William Thomas Thrale

1898 - Yes, date unknown

• Name	William Thomas Thrale
  Nickname	Bill
  Birth	25 Oct 1898	The Hill, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England   [1]
  		Birth certificate
  Gender	Male
  Military Service	Between 1916 - 1918
  	Interview with local newspaper, The Herts Advertiser … Bill Thrale from New Marford joined the Machine Gun Corps as a Private in 1916. He was in the front line at Arras when his battalion was overrun during the German Spring Offensive of March 1918. Life as a prisoner-of-war was harsh. Germany was facing famine because of the Allied blockade. In popular films prisoners of war are always kept in closely-guarded prison camps, but in the Great War non-commissioned solders were often sent under escort to work on local farms and industries. This is what happened to Bill Thrale. In early November 1918 he was being held at a camp near Bastogne in occupied Luxembourg. Conditions were grim and Bill was so hungry that he was desperate to escape. With particularly bad timing, he absconded on 10 November - the day before the armistice - and headed west towards Belgium, helped by local people who gave him clothing and food even though they were hungry themselves. The first that Bill knew the armistice had been signed was when he met a column of German soldiers heading east towards home. Instead of arresting him, the officers returned Bill's salute. Bill's journey is believed to have ended at Charleroi in Belgium. He was given his first decent meal in eight months and put on a train to Paris. He had walked more than a hundred kilometres.
  Occupation	24 Dec 1927-30 May 1930  [2, 3]
  	Tourist Agents Clerk
  Residence	24 Dec 1927-30 May 1930	New Marford, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England   [2, 4]
  Death	Yes, date unknown
  Person ID	I1159	UK Thrale family
  Last Modified	14 Aug 2024

  
  

  Father	John Thrale,   b. 11 Nov 1875, The Village, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England d. 29 Jul 1958 (Age 82 years)
  Mother	Rosetta Wright,   b. Between 1877 and 1879   d. 28 Jan 1952 (Age 75 years)
  Note	Jun 1898  [5]
  Marriage	5 Jun 1898	Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England
  Family ID	F292	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Brenda Priscilla Wright,   b. 28 May 1901   d. 19 Oct 2001, Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England (Age 100 years)
  Marriage	24 Dec 1927	St Albans, Hertfordshire, England   [6]
  	Address: Register Office
  		Marriage certificate
  Children	1. Pamela Thrale
  Family ID	F594	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Apr 2010

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 25 Oct 1898 - The Hill, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England Marriage - Address: Register Office - 24 Dec 1927 - St Albans, Hertfordshire, England Residence - 24 Dec 1927-30 May 1930 - New Marford, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S4] Birth certificate. [S28] Marriage certificate, Certificate of William Thomas Thrale and Brenda Priscilla Wright dated 24 Dec 1927 (Reliability: 4). [S4] Birth certificate, Certificate of Pamela Thrale dated 30 May 1930 (Reliability: 3). Latter date is from birth certificate of daughter Pamela Thrale [S4] Birth certificate, Certificate of Pamela Thrale dated 30 May 1930 (Reliability: 3). [S14] Free BMD, (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/), St Albans. Vol 3a. Page 1051. [S28] Marriage certificate.