Thomas William Watts (1896-1917)
'Shot at Dawn'
Born in Houghton le Spring in 1896, Thomas Watts was working as a miner and living with his parents in Middle Rainton, when he enlisted in the East Yorkshire Regiment in November 1914.
Private Watts, who first went to France with the 7th Battalion East Yorks in October 1915, was wounded in July 1916 and evacuated to a hospital in England. After recovering from his wound, he was returned to his battalion in early March 1917.
On 10 August 1917, Thomas Watts was court martialled for desertion “when on active service”. He pleaded not guilty, but, after the court learnt of his previous convictions for absence, he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Thomas Watts was executed by firing squad at 5.40 am on 30 August 1917. He was 21 years old. His parents, however, were not informed of his death until 12 December.
Thomas Watts is buried in St Catherine British Cemetery, Arras, France, in the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
As Thomas Watts had been executed, no campaign medals were sent to his next of kin in Middle Rainton.
Where to look for more information about this person:
Julian Putkowski & Julian Sykes, Shot at Dawn (Barnsley, 1998), p. 189.
Cathryn Corns & John Hughes-Wilson, Blindfold & Alone (London, 2005), p. 496.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/50806/WATTS,%20THOMAS%20W
North East War Memorials Project
http://www.newmp.org.uk/article.php?categoryid=99&articleid=1314&displayorder=9
8/14813 Private Thomas William Watts’ Army Service Record has survived and is held at The National Archives. This record may be seen on the Ancestry family history website: http://www.ancestry.com/
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=BritishArmyService&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=1&gss=ms_r_db&gsfn=thomas+william&gsfn_x=NN&gsln=watts&gsln_x=XO&_F8007A65=14813&dbOnly=_F8007A65%7C_F8007A65_x&_F8007A65_x=1&dbOnly=_F0007CF4%7C_F0007CF4_x&dbOnly=_F0007E0C%7C_F0007E0C_x&uidh=000
Civil Parish: East Rainton
Birth date: 1896
Death date: 30 Aug 1917
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 66 Slate Row, Middle Rainton.
135 Lewis Street, Middle Rainton.
Employment: Miner.
Family: Son of Robert & Jane Ann Watts.
Military service:
8/14813 Thomas William Watts, 7 East Yorkshire Regiment, 1914-1917.
Medal(s): Though eligible for the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal, no campaign medals were sent to his next of kin.
Memorial(s): St Catherine British Cemetery, Arras, France.
Gender: Male
Contributed by Durham County Record Office | Durham at War Volunteer
