James Thomas Searl, known as Thomas, was born at the beginning of 1899 to Thomas James Searl and Emma Jane Clark. Thomas had eleven siblings who were: Alice Elizabeth, Edith Kate, Emily, Florrie (Florence) Marion and Ethel May, all older and George John, Frederick William, Percy Harold, Robert Edward, Margaret Hilda and Annie (Nancy), who were all younger. His father, known as James, was in business as a ‘Horse Collar Maker’ and when Thomas was born the family lived at 17 Cemetery Road, Hemel Hempstead. This small ‘two up two down’ terrace house was the Searl home for over twenty-five years and it is where all the children grew up.

It is not known where Thomas worked when he left school in 1912, although it may have been for his father, and on the outbreak of war he was too young at fifteen to volunteer. However, as soon as he was eligible in February 1917, he travelled to Watford to attest and enlisted with the Bedfordshire Regiment. He was posted for basic training to the 3rd Battalion at Felixstowe before being sent overseas in January 1918 when he was nineteen years old. Thomas was posted to the 4th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment and joined his unit at Beaulencourt just south of Bapaume in France.

By mid-February he was in the trenches and from then until the middle of March the 4th Bedfords worked on trench improvements with further stints in the front line. On the 21st March Thomas fought in the Battle of St Quentin, the First Battle of the Somme 1918, mainly as part of the second line defences. Nevertheless, the Battalion still incurred substantial casualties over eight days until withdrawing on the 28th March. The Battalion War Diary recorded the following at the end of the month: “Casualties from 20th inst. killed 21, wounded 88, 124 missing.”

Thomas was one of the men killed and he died on Saturday, 23rd March 1918.

His time at the front had been tragically short and he died exactly sixty days after joining his unit in his first significant action. Thomas’ father received a letter from his Platoon Officer shortly after his death and the contents were published in the Hemel Gazette. This was followed with the official confirmation of his death in the next edition of the Gazette. 

He was commemorated on the War Memorial plaque in St John the Evangelist Church in Boxmoor.

Thomas’ name was incorrectly engraved as ‘Searle’ on the Hemel Hempstead War Memorial.

Thomas is Remembered with Honour on the Arras Memorial, Pas-de-Calais, France, Bay 5.

He was only 19 years old when he died.

Thomas was eligible for the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.