Thomas William Leybourne (1895-1916)
From Medomsley, served with 1st/8th Battalion DLI, killed in action in 1916
Originally from Medomsley, Thomas Leybourne (Laybourne) was living in Chester Moor and working as a farm labourer, when the First World War began. He enlisted in Durham in the 1st/8th Battalion DLI – his local Territorial Force battalion – and went to France with this battalion in April 1915.
In June 1916, the 1st/8th Battalion DLI was in the trenches south of Ypres at Vierstraat, suffering daily bombardments of German mortar bombs. On 26 June, 8/2714 Acting Corporal Thomas Leybourne, aged 21 years, was killed by one of these bombs. He was buried in the nearby Ridge Wood Cemetery.
Civil Parish: Medomsley
Birth date: 1895
Death date: 28-jun-1916
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: Born: Ettringham, Medomsley, County Durham.
Home: Chester Moor, County Durham.
Employment: Farm Labourer (1911 Census)
Family: 1911 Census: father, Thomas Leybourne; mother, Jane; sisters, Mary Elizabeth & Henrietta; brother, John George.
Military service:
8/2714 Private (later Acting Corporal), 1st/8th Battalion Durham Light Infantry.
Medal(s): 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Memorial(s): Market Place, Chester-Le-Street, Memorial Wall
Ridge Wood Cemetery, Belgium
Gender: Male
Contributed by Sacriston Heritage Group | Durham County Record Office. Jack Mulligan, Lewis Cooper and Daniel Hyatt
