Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
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5054623   Private Thomas Arthur Grimley
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Dated added: 30/12/2015   Last updated: 11/02/2020
Personal Details
Regiment/Service: 7th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (British Army)
Died: 25/07/1944 (Killed in Action)
Age: 22
Summary      
Thomas Arthur Grimley was the son of Patrick and Rose Grimley. He was born about 1922. The 7th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment were part of Operation Thursday, an operation to retake Burma which started in March 1944. From India, the 7th Battalion made their way through the jungle of Burma. Private Thomas Arthur Grimley was serving with the 7th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment when he died in Burma on 25th July 1944.
Further Information
Thomas Arthur Grimley was the son of Patrick and Rose Grimley. He was born about 1922.
Known family: Patrick Grimley, Rose Grimley, Thomas Arthur Grimley (born about 1922).
The 7th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment were part of Operation Thursday, an operation to retake Burma which started in March 1944. From India, the 7th Battalion made their way through the jungle of Burma.
73 soldiers of the 7th Battalion died between the start of Operation Thursday and the end of December. The fighting was hard and the battalion was dispersed.
Private Thomas Arthur Grimley was serving with the 7th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment when he died in Burma on 25th July 1944.
After the exhausted remnants of the 7th Battalion had been dispersed to hospitals all over India for treatment and rehabilitation, the Battalion re-formed at Bangalore. But so great had been the casualties sustained by it and 2nd Battalion, that it was decided that those in the 7th Battalion who were fit for service should be transferred to 2nd Battalion, and on 31st December 1944 the 7th Battalion ceased to exist.
Private Thomas Arthur Grimley is buried in Taukkyan War Cemetery. His inscription reads: NOT JUST TO-DAY BUT EVERY DAY WE THINK AND PRAY FOR YOU. R.I.P.
Private Thomas Arthur Grimley is commemorated locally on Moy War Memorial.
The CWGC record Private Thomas Arthur Grimley as the son of Patrick and Rose Grimley of Dungannon, County Tyrone.
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References and Links
No Link Reference Map Doc
1 HG Lambert - with the Chindits Website detailing 7th Leicestershires in Burma
2 Leicestershire Regiment History of Regiment
3 War Graves Photographic Project Photo of Private Thomas Arthur Grimley's gravestone can be purchased here
Dungannon District's War Dead Acknowledgements 2015-2023