents | Thomas and Frances Skinner |
| Additional family | {{{additional_family}}} |
| Newspapers | {{{newspapers}}} |
| Periodicals | {{{periodicals}}} |
| Books | {{{books}}} |
| Websites | {{{websites}}} |
| Links | {{{links}}} |
Thomas Skinner was a Private in the 2nd and 6th Battalions of the Border Regiment.
Family Background
In 1901, Thomas Skinner the elder brought with him five children under the age of 13 to his sister Anne's house to live after the death of his wife Frances. Of the children, Thomas (Tommy) was just 7 years old and the only boy in the now 9-person household.
Thomas Skinner, the younger, was born in Carlisle on 2 May 1893, and was the second youngest child, and only son, to Thomas and Frances. Thrust into this large female-orientated family, Thomas found himself being raised by spinster aunts and an elder cousin.
Military History
The too familiar surroundings of Carlisle made Thomas seek more exciting adventures, prompting him to join the British Army, namely the 2nd Battalion, Border Regiment. It was not a typical occupational choice for the son of two staunch Salvation Army members.
At the outbreak of World War I, Thomas was transferred to the 6th Battalion and embarked for Lincolnshire in September of 1914. They were there for nine months while training and waiting to be properly outfitted with weapons, equipment, and even uniforms. At the end June 1915 orders were received to prepare for active service. Expecting to be thrust into the fighting on the Western Front, instead the unit left on the 30 June for the Dardanelles in Turkey. The unit traveled by train to Liverpool and embarked 1 July on the SS Empress of Britain and landed on the Island of Lemnos, Greece, 18 days later. On 21 July, Thomas and A Company landed at "V" Beach, Cape Helles, and the Turks welcomed their arrival by shelling the battalion as they came ashore. After 10 days on the Cape they were shipped to the Island of Imbros for a week.
During their time on Imbros an epidemic of dysentery spread through the unit. It is unknown if Thomas was affected, but he could not have escaped unscathed. He would have participated in the practice night landings on 4 August and he would have been as surprised as the rest of the men when they were told at noon on the 6th that their attack at Suvla Bay was going ahead that very night. Little practice, extended sickness, and no warning of the attack, coupled with gastric problems caused by cholera vaccinations, the future did not bode well for the battalion.
The Battalion went ashore at Suvla Bay as part of the 34th Brigade. The objective of the landing was to take the high hills in the area and to consolidate a holding along the narrowest part of the Gallipoli Peninsula. One feature, Chocolate Hill, named for the colour of the bush growing on it, was supposed to be captured by dawn on the 7 August. This was accomplished between the 6th Border Regiment and another unit, but well after the time allotted. The men were ordered back to the beach at Suvla at 9am on the 8 August, but the day was spent in chaos. Water was in very short supply and troops did not get the opportunity to fill their canteens. It was during this "rest" period that the 6th Border Regiment was told to prepare for an attack which was to start at 5:15am the next day. Moving off from the start line on time, the attack progressed well until about 6:10am. Counter-attacking Turks prevented the left of the battalion from progressing and a gap opened in the line. The enemy machine-gun fire cut through the battalion and isolating groups of men. For the next 5 hours the Turkish army decimated the British troops.
At some point during this attack Thomas was hit. The bullet ripped through but didn't kill him. Most likely he lay bleeding, losing and regaining consciousness numerous times before being carried from the field to an aid station as the battalion withdrew from the attack. From there he was transported back to the beach at Suvla and then by boat to Lemnos. Over the next five days Thomas would have undergone surgery, but his wounds were beyond repair. On 14 August 1915, just 46 days after leaving the friendly shores of England, Thomas died on the Island of Lemnos and was buried in what is now East Mudros Military Cemetery.
Thomas Skinner went ashore at Suvla Bay as part of the 6th Border Regiment, a unit of 719 men. The day after Thomas’s wounding only 303 all ranks answered their names at roll call.