AN AMATEUR historian from Basingstoke has successfully bid for a local soldier to be recognised as one of the Great War casualties.

As previously reported by The Gazette, David Stewart, of Beaconsfield Road, Cranbourne, has been researching the names of all World War One servicemen who appear on the town’s main war memorial.

The 48-year-old has spoken to relatives from all over the world, toured the borough to find commemorative plaques and trawled through military records from the National Archives, in London.

During his quest to learn more about those who sacrificed their lives during the four-year

conflict, David came across the story of father-of-five Thomas Burridge, who lived with his wife, Annie Florence, in Hackwood Road, Basingstoke.

Thomas enrolled for military service on December 10, 1915 and was placed in the reserve until he was sent to the front line in June 1916.

According to records, Thomas was admitted to a field hospital on October 27, 1917 and subsequently transferred to University War Hospital in Southampton before he was declared as having a permanent disability due to “exposure on war service” and was medically discharged on March 20, 1918.

Thomas then returned to his family in Basingstoke but died just months later, aged 40, on August 24 from trench fever, and was buried in Herriard.

Although the father-of-five is remembered on the Basingstoke War Memorial and St Michael’s Church alongside many others killed during the conflict or after from their illness or injury, he is not commemorated on the Herriard memorial.

David made a formal application to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) to have Thomas recognised as a war casualty as he was not

listed on its website and currently doesn’t have a CWGC headstone.

He said: “When I started to research the 233 Great War names on the Basingstoke War Memorial almost 4 years ago, I had no idea that it would take me down a path to have something so important as finding a forgotten soldier and have him recognised, as he should be, a Great War casualty.

“We need to find his descendants especially if a CWGC headstone is to be added to his grave, that is once we have found its exact location.”

CWGC is now working with St Mary’s Church in Herriard to locate Private Burridge’s gravestone.