W/T OPERATOR

Born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire on 30 September 1892, Thomas Connelly worked as a miner and warehouseman until he joined the Royal Naval Air Service as a Air Mechanic 2 at the age of 24 on 6 September 1916. He was the eldest son of Mr T Edward Connelly, also a miner. After a short stint on President II, Connelly was posted to Daedelus – the Royal Naval Air Service Training Establishment Cranwell on 12 September.

On 20 February 1917, Connelly was briefly transferred to the RNAS Flying School at Eastchurch, Kent – considered the home of the RNAS and British aviation itself. He then went to The RNAS seaplane base at Killingholme in Lincolnshire.

Moving back to Scotland on 20 April 1917, Thomas Connelly was posted to East Fortune where he remained until 1 February 1918.

The Musselburgh News wrote on 25 July 1919…

“Being of an intelligent nature, he studied at the various night schools in Edinburgh, and when passed all his examinations he joined the airship service, where he has had many hairbreadth escapes, on one occasion floating on the sea for more than two hours till rescued in a very exhausted state by a torpedo boat. His brother  James, who was a gardener with Sir Berkley Milne, was killed at the battle of the Somme. “

At the time of his death (according to the Norfolk Chronicle) his home address was Midfield Cottage, Inveresk, Midlothian.

Service numbers: F20367/220367

Army Register of Soldier’s Effects for Thomas Jarrett. Image: The National Archives.

Thomas is commemorated on the Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton. Photo: Helen Wallbridge.