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Name : Thomas Gawn. Son of Thomas Adam Gawn and his wife Jane Gawn (née Jupe) (although on his birth registration his mother's maiden name is given as GUY - her step-father's surname), of Ryde. Born 1880, Ryde. Married (1) 23 June 1910, Edith Sophia Gregory, at St Michael's Church, Swanmore, Ryde. Edith Sophia Gawn died in 1912, from tuberculosis. Married (2) 3 June 1915, Elsie Sarah Cass, at the Congregational Church, Ryde. There were no children from either marriage. Elsie Gawn (née Cass) remarried, Herbert J Boyce, in 1921. On the Medal Index Card of Thomas Gawn, her address is given as Hillside, Wootton, Isle of Wight. (For more details of the Gawn family see Rootsweb posting) |
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Census Information :
1881 : Thomas and Jane Gawn, with their children including Thomas aged 1, are at Myrtle Cottage, Prince St, Ryde. Thomas Gawn is a Mariner. 1891 : Jane Gawn, with her children including Thomas aged 10, are at 11, The Crescent, High Park, Ryde. Thomas Adam Gawn, Mariner, is shown on the return for the Training Ship "Edgar" on the Motherbank, Ryde. 1901 : not found 1911 : Thomas Gawn, aged 30, is shown as a Colour Sergeant with the 1st Bn Hampshire Regiment, at Wellington Lines, Aldershot. |
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Service details : 2/Lt. Thomas Gawn, 2nd Bn. Hampshire Regiment. August 1898 : Enlisted as a Private 5334 Thomas Gawn in the Hampshire Regiment. Served in Somaliland : awarded the DCM.
London Gazette 7 June 1904
The King has further been pleased to approve of the grant of the Medal for Distinguished Conduct in the Field to No. 5334 Lance-Sergeant Thomas Gawn, 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment, in recognition of his gallant conduct during the action at Illig, in Somaliland, on 21st April, 1904. 9 April 1915 : Commissioned 2/Lt. |
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Casualty Details :
Died : 6 August 1915 aged 35 Commemorated at : Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey. CWGC record ... |
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Commemorated on these Memorials :
Ryde Borough War Memorial St John's Church, Ryde, War Memorial All Saints Church, Ryde, War Memorial County War Memorial, Carisbrooke Castle There is also an additional inscription on his parents' headstone at St John's Cemetery (RSHG record) |
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Photographs :
 Images courtesy of Mrs Avril Lacey. 2nd Lt Gawn's medals and cap badges are held at the Hampshire Regiment Museum in Winchester. Click images to enlarge | |
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Documents and Newspaper cuttings :
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY PRESS
Saturday, June 12, 1915 Page 1 MARRIAGES GAWN-CASS. - June 3, at the Congregational Church, Ryde, Lieut. Thomas Gawn, 3rd Hants Regiment, to Elsie Cass, both of Ryde. Page 8 RYDE THE WEDDING - Took place on Thursday of last week, at the Congregational Church, of Lieut. Thomas Gawn, 3rd Batt., Hampshire Regiment, son of Mr. T.A. Gawn, of Daniel-street, and Miss Elsie Cass, daughter of the late Mr. James Cass, of Butts-road, Haylands. Sergt. John Gawn (brother of the bridegroom) was best-man and Miss Cass was bridesmaid.
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY PRESS
Saturday, August 21, 1915 Page 8 THE ISLAND AND THE WAR. RYDE. 2nd-Lieut. T. Gawn, of the 2nd Hants Regiment, who is reported missing at the Dardanelles, is a Ryde man. He received his commission from the ranks some months ago, and was married about the same time. 
National Probate Calendar 1916 |
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Additional Information :
A search for Illig, Somaliland 1904 produced this extract from the Wikipedia page for Horace Lambert Alexander HOOD, then a Captain on the Hyacinth - "He led the force sent against the Dervishes at Illig, Somaliland, in April 1904, when 627 officers and men of the Hyacinth, Fox, and Mohawk, with a detachment of 127 men of the Hampshire regiment, dislodged the Dervishes after landing in a heavy surf in the dark." See Wikipedia article For an account of the capture of Illig from the Bay of Plenty Times, New Zealand : See Bay of Plenty Times 29 April 1904 --------------------- Thomas Gawn's sister Edith Gawn married Charley Ellman Blake who died in 1914. Thomas Gawn's sister Lydia Gawn married Arthur James Woodford who died in 1918, and who is buried in Ryde Cemetery. |
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Acknowledgments :
Peter Gawn and Pete Morrall (via Janet Griffin) for Gawn family history Mrs Avril Lacey (great-niece) for photographs Janet Griffin for additional newspaper research |
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Page status :
Page last updated : 31 Aug 2017 (added photos courtesy of Mrs Avril Lacey (great-niece) |
Memorials & Monuments
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