Tom Dyer was born on 22 June 1883 in Runcorn and baptised on 22 July. He was the eldest of five children of Irishman John Dyer and his wife Annie Stanton who were married in Runcorn at the beginning of 1883.
Another son, John junior, was born in 1885 but he died in infancy before two more children were born: Margaret on 6 January 1887 and Patrick Stanton on 6 March 1889. In the Census on 5 April 1891, the Dyer family were recorded at 34 Granville Road, Runcorn. John Dyer was employed as a dock labourer. Another daughter, Annie, was born on 1 July in the same year.
Before the 1901 Census was taken, Tom's father had died. The family had moved to 23 Ormerod Street, Thornton and Tom, aged 17, had become a cooper's labourer. Margaret Dyer married John Mitchell in 1905 and by 1911 the Dyer and Mitchell families were both living in John Street, Thornton: Annie, Tom, Patrick and Annie junior at number 1 and Margaret and John and their three children at number 15. Tom had become a labourer working for the United Alkali Company at Burn Naze.
Like so many, Tom's war service record has not survived and we know only the briefest details about it. He joined the King's Liverpool Regiment and was sent to France. Tom died on 10 September 1918. He was aged 35 and unmarried.
Pte. Thomas Dyer, 306319, 2nd/8th Battalion, The King's Liverpool Regiment is buried in Plot 8, Row E, Grave 11b, Mont Huon Military Cemetery, Le Treport, Seine-Maritime, France.
© www.riverwyre.com 2024