Thank you to Margaret Dennis for the following research.
Thomas was born on 22nd September 1895 in Dorking to Thomas Walker Stemp and Fanny Stemp (nee Smith). He was the second of six children. Their father worked as a gravel digger. The family lived in Pixholme Lane, Dorking.
In 1903 Thomas attended the Dorking British School, now the Powell Corderoy primary school in Dorking. Thomas was presented with his swimming proficiency certificate by Dorking Urban Council in January 1909.
The 1911 census showed that Thomas was apprenticed as a printers warehouseman at Bartholomew Press. He was then aged 15 and the family lived at 11 Pixholme Lane, Dorking. Their father was then described as a delver of flints and grits.
Thomas had been called up in 1916. He joined the 460th Battery, 15th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery as a Gunner and Driver with the regimental number 217029. He went to France in 1917. Aged 23, Thomas was killed by a shell on 7th October 1918, in the France and Flanders area. The Dorking and District Advertiser reported his death in the edition of 26th October 1918.
Thomas Stemp was buried in Dadiziele New British military cemetery in Belgium (east of Ieper /Ypres), and remembered on the South St Memorial, Dorking. He was awarded British, Campaign, Gallantry and Long Service medals.
| Born | Dorking, Surrey | |
| Lived | Dorking, Surrey | |
| Son of | Thomas Walker and Fanny (nee Smith) of Pixholme Lane, Dorking | |
| School | Dorking British School (now Powell Corderoy) | |
| Regiment | 460th Battery, 15th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery | |
| Number | 217029 | |
| Date of Death | 7th October 1918 | |
| Place of Death | Flanders, Belgium | |
| Cause of Death | Killed in action by a shell | |
| Age | 23 | |
| Cemetery | Dadiziele New British Military Cemetery, Belgium |
