Family stories mark Armistice 100

For Nick Thomas and his relatives, collecting information about the family's service in the Great War is not just about keeping accurate records of each generation's service. It is also a duty to remembering the sacrifices that earlier generations have made.
2nd Battle of the Somme2nd Battle of the Somme
2nd Battle of the Somme

It is also a duty to remembering the sacrifices that earlier generations have made.

Nick, who is a trainer at Chichester’s Westgate Leisure Centre, has been building on the family history passed down from his grandparents and great grandparents. He and his parents have furthered this research, developing a profile for each family member who served during the wars.

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Nick said: “My family has always had in each generation someone who has served in HM Armed Forces so we felt we should keep accurate records of the family’s service so it is not forgotten and can be past on to the likes of myself, my brothers and now their children and so on. Most importantly I think is to remember the sacrifice the generations that fought during both World Wars so they are not forgotten and to preserve our nation’s proud history.”

To mark the centenary of Armistice Day, Nick has shared some stories about family members who served during the Great War.

On his father’s side, Nick’s grandfather Henry Thomas served in the Royal Navy on the HMS Impregnable, the HMS Victory, and the HMS Queen Elizabeth, and was awarded the 1914-1918 Star, the Victory Medal, and the British War Medal.

Frederick Thomas Boswell, Nick’s great great grandfather on his mother’s side, served in France on the Western Front in the fields of Flanders, and also served on HMS Prince of Wales. The other great great grandfather on this side of the family, William Peek Moses, also served in the fields of Flanders, serving in the Machine Gun Corps. He was awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal.

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Great great uncle on Nick’s mother’s side, Claude Ernest Gladstone Moses, served in Italy on the Western Front and in Egypt, and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the Victory Medal, the British War Medal, and the General Service Medal.

Nick’s great grandfather on his mother’s side, Thomas Mant Boswell, served in various countries and on the Eastern Front in Greece in the British Army, Royal Army Medical Corps. He was awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. Great grand uncle on Nick’s mother’s side, Leonard Boswell, served in the British Army, Royal Engineers, and served in France at the second Battle of the Somme before being killed in action on April 5, 1918, on the Western Front in the fields of Flanders. He was buried at Pozieres Memorial Cemetary France.