Thomas Gee

  General Notes:

Living at 199 Radford Road, Nottingham in 1901.
Buried in Keymer Churchyard.

From BME Gee tapes:

Went to prep school then to High Pavement school. Left school at 13 and looked after horses that pulled the butcher's carts. Had early memories of horse buses and trams, with extra horse being added to take vehicles up Derby Road.

After joining Guards Went to Chelsea awaiting call up to front. Lottery - all his school friends (who joined with him) were called up 3 weeks before him, and all killed instantly.

Foot and toes on other foot amputated in week before Christmas 1915 (NB war record suggests it was 1916). Parents received telegram on Christmas Eve - the busiest day of the year.Retold the the story of how he was put down on the platform at Bagthorpe on the train up to Scotland, and he sent for his father. Had to immerse foot in brine for 12 months.

War record:

Number 25750. Enlisted in 6 Corps of the Grenadier Guards on 8.12.1915, discharged 28.11.1917 'no longer fit for war service' (at 20 years 5 months). He actually started his service in April 1916, and was in the UK 8.4.1916 - 7.10.1916 (183 days), in France 8.10.1916 - 20.1.1917 (105 days), and home again recuperating 21.1.1917 - 28.11.1917 (312 days). His total war service was 1 year 135 days. Described in final war record as pork butcher of 20 Noel Street, height 5' 10", grey eyes, brown hair, chest 34" (with 3" expansion), distinctive mark 'scar left of neck', and 'scar left buttock', character 'very good, clean sober and hardworking'. Disability for 'trench feet, amputated left foot, and toes of right foot'. Pension 27/6 for 30 weeks conditional.

Private Thomas Gee of the Grenadier Guards was awarded a Silver War Badge on 28.11.1917, and the British War Medal and Victory Medal on 21.6.1921.

TC notes:

Grandpa used to speak of being on guard outside Buckingham Palace before he went to the front. He used to keep his WW1 memories to himself, but Tim once plied him with his favourite tipple and he opened up retelling the horror of the trenches, and especially of British soldiers frozen in fear being shot in the back by their own officers as an example. As well as the amputations, he had a severe shrapnel wound on his backside. He had an understandable great dislike of conscientious objectors: for example, he would never buy roses from Harry Wheatcroft in Nottingham.

Grandpa liked to amuse children, but favourite party tricks were to take off his leg, or tell tales of mistaken false eyes (he had only one eye from birth).

He often told the story of how one of his family had lived close to Jesse Boot in Hockley as a boy, and had been offered a job or share in the business when Boot was just starting as his father was an alcoholic. This story is not on the BME Gee tape (although Grandma does mention that both the Gees and Whitbys lived close to Boot in Hockley, and the families did not know each other). See notes on William Gee (b.1818) for the evidence.

Thomas married Beatrice Mary Elizabeth Whitby, daughter of Henry Seely Whitby and Elizabeth Ann Chettle, on 23 Apr 1923 in St Stephens, Bobbers Mill Rd, Nottingham. (Beatrice Mary Elizabeth Whitby was born on 12 Jul 1892 in 53 Manor Street, Nottingham and died in 1977 in Nottingham General Hospital, of pulmonary embolus which was as a result of prolonged bed rest following her extensive pelvic surgery for bowel cancer.)