Pte 26666 Thomas Lane

Thomas Lane was born in Liverpool on 14th June 1885, the eldest son of William James and Elizabeth (nee Cunningham) Lane. He was baptised at Our Lady Immaculate, St Domingo Rd, on the 23rd July 1885.

His parents of 107 Towson St, married a lot later on 23rd July 1894 at the same church.

On the 1891 census they are living with Elizabeth's parents at 107 Towson St, Everton. 

The father William aged 27 is employed as a masons labourer, his wife Elizabeth 30, has no occupation listed and they have three children, Thomas 5 a scholar, William 4 and Joseph 1 who were all born in Liverpool.

On the 1901 census they are still living at 107 Towson St, Everton. 

The father William now aged 37 is employed as a a roofer(?), and his wife is now aged Elizabeth 39 and has no occupation listed. They have nine children at the taking of the Census, Thomas 15, William 14, Joseph 11, Richard 9, Daniel 7, Elizabeth 5, Margaret 3, Walter 2 and Edward aged 1 month.

 

He married Jessie Ashcroft, both of 6 Ewart St, on 9th May 1909 at St Nathaniel, Church of England, Walton.

They had children Thomas, Jessie, Marion, and Evelyn at 20 Vienna Street, Liverpool.

His mother Elizabeth died in September 1910.

The 1911 Census shows Thomas and his family living at 93 Herschell St, Everton,

Thomas is aged 25, and his occupation is a  house painter for Liverpool corporation, his wife Jessie is 21, and they have a son also named Thomas aged 1. They also have a boarder John Mealey 24 at the addresss.

 

Thomas enlisted in Liverpool in the 19th Battalion King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private 26666 and was subsequently transferred to the 14th Bn. The 14th Bn was formed at Seaforth in October 1914 and attached to 65th Brigade, 22nd Division.  They landed at Boulogne on 5 September 1915 and moved to Salonika in November 1915. No 1914-1915 Star medal award has been found for Thomas, so it is likely he shipped overseas in 1916.

 

Thomas was killed in action on 14th September 1916.  He now rests in Karasouli Military Cemetery, Polykastro, Greece.  

The cemetery was begun in September 1916 for the use of casualty clearing stations on the Doiran front. At the Armistice, it contained about 500 burials but was greatly increased when graves were brought in. 

Karasouli Military Cemetery now contains 1,421 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 56 being unidentified.

SDGW gives his regimental number as 2460, although no records can be found with this number.