Military Monday – Thomas William Paley (1892-1943)

Thomas William Paley is my 2nd cousin 2x removed.  Our common ancestors are William Paley and Mary Blackey my 3x great grandparents.  He was born sometime in the June quarter of 1892 to parents William Paley and Olive Sexton.

In the 1911 census Thomas was working on the family farm (Oakhurst Farm) at Moortown in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Almost three and half years later, on 30 September 1914, Thomas enlisted in The Yorkshire Regiment at the recruiting office in Leeds – his service number is 15159.  Fortunately I have been able to find his service records at www.ancestry.co.uk.

Thomas is described as 5ft 9ins tall and weighed 142lbs.  He had brown eyes and brown hair.  His physical development is recorded as good and he was considered fit for the army.

I’m not sure exactly what happened after that because just over three weeks later, on 25 October 1914, Thomas was discharged on the grounds that he was ‘not likely to become an efficient soldier’.

I can see from his service records that he was discharged under King’s Regulations 392 and what then looks like subsection iii vii.

This link to The Long, Long Trail website explains about King’s Regulations 392.  If my interpretation from his service records is correct, then it seems like he was discharged because he was ‘considered to be physically unfit for the ranks’.

Here’s the extract from his service records – what do you think?

Despite his very short time in the army I am still incredibly proud of Thomas as he was prepared to enlist and serve his country.