We don't know a lot about Thomas or his life before joining the British Army. We think he was born in Limerick, County Munster, Ireland. He was born into a poor family. We think he had about 12 or 13 siblings. At the age of about 14, he left Ireland and joined the British Army. We believe he lied about his age, I don’t know much about his time in WW1.

He married my great-grandmother in Alton in 1930, and my grandfather Michael Thomas Russell was born in 1934 in Woolwich.

My grandfather remembered very little of my great-grandfather, he was 8 when he was killed. My grandfather and great-grandmother were evacuated to the Philippines and then Australia. They lived in Australia until 1946. My grandfather served in the Air Force and was in Kenya for some time.

We understand Thomas joined the British Army in WW1, we also know he lied about his age to join the Army. We don't have any info about him in WW1.

We know he was stationed in Alton and Woolwich, and he could have been stationed in Gibraltar at some point too. We don't know when he enlisted in WW2 or when he went to Hong Kong.

In order to trace relatives and find my great-grandfather's family, I did a DNA test, and I found my Irish family. I wish I could have shared this with my grandfather, he didn't know anyone from the Irish side of his family.

My great-grandfather was survived by my great-grandmother Elsie Daisy Russell and my grandfather Michael Thomas Russell who married my grandmother Pauline in 1957. My grandfather passed away in 2010 after having dementia. I wish I had asked more questions about his father.