Appeal to find family of brave Wolverhampton First World War soldier
An appeal has been launched to find the relatives of a brave Wolverhampton soldier who played an heroic role in a key battle during the First World War.
A group is looking to trace six of 12 men who fought and survived together after fighting in the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917.
One of those men, Gunner Thomas Arthur Jevons, was born in Bilston on December 20, 1891.
Wayne Finch, from Cheltenham, whose grandfather also fought in the battle, has been trying to track down the other soldiers for the past three years.
His efforts so far have seen him discover relatives of five out of the 12 soldiers but he has reached a sticking point.
The 12 soldiers were all members of the British Army's D/276 Battery, 55th West Lancashire Division.
The men were led in the battle by Sergeant Cyril E Gourley and were instrumental in stopping a German counter attack at Little Priel Farm near Ronssoy in France.
Mr Jevons' heroic actions led to him receiving a special Military Medal while the other members were also awarded for their bravery.
So far Mr Finch has discovered that Gunner Jevons had a mother called Fanny and a younger sister called Gladys and in the 1901 census his known address is Mount Pleasant in Bilston.
A census in 1911 then records his address being of Dunkley Street, Wolverhampton.
In 1916 when Mr Jevons was tested and had signed up to the army his address was known as Staveley Road, Wolverhampton.
Archive records also show he had worked as a shorthand typist.
Mr Finch said he would greatly appreciate any information to help him further
He said: "If anyone knows of any descendants of Gunner Jevons we would love to hear from them. It would be absolutely fabulous if we could get any more information.
"So far, 5 descendants have come together to commemorate the bravery of the men, but we are trying to trace the descendants of the other 7 men.
"I've only managed to get some early information of Gunner Thomas' life but after 1916 the trail goes on a cloud.
"What this extremely brave man did during the war, makes his previous occupation seem very tame indeed.
"I would also like to say that I hope he was a Wolves supporter, living so near to the ground.
"I really want to give this project an extra push so am appealing to newspaper readers for any help."
Anyone with information about Thomas should contact the Express & Star on 01902 319426.
