Source: Michael Doyle Their Name Liveth For Evermore: The Great War Roll of Honour for Leicestershire and Rutland.
He was the son of Alfred Bonser a greengrocer, born in the 4th quarter of 1872 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire (son of Fergus O’Conner Bonser and Elizabeth Staples) and his wife Annie Sarah Warrington Bonser (nee Bishop, married on the 19th September 1891 in All Saint’s Church, Loughborough), born on the 11th August 1861 in Rothley, Leicestershire and baptised on the 5th June 1863 in SS. Mary & John’s Church, Rothley (daughter of Thomas Bishop and Zillah Warrington). Tomas Fergus Christopher, was born in the 2nd quarter of 1893 in Rothley, his siblings were Zillah Elizabeth, born on the 10th September 1896 and Alfred, born on the 10th March 1901, both his siblings were born in Rothley, in March 1901 the family home was at 24, Albert Street, Loughborough, Leicestershire. In April 1911 Tomas was employed as a brickyard labourer and was residing in the family home at 41, Paget Street, Loughborough, together with his father, a carter, his mother, a charwoman and siblings, Zillah, a hosiery factory errand girl and Alfred, a schoolboy.
Tomas’s Army enlistment documents do not survive, all that is known of his military service is that he enlisted in Loughborough as a Territorial into the Leicestershire Regiment, and was allotted the service number 3534, and posted as a Private to that Regiment’s Depot for training, subsequently being posted to the 1/5th Battalion. And it was to join this Battalion, that he first entered the theatre of war in France on the 30th June 1915. Under the Army Council Instruction of 1917 that promulgated a new numbering system for all Territorial Force units, he was allotted the service number 241241. Nothing further is known of his military service until he was reported as having been killed in action on the 15th August 1917, while serving with the 1/5th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment. He was buried in Philosophe British Cemetery, Mazingarbe, France. Tomas was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
The War Diary records: 15 Aug-17 - NOYELLES. Advance party of 2 N.C.O.’s per Company report to 2nd Lieutenant BARRETT to go forward to reconnoitre dug outs. The Battalion marched off to the trenches at 10.00am in the following order, “D,” “C,” “B,” “A,” Headquarters. On the way up “B” Company had an accident. A shell landed by the side of a party marching up killing 11 and wounding 14. On arrival at trenches accommodation was found in LINE TRENCH, 10th AVENUE, LONE TREE REDOUBT. Most of the men were under cover but they were a bit squashed. Battalion Headquarters was in HULLOCH TUNNEL shared with the 6th Battalion NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE REGT. Found BROOKE up in the line and he reported that the wire on the front of the raid was not properly cut. He had been up in the line since August 2nd doing patrol work at night and observing wire cutting operations with the Forward Observation Officer, on one occasion he was informed that the enemy were suspected of having left his front line trench, so he crawled out in broad daylight and lay on the enemy’s parapet for about three minutes. Until a Bosche poked his head round the corner of a traverse, saw him and at once disappeared. BROOKE at once made off and just afterwards the place where he had been was peppered with a shower of bombs. He gained our front lines all right. About 3.00pm the Divisional Intelligence Officer and General Staff Officer’s came up and the situation was discussed, the former went up to the line to where the Forward Observation Officer’s were observing and saw things for himself and sent several reports through to Division, all to the effect that the wire was not cut through. In the end everybody agreed that this was so and a message came through about 8.45pm that the raid was postponed. This only just gave time for Officer’s Commanding Companies to be informed before they moved to assembly positions. The Companies settled down to spend the night in their somewhat cramped quarters and rations arrived about 2.00am next morning.