Forncett St Mary – St. Mary’s Church (Thomas Edward Green)
There’s one Commonwealth War Graves Commission grave at St. Mary’s Church and it commemorates the life of Thomas Edward Green.
Thomas was born in 1908, the son of John Green (1867-1952) and Emily Green (1870-1944), both of whom are also buried in the churchyard.
At the 1911 census, the family were living in Forncett St. Mary, with John working as a railway labourer and this was a large family, Maurice aged 17, Emily aged 15, Irene aged 14, Jack aged 9, Bernard aged 7, Thomas Edward aged 3 and Joyce aged 1. Maurice was working as a farm labourer, which was likely the limit of employment options for many younger people at that time. John and Emily hadn’t lost any children at a young age, but one had left home by the 1911 census. Maurice fought in the First World War, but he returned home safely.
Thomas married Alexandra Nell Turner, who had been born in 1906, of Wreningham in 1932. During the Second World War, he joined the Royal Navy with service number P/JX 518572 and was sent to HMS Collingwood, a land based training centre used by the navy.
Thomas died on 18 June 1943, at the age of 35. There’s no mention in the local newspapers of any accident at HMS Collingwood, so this was perhaps a natural death. His body was brought back to Forncett St. Mary and buried a few days later. Alexandra died on 21 October 1979, having lived at Wymondham Road in Wreningham and I assume that she didn’t remarry since she had the same surname of Green.
As an aside, there is perhaps a limited amount of relevance in my posts such as this, as I haven’t been unable to discover any new story to excite and delight the Internet. Thomas was just one of at least eight children that John and Emily had, with no doubt many stories to be told there as well. But, I still find the stories of those who fought and died in the First and Second World Wars to be captivating, and their retelling in whatever form keeps the memory of the lost and damaged generations alive in at least some way.
