Thomas Edward Weal was born on 8th December 1888. His parents were Joseph Weal, a farm labourer, and his wife Julia. The Weals’ had ten children in total, of which Thomas was the sixth. In 1901, the family were living at 6 Ash Grove in Ilford. By 1911, they had moved to 28 Herbert Road, Seven Kings, but Thomas was no longer living at home. Thomas had enlisted in the army with the 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment, and was serving as a Private in India.
When war broke out, the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment was posted to the Western Front. Thomas, now a Lance Corporal, was fatally wounded in battle and died on 21st November 1914. He was buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France.
Thomas was not the only one of his siblings to die in the war. His youngest brother Charles, a Private with the 23rd London Regiment, died from wounds at Rouen on the 3rd March 1917.
Research by Redbridge Museum
Sources:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Ancestry.com