Frederick Thomas Bullock

War Service

Thomas was enlisted on the 10th December 1915. He was given the service number 60182 in the 3rd battalion York & Lancaster Regiment. This was formed in August 1914 at Pontefract. A depot/training unit, it moved on mobilisation to Cleadon and in January 1915 went on to Sunderland then moved in August 1915 to Durham but returned to Sunderland in February 1916 where it remained as part of the Tyne Garrison.
At the time of his medical examination he was described as being in good physical condition though having ‘flattish’ feet. He was 5ft 6 ½ inches tall. Weighed 140 lbs and had a chest of 37 ½ inches, brown hair and blue eyes.
Thomas spent much of his service in the reserves. On 18.9.1918 Thomas was fined 4 days pay for being absent without leave for 2 days 2 hrs and 5 minutes .
Finally, he was posted to the B.E.F. on 25.9.1918 landing in France on 26.9.1918 where he was posted on 30.9.1918 to the 2nd Battalion York * Lancaster Regiment.
The 2nd battalion had originally gone to France in September 1914 and was part of the 16th Brigade of the 6th Division, which formed part of the 4th Army under General Rawlinson.
Although the battles in the closing months of the war are not as well known as some of the earlier ones they still gave rise to a great many casualties. As the BEF pushed the Germans back during Foch's ‘Autumn Offensive’ sometimes referred to as ‘The Final100 Days’ the average soldier could expect to ‘go over the top' with a greater frequency than in earlier battles such as the Somme in 1916. On average, a soldier could expect to be sent into the attack at least five times during the 100 Days. This is very different to the average Somme survivor who would have experienced three attacks in three and a half months.
The 2nd York and Lancaster participated in the following battle during this period:
The Battle of the Selle (17th-25th October 1918)which saw the British force the Germans out of a new defensive line along the River Selle that they had been forced to take up being forced out of the Hindenburg Line.
The Sambre (4.11.1918) - retreating German forces now attempted a last-ditch stand on the line of the Sambre-Oise Canal Just before dawn on Monday 4th November British infantry advanced through dense mist across difficult country behind a stupendous supporting bombardment. Fourth Army formations, on the right, faced the great obstacle of the Sambre Canal, and early assaults met the most violent resistance
The Division was billeted around Bohain at the Armistice on 11 November 1918. It was selected to march into Germany as part of the occupation force and began to move 14-18 November to Solre-le-Chateau to assemble. The Division crossed the German border on 13 December and reached its destination at Bruehl on 13th December.
On the 14th March 1919 Thomas Fredrick was posted to the 1 / 4 Hallamshire Battalion of the York and Lancaster prior to finally returning to England on 23.4.1919. He was discharged on 24.10.1919.

Family Life

A search of the available records reveals a number of facts about Thomas Frederick - sometimes referred to as Frederick Thomas - and his family but there are some irregularities to account for.
The 1911 Census shows Frederick Thomas aged 15 living in Low Street, Brotherton though he was born in Methley on 17.1.1896. His father was Thomas Bullock aged 45 who was born in Newthorpe near South Milford and was employed as a ‘Bye worker, Pit’. Thomas had a sister called Annie May who had been born in
Glasshoughton (1898) and the Brotherton connection seems to be on his mother’s side. She was called Mary Ann – born about 1865/1866. Frederick was employed as a ‘Pit Pony Driver’.
Ten years earlier the 1901 Census records Fredrick Bullock (aged 5) living in Brotherton with his sister Annie May and mother Sarah Ann Bullock. In spite of the difference in names other details match. Sarah is described as a ‘Soldiers Wife’ which possibly explains why Thomas was not resident in the home at the time and does not seem to be listed in the census.
It is presumed that Thomas Frederick returned to live in Brotherton after discharge. There is evidence to support this from St Edward Parish Records. On the 27th December 1919 his sister Annie May was married to George William Broughton . The marriage was witnessed by her father Thomas Osbourne Bullock and Thomas Frederick Bullock.
On the 1st July 1921 Thomas Osbourne Bullock was buried in Brotherton.
On November 11th 1922 Thomas Frederick married Mary Evelyn Atkinson in St Edwards Church. Both were resident in Low Street at the time. In one record Mary Evelyn is said to be Mary Evelyn Athawes but a study of the source document clearly shows this is a misinterpretation and it should be Atkinson.
Two children appear to have come from the marriage, both being registered in Pontefract - Kathleen M Bullock in 1923 and Geoffrey in 1828.
Thomas’s mother Sarah (Mary) Ann was buried in Brotherton on the 15th March 1939.
Thomas and Evelyn appear to have moved to the Huddersfield area for death records there indicate that Thomas Frederick Bullock died in December 1974 having survived his wife Mary Evelyn (born 8.9.1898) who passed away in May 1970.
Coincidentally, a witness at the wedding of Thomas and Mary Evelyn was Matilda Bramham who was the step-mother of Robert Arthur Bramham and mother of William John Bramham who was killed at Cambrai. Also, in 1911 Norah Bramham, daughter of the widowed Robert, was boarding with the Bullocks.