CROSS HILLS man Thomas Allsopp was one of three local men killed in the Battle of the Somme after being hit by a trench mortar.
The Bingley-born corporal had been back in France for four months when the bomb fell on his frontline trench in September 1916.
It had not been a good year for West Riding Regiment soldier Thomas, the first member of Cross Hills Wesleyan Church to die in action.
Thomas was returning home on leave with some comrades the previous Christmas when he narrowly avoided a gas attack. Soldiers in nearby trenches were not so lucky, all dying from the gas.
Thomas spent the next three days and nights on guard duty, where he was “slightly gassed”, and as result of his good work during the whole incident he was promoted to Lance corporal.
After spending the New Year period at home in Cross Hills, Thomas returned to France where he fell ill as a result of the gas attack and spent several weeks dangerously ill in hospital.
He eventually recovered enough to be sent to military hospital in Ireland, then a convalescent hospital in Blackpool.
Following 10 days’ leave in Cross Hills around Easter, Thomas was sent back to face his death at the Somme.
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