David Thomas

David Thomas – in typical pose – at Timsbury, near Romsey, in mid 1970s

David William Thomas was born on 17th March 1935, the youngest of four children. He married Joan Wiggs and they had six children. David died in 2018. The galleries below highlight different periods of his life.

CHILDHOOD & YOUTH 1935-1951

  • Hannah & David
  • David & Gwenda (?)
  • David, age three-and-a-half months, at Whitstable
  • Hannah & David
  • “Our little David when he started school 1938 at 3.5 years”
  • David & Hannah – outside family house?
  • Hannah & David, age 10, at ‘Shetley’ in 1945

The pictures in the gallery above all come from an album of my father’s and appear in the same order.

Most had no captions but a few had dates etc. written on the back. Assuming they were in chronological order (probable but not guaranteed), this helps give an idea of when the others were taken.

 

NATIONAL SERVICE 1953-55

David joined the RAF for National Service in June 1953 (aged 18). The two pictures above are the only two I have of him in uniform and are probably taken at RAF Locking in Somerset where he trained as a Ground Wireless Mechanic (Aug-Dec 1953). He was sent to Egypt but ended up in hospital after an accident – family stories about what happened vary! He was discharged in March 1955 as “physically unfit” for the RAF but fit for employment in civil life and “recommended as a hard-working airman of good character”.