Thomas Studley appeared on the 1891 census. He was living at Caedia, Overton with his family. The head of the household was Edward Grover Studley, 26 a farmer. His wife was Mary Elizabeth Studley 24. Their listed children were Arthur 3, Lilian 2 and Thomas 7 months. There were four employed workers resident in the household.(two men who worked on the farm and two female servants).
In 1895, the mother, Mary Elizabeth died. (WrexhamVol. 11b, Page 195). It has not yet proved possible to locate her husband Edward G Studley or Lillian on the 1901 census. The two boys however, have been recorded in different locations.
The census of 1901 finds Thomas recorded at the home of his Uncle Thomas Williams who was a butcher on Whitchurch Road in Bangor on Dee. Listed in the household were Margaret Williams (wife) and their two children Elsie 11 and Herbert 10. Thomas Studley was their nephew aged 10. There were two resident workers. That same census recorded that Thomas’s older brother Arthur was living at his Grandfather’s farm in Dunstan, Overton.
So far it has not proved possible to find Thomas Studley or his family on the 1911 census. He would have been 20. (Possibly already in the arrmy)
UK Soldiers Who Died in The Great War 1914-19 accessible on www.ancestry.co.uk confirms the regimental details above and adds that he enlisted in Chester.
There is an index card for Thomas Studley in The Flintshire Roll of Honour at The County Record Office in Hawarden. The address given is ‘the Village’ Bangor. The regimental details above are confirmed. It adds that he served from August 1914 and was Killed in Action on the 30th November 1917 in Egypt.
The UK, Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 in which the army calculated what moneys were owed to deceased soldiers, includes an entry for Thomas Studley. It tells us that the sole Legatee was his father Edward who received £24 11s 11d on the 23rd September 1919 and War Gratuity of £19. It also tells us that he was presumed dead, place unknown, on or since 30th November 1917. The amount of his War Gratuity suggests that he was a long serving soldier.
Thomas’s brother Arthur Studley was also killed in the war and he is named on the Overton memorial. Follow the link to read his story.