Inspector Thomas William Thrale

1874 - 1928  (54 years)

• Name	Thomas William Thrale
  Prefix	Inspector
  Birth	24 Sep 1874	The Village, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England   [1]
  		Birth certificate
  Christening	Y  [2]
  Gender	Male
  Census	3 Apr 1881	Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England   [3]
  	With grandparents Thomas and Elizabeth Thrale on night of census. Rel: G Son Occ: Scholar
  	Age: 6 years
  	Address: High Street
  Military Award	1900
  	China War Medal
  	The China War of 1900-01 is more commonly referred to as the Boxer Rebellion. The Boxers formed a Chinese secret society known as the _I-ho-ch'uan_ - the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists (hence 'Boxers'). The Boxers and other similar societies aimed to eradicate all foreigners and Christians from China; the government under Dowager Empress Tzu His secretly supported these fanatical organisations. At the end of the 19th century the Royal Garrison Artillery, which was part of the Royal Artillery, was divided into 3 Divisions: The Eastern Division, HQ at Dover. Depot companies at Dover and Great Yarmouth. The Southern Division, HQ at Portsmouth. Depot companies at Gosport and Seaforth (near Liverpool). The Western Division, HQ at Devonport. Depot companies at Plymouth and Scarborough. The Garrison Artillery was composed of 104 service companies in 1900, 40 of them in the UK, 37 in various colonies of the Empire and 27 in India. A company was commanded by a major with 6 or so officers, around 10 NCOs and 100 to 200 men. The uniform of Garrison Artillery was the same as Field Artillery except that they were more likely to wear trousers instead of boots and breeches. On their shoulder straps were the initials of the name of their Division and the number of their company. On 1 January 1902, the Divisional system was abolished and all companies RGA were re-numbered sequentially from 1 to 105. 2nd Company Southern Division became the 62nd Company RGA and the 15th Company Southern Division became the 91st Company RGA. The China 1900 Medal is normally named to one of these two companies. The combination of QSA and China was awarded to nearly 500 soldiers of the Royal Garrison Artillery. Two companies were formed in South Africa for service in China. The Gunners came from 15 Company Western Division RGA, 15 Company Southern Division RGA and 2 Company Southern Division RGA. The men all earned the QSA, with up to four clasps, and the China medal, without clasp. The combination is certainly unusual, but it was 43 RGA reservists who earned themselves a rare combination - QSA, China and KSA, having been sent back to South Africa following service in China. Much more can be learnt from the article written by Lt. Col. McaFarlane in the OMRS Journal Autumn 1993 - _'A slow boat to China - and back again'_ (Lt.Col.(Retd) A.M.Macfarlane), OMRS Journal, Autumn 1993, Volume 32, Number 3, pages 198-200: In May 1900, 15 W.D. received four 9.45in. B.L. Howitzers, manufactured at the Skoda Works in Austria. Although the last word in heavy artillery, they were never actually fired in anger in South Africa. However, early in July 1900, it was decided to send a siege train armed with these howitzers, under the command of Colonel T. Perrott, from South Africa to join the China Expeditionary Force in the defeat of the Boxer Rebellion. The siege train was to consist of: Right Half 15 Company Southern Division RGA - two 9.45in B.L. howitzers Right Half 15 Company Western Division RGA - two 9.45in B.L. howitzers 2 Company Southern Division RGA - four 4.7in Q.F. guns 2 SD had eight officers and 184 men. The siege train assembled at Cape Town where it embarked in S.S. Antillian on 18th July 1900 and sailed on 23 July. The ship arrived at Singapore on 13 August, left there on 15 August, docked at Hong Kong on 22 August and eventually reached Wei-hai-wei, the base for the Expeditionary Force, on 30 August. Of course, by that time, Pekin had been relieved and, apart from the odd raid, the Boxer Rebellion was as good as over. After two weeks spent on board ship, the siege train disembarked at Wei-hai-wei but, on 26 October, the two half companies [of the 15 SD and 15 WD] re-embarked on the S.S. Antillian and returned to Hong Kong for the winter, whilst 2 SD remained in garrison at Wei-hai-wei. None of the siege guns fired in anger in China.
  Occupation	30 Jun 1914	Singapore   [4]
  	Straits Settlements
  Residence	30 Jun 1914	St Albans, Hertfordshire, England   [4]
  	Address: 17 Ramsbury Road
  Occupation	1928  [5]
  	Inspector of Police
  Death	1 Oct 1928-31 Dec 1928	St Albans, Hertfordshire, England   [6]
  Person ID	I223	UK Thrale family
  Last Modified	22 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	William Thrale,   b. 16 Nov 1853, Hamwell Lane, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England d. 9 Jun 1931, 1a Butlin Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, England (Age 77 years)
  Mother	Sophia Jane McCulloch,   b. 27 Aug 1853, The Village, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England d. 6 Mar 1915, Luton, Bedfordshire, England (Age 61 years)
  Marriage	21 Jun 1874	Saint Mary Magdelen, Bermondsey, Surrey, England   [8, 9]
  	CISSIE THRALE: From somewhere - I don't know the source - I had a Cissie Thrale (presumably diminutive for Cecilia) as a daughter of William Thrale and Sophia McCulloch, and that Cissie married G Squire and had 4 kids. Today I discovered reliable documentary evidence that Harriet Kate Sophia Thrale married George Squires. I have therefore transferred George and his kids to Harriet Kate Sophia. Clearly Cissie is not a diminutive of Harriet, Kate or Sophia. The question is whether Cissie exists. have found no record of her anywhere else. therefore I have deleted her. However I will leave a note here, just in case. JACK THRALE: From somewhere - I don't know the source - I also had a Jack Thrale as a son of William Thrale and Sophia McCulloch, and that Jack married married Rose White. Jack is a diminutive for John. I already have a John Thrale and I have documentary proof of his existence. John Thrale married Rosetta Wright, incredibly similar to Rose White. Therefore I have concluded that infact the untraceable Jack Thrale and Rose White are infact John Thrale and Rosetta Wright. However, just in case I am wrong, I have left this note here. [7]
  		Marriage certificate William Thrale and Sophia McCulloch
  Family ID	F80	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Hannah Maria Green,   b. Abt 1867, Peckham, Surrey, England d. 8 Nov 1920 (Age ~ 53 years)
  Marriage	30 Jun 1914	Saint Peters, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England   [4]
  	Marriage witnessed by Alfred george Green (bride's brother), William F Green & Harriet F Green [4]
  		Marriage certificate
  Residence	St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
  	Address: 80 London Road
  Family ID	F579	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	4 Jan 2019

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 24 Sep 1874 - The Village, Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England Census - With grandparents Thomas and Elizabeth Thrale on night of census. Rel: G Son Occ: Scholar,Age: 6 years,Address: High Street - 3 Apr 1881 - Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, England Occupation - Straits Settlements - 30 Jun 1914 - Singapore Residence - Address: 17 Ramsbury Road - 30 Jun 1914 - St Albans, Hertfordshire, England Marriage - 30 Jun 1914 - Saint Peters, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England Death - 1 Oct 1928-31 Dec 1928 - St Albans, Hertfordshire, England Residence - Address: 80 London Road - - St Albans, Hertfordshire, England  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Documents

  London passenger list Ship Sardinia from Shanghai. Arriving in London on 18 June 1910.

  
  

• Sources

  [S4] Birth certificate. [S5] British Isles Vital Record Index, Second Edition. [S7] Census - UK 1881. [S28] Marriage certificate, Marriage certificate of Thomas William Thrale and Hannah Maria Thrale (Reliability: 4). [S144] Richard William Thrale, Handwritten descendant chart for Thomas Thrale 1801-1840 sent to David H Thrale on 25 January 2007 (Reliability: 2). [S2] Richard William Thrale, A New Thraliana, ((St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, Falconer Press, 1973)), 120 (Reliability: 3). [S11] David H Thrale. [S2] Richard William Thrale, A New Thraliana, ((St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, Falconer Press, 1973)), page 120. [S18] GRO index (UK), (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/Familyhistoryandresearch/DG_175464), June qtr 1874. St. Olave, 1d 342.