Born on the 30th June 1888, Thomas was the second son of Benjamin and Eliza J Rainbow. At the time of his birth his father Benjamin was a farmer on the Upper Clopton Farm near Mickleton. The 1891 census shows quite a large and prosperous family with seven children. The family also employed a live-in School Governess, Lizzie Brooks, and had two live-in servants. On the 11th September 1899 Thomas joined the Boys School, and the register notes that his education to date had been delivered privately. He is noted as coming from Darlingscott, which is confirmed by the 1901 census.  Thomas left school two years later on 31st March 1903. On the 9th December 1910 Thomas emigrated to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, on a ship called the Ophir. Passengers landing points mark the route the ship took, Gibraltar, Naples, Port Said, Colombo and then Freemantle, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. Arriving in Colombo in early 1911 he is listed in the 1914 Ceylon Directory as being employed as an "Assistant" at Colombo Stores, Ltd., a large firm dealing mostly in wholesale sales to local retailers. Thomas settled in an area of Colombo know as "Colpetty" (known today more often as "Kollupitiya"), in a house called "New Cross" and joined the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps (CPRC) well before the outbreak of the war, as indicated by his inclusion in the Service section of the Ceylon Directory dated June 1914.  Thomas’ service number at that time was 1747 and he is noted as being a Rifleman in No.1 Section of F Company. The CPRC sent a force of 8 officers and 229 other ranks, commanded by Major J. Hall Brown, the unit sailing for Egypt in October 1914. Arriving in Egypt on the 17th November 1914, the CPRC was deployed in defence of the Suez Canal. The unit was officially attached to the Australia New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) and in 1915 was dispatched to Anzac Cove (‘Z’ Beach) on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The CPRC performed operational duties as guards to ANZAC headquarter staff, including the General Officer Commanding ANZAC, Lieutenant-General William Birdwood, who remarked, “I have an excellent guard of Ceylon Planters who are such a nice lot of fellows.” On the 20th January 1916 the Evesham Journal published the following letter which had been received by his parents: “You will be very glad to hear that I have arrived safely in X a very pretty place far from the firing line. I expect that home papers have told you that we have left Anzac. Half of our little crowd went away much earlier than the rest, and I was ordered to stay behind with the remainder, and was almost the last to leave the Peninsula, as I was also among the first of our little band to land in the dim ages of April last. We came away at night on H.M. Battleship X, and eventually landed in a ‘Greecy’ part, where we spent about a fortnight awaiting orders.  We then boarded a big transport, the Empress of X, and steamed for somewhere in Egypt, where we arrived several days later after a more or less eventful voyage. There were about 5,000 of us on board, and the ‘Germs’ would have had a big haul if they had caught us, which I’m very thankful to say they did not. Every precaution was taken against submarines, and every officer and man wore his lifebelt everywhere he went, and at night slept with it under his head ready to slip it on at a moments notice.  We were packed just like the proverbial sardines, and were all very glad when we found ourselves in the harbour we left last April. We soon boarded trains that were waiting and shot off again for another unknown destination, eventually arriving about two miles from the place I am at now just before daybreak. When we detrained we had to wait several hours for orders, and then marched into one of the prettiest little towns I have ever seen, very tired, hungry and dusty. We then made ourselves as comfortable as possible in the open in a kind of wood with semi-tropical trees and foliage everywhere round us. We are now camped on the outskirts of the town, and up to the present have hardly done anything one could truthfully call work, and are very glad to be able to say so. Some kindly disposed persons have placed their tennis courts at our disposal., supplying rackets and balls free of charge. You can easily imagine that this sort of life is just like Paradise itself after nine solid months through thick and thin in the wilds of Gallipoli. One knows just how to appreciate these things after being away from civilization for so long.  I scarcely had a letter or paper, I think, about two months, and now a perfect avalanche has suddenly descended upon me - 14 letters, including 2 or 3 small parcels, 15 bundles of papers - Evesham Journals, Mirrors, O.S. Mails – 8 Christmas parcels of plum puddings etc. I am very pleased to get these goodies, but the pity is that they always come in shoals – it never rains but it pours. As far as I can see at present everything is in good eating order. The sleeping bag I shall find extremely useful, and hope to have many peaceful snoozes inside it. The last few days at Anzac were pretty exciting, and if the enemy had only known what was taking place I might not be writing this now. Congratulations were received from the King, Lord Kitchener and others when it was cabled home that we had got safely away. There is no doubt it is a wonderful performance, and I could tell you a good deal about the preparations and precautions that were made in case the Turks attacked us while the evacuation was taking place.  I am sorry to say that there was just one unfortunate incident which took place just as the remainder of H.Q. were leaving. A shell burst almost directly over us killing a sergeant and seriously wounding two H.Q. officers, who were all old stagers, and had been over there since the beginning of the operations. I knew them all very well, and was just behind when the shell burst. I think it was terribly hard luck to go through everything unscathed and then get knocked out at the very last. There are heaps of new troops round who have not yet been into action; they look fit, and no doubt you will hear of their doings somewhere in this part of the world before the winter is over.  There is a fine English Church (at least that is what it looks like from outside) in the town. Another fellow and I are going there to-night, and it will be the first time I have been to a church service since the church parades every Sunday in Egypt long ago. Etc.” Birdwood is reported to have assisted all of the CPRCs to get commissions, so it is assumed that Thomas gained his via this route.  It was gazetted on the 22nd September 1916 and was effective from the 15th August 1916. In the report it records that he was already a Lance Corporal. On becoming an Officer Thomas served with the 10th (Service) Battalion Worcestershire Regiment. The Battalion fought on the Somme during July of 1916 and were then moved north to a position in the line facing the Messines Ridge. Initially they were in brigade reserve; but on the 10th August the Battalion moved forward to the trenches, and relieved 10th Royal Warwickshires in a position just south of Spanbroek Mill. There, they laboured and fought during the ensuing three weeks. The trenches of the Battalion were in a shallow salient. They could be enfiladed from all sides; but in spite of continual shelling and sniping the losses during that period were kept down to 2 killed 9 wounded. On 31st August the Battalion was relieved and moved south again. On the afternoon of the 4th September a long-range shell plunged into the marching Battalion and burst, killing or wounding twenty men.  On the night September 15th/16th the Battalion took part in a series of Trench Raids designed to draw attention away from activities on the Somme. Moving back to the Somme, Thomas was granted home leave and the Evesham Journal reported: Second-Lieut T. W. Rainbow, Worcestershire regiment, third son of Mr. and Mrs. B Rainbow, of Darlingscott, has been home on leave from the firing line “somewhere in France.” At the commencement of the war he was in Ceylon and volunteered for service from the Ceylon Planters’ Rifle Corps. From there he went to Egypt and then to Gallipoli with the Anzacs being among the first to arrive and the last to leave. Since that he has been in Egypt again and early in last spring his company was sent to France. There he joined the O.T.C., received his commission as Second-Lieut. and was attached to one of the Worcestershire battalions. We were glad to see him looking so fit after his varied experiences. Mr and Mrs. Rainbow’s fourth son is also serving in France with the Royal Warwicks. Thomas was killed on the Ancre Heights on the last day of the Battle, the 18th November 1916.  It was reported that he was shot in the head and chest at a little after 6am whilst kicking down enemy wire during an attack. The regimental history reports that at 6.10am the British gunfire increased in intensity, before lifting when the attacking battalions went forward in both darkness and heavy rain. This caused confusion and the Worcesters were widely spread, the two platoons on the right not being heard from again. They lost over 100 men and officers, over half of them missing. On the 2nd December 1916 the Evesham Journal reported: Mr. B. Rainbow of Darlingscott would be very grateful for information in reference to his son, 2nd Lieut. T. W. Rainbow of the “A” Company 10th Worcesters. Lieut T. W. Rainbow was officially reported, “missing, believed killed” about November 17 and his parents can hear no further details. A letter was posted by him on November 16 and he was then in rest billets after fearful fighting, but said the place was being shelled. Possibly some soldier in this regiment may be able to furnish some news of him. Thomas’ body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France and is remembered on the Council School Memorial, Tredington Memorial and the plaque in Darlingscott Church.                

Mike Wells