Nigel Beaumont-Thomas
Nigel Beaumont-Thomas is arguably the most celebrated of all the Hethersett men to lose their lives in the world wars. A captain in the Royal Engineers, he was 28 years of age when he died on September 20th, 1944. He was the son of Colonel Lionel and Pauline Beaumont-Thomas of South Kensington, London. Colonel Thomas was lost at sea on 7th December, 1942. His son Nigel is buried in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery. He was awarded the Military Cross and mentioned in dispatches.
Nigel Beaumont-Thomas was born in London on 17th April, 1916, and educated in Hampstead, at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1939 he joined the firm of Richard Thomas and Co Ltd as a civil engineer. On 10th June, 1939, he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers and mobilised on 24th August, 1939. From 1939 to June 1941 he was attached to the King's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners serving in India, North Africa, Abyssinia (where he was wounded) and North Africa. For a time he was a prisoner of war in Italy but escaped in September 1943 and made his way back to the United Kingdom in 1944. From May 28th until his death he was second in command of the 4th Parachute Squadron and was killed in action at Arnhem. He had already been promoted to the rank of Major.
Nigel Beaumont- Thomas lived at Cedar Grange in Hethersett. In his will he left over £116,000.
On the outbreak of war in 1939 he was immediately called up, and drafted in November 1939 to India, as an officer in King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners. There he learnt Hindustani, 'essential in dealing with Indian troops'. A year later he was in North Africa, with a diversion to the Italian Campaign in Abyssinia and Ethiopia where he was wounded, and spent some time in hospital. Then it was back to the North African desert, and the long tussle along the Mediterranean coast. It was during that weary and often frustrating campaign that he was awarded the Military Cross.
The citation recorded that he was commanding two parties of engineers who were being held in readiness to clear obstacles in the path of a tank advance through the Halfaya Pass (known to all British soldiers as 'Hellfire'). Some of the tanks penetrated a minefield and, coming under heavy bombardment, stopped. Nigel was ordered forward to reconnoitre.
He reached the tanks which were under heavy fire from machine guns and anti-tank guns at close range. He made his way under heavy fire to the subaltern commanding the tanks, found out the situation from him and then coolly and deliberately and still under fire examined the minefield, bringing back valuable information as to its layout.
Later he returned to the tanks with the Brigade Commander's orders. Any movement at once attracted heavy fire. He made his way again to the tank commander's tank and spoke to him. The latter was killed while Lieut. Thomas was still there. He then went on according to orders and gave instructions to the carriers of the infantry battalion which had been supporting the tanks. During the 16th and 17th of June [1941] Lieut. Thomas remained in the area removing mines and marking the minefield still under fire. He was later commended with the following words: "This officer's work was of the greatest value. His cool courage and determination to carry out his task at whatever cost was exemplary."
Just one year later, on 20th June 1942, promoted to Major, Nigel was captured at the fall of Tobruk. In the first confusion he managed to escape by coolly marching past the German guard with a friend, coat collars turned up in German fashion and prattling away in his fluent and colloquial German, while other prisoners created a diversion in the camp.
The two of them lived in a cave for some days but were then discovered and recaptured. When it became clear that they were to be flown to a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy, Nigel devised a plan to take over the aircraft in mid-flight: he, a qualified and experienced pilot, would then fly it back to the Allied lines in North Africa. Several fellow-prisoners agreed to participate, but the scheme misfired when they were put on to different planes, and the new passengers refused to go along with the plan. So Nigel found himself incarcerated in Italian prisoner-of-war camps, first in the south and later, for most of 1943, in the north. Major Philip Tower, who with Andy Howard was the closest to him in the Italian prisoner-of-war camp, remembers him as 'far the most impressive person I've ever met'.
With the Allied invasion Nigel and a fellow officer saw the chance to escape.
Nigel Thomas and Philip Tower walked out of the camp (by trampling down the wire at the perimeter fence) and made for the mountains. It was a hard journey of some 600 miles. They kept as far as possible to the high mountain ranges. As they approached the war zone north of Naples the November nights became bitterly cold. They took to sleeping by day and walking at night. Eventually on 15th November they passed through the German lines and arrived at an Allied unit. Unfortunately on the last leg of the journey Philip Tower was wounded, and on their arrival he was immediately flown for treatment to hospital in Algeria.
The First Airborne Division went in on 17th September (1944), and Nigel Thomas with them as a 'parachuting engineer'. All too soon the troops at Arnhem found themselves encircled by a numerous and heavily equipped enemy.
On September 18th the squadron took off from Spanhoe Airfield After taking off the aircraft circled the airfield once and then set off. The flight was largely uneventful. The men in 1 Troop in a C-47 with Captain Beaumont-Thomas recalled that he gave a running commentary in a calm and reassuring manner as he stood in the door looking at the ground below, more notably when an adjacent aircraft was shot down, he stood in an open doorway shouting “steady there chaps, stand ready“. He was remembered with great pride for his coolness, efficiency and confidence as if it were a regular occurrence for him. Parachute elements were dropped 1420 hrs on drop zone Y West of Arnhem. On landing the Commanding Officer Major Aeneas Perkins received arm injuries, Captain Beaumont-Thomas was ordered to take command.
The following details are taken from war diaries.
September 19th. The majority of the squadrons containers were lost during the drop, Capt. Thomas ordered the men to try to find them, much was lost to opposing forces.
1900 hrs, Capt J.G Smith 1 Troop joined ½ 3 Troop, all under command of Capt N. Beaumont-Thomas in support of 21 Indian Parachute Company. Captain Beaumont-Thomas seemed to be the only one who knew what was happening and soon got everything organised.
Nigel was hit during a mortar attack at about 1000 hrs on September 20th 1944 and badly wounded. He was taken to Ommershof House for treatment, Sapper Leonard administered medical treatment but Nigel died from his injuries.
Nigel Beaumont-Thomas was born in London on 17th April, 1916, and educated in Hampstead, at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1939 he joined the firm of Richard Thomas and Co Ltd as a civil engineer. On 10th June, 1939, he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers and mobilised on 24th August, 1939. From 1939 to June 1941 he was attached to the King's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners serving in India, North Africa, Abyssinia (where he was wounded) and North Africa. For a time he was a prisoner of war in Italy but escaped in September 1943 and made his way back to the United Kingdom in 1944. From May 28th until his death he was second in command of the 4th Parachute Squadron and was killed in action at Arnhem. He had already been promoted to the rank of Major.
Nigel Beaumont- Thomas lived at Cedar Grange in Hethersett. In his will he left over £116,000.
On the outbreak of war in 1939 he was immediately called up, and drafted in November 1939 to India, as an officer in King George V's Bengal Sappers and Miners. There he learnt Hindustani, 'essential in dealing with Indian troops'. A year later he was in North Africa, with a diversion to the Italian Campaign in Abyssinia and Ethiopia where he was wounded, and spent some time in hospital. Then it was back to the North African desert, and the long tussle along the Mediterranean coast. It was during that weary and often frustrating campaign that he was awarded the Military Cross.
The citation recorded that he was commanding two parties of engineers who were being held in readiness to clear obstacles in the path of a tank advance through the Halfaya Pass (known to all British soldiers as 'Hellfire'). Some of the tanks penetrated a minefield and, coming under heavy bombardment, stopped. Nigel was ordered forward to reconnoitre.
He reached the tanks which were under heavy fire from machine guns and anti-tank guns at close range. He made his way under heavy fire to the subaltern commanding the tanks, found out the situation from him and then coolly and deliberately and still under fire examined the minefield, bringing back valuable information as to its layout.
Later he returned to the tanks with the Brigade Commander's orders. Any movement at once attracted heavy fire. He made his way again to the tank commander's tank and spoke to him. The latter was killed while Lieut. Thomas was still there. He then went on according to orders and gave instructions to the carriers of the infantry battalion which had been supporting the tanks. During the 16th and 17th of June [1941] Lieut. Thomas remained in the area removing mines and marking the minefield still under fire. He was later commended with the following words: "This officer's work was of the greatest value. His cool courage and determination to carry out his task at whatever cost was exemplary."
Just one year later, on 20th June 1942, promoted to Major, Nigel was captured at the fall of Tobruk. In the first confusion he managed to escape by coolly marching past the German guard with a friend, coat collars turned up in German fashion and prattling away in his fluent and colloquial German, while other prisoners created a diversion in the camp.
The two of them lived in a cave for some days but were then discovered and recaptured. When it became clear that they were to be flown to a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy, Nigel devised a plan to take over the aircraft in mid-flight: he, a qualified and experienced pilot, would then fly it back to the Allied lines in North Africa. Several fellow-prisoners agreed to participate, but the scheme misfired when they were put on to different planes, and the new passengers refused to go along with the plan. So Nigel found himself incarcerated in Italian prisoner-of-war camps, first in the south and later, for most of 1943, in the north. Major Philip Tower, who with Andy Howard was the closest to him in the Italian prisoner-of-war camp, remembers him as 'far the most impressive person I've ever met'.
With the Allied invasion Nigel and a fellow officer saw the chance to escape.
Nigel Thomas and Philip Tower walked out of the camp (by trampling down the wire at the perimeter fence) and made for the mountains. It was a hard journey of some 600 miles. They kept as far as possible to the high mountain ranges. As they approached the war zone north of Naples the November nights became bitterly cold. They took to sleeping by day and walking at night. Eventually on 15th November they passed through the German lines and arrived at an Allied unit. Unfortunately on the last leg of the journey Philip Tower was wounded, and on their arrival he was immediately flown for treatment to hospital in Algeria.
The First Airborne Division went in on 17th September (1944), and Nigel Thomas with them as a 'parachuting engineer'. All too soon the troops at Arnhem found themselves encircled by a numerous and heavily equipped enemy.
On September 18th the squadron took off from Spanhoe Airfield After taking off the aircraft circled the airfield once and then set off. The flight was largely uneventful. The men in 1 Troop in a C-47 with Captain Beaumont-Thomas recalled that he gave a running commentary in a calm and reassuring manner as he stood in the door looking at the ground below, more notably when an adjacent aircraft was shot down, he stood in an open doorway shouting “steady there chaps, stand ready“. He was remembered with great pride for his coolness, efficiency and confidence as if it were a regular occurrence for him. Parachute elements were dropped 1420 hrs on drop zone Y West of Arnhem. On landing the Commanding Officer Major Aeneas Perkins received arm injuries, Captain Beaumont-Thomas was ordered to take command.
The following details are taken from war diaries.
September 19th. The majority of the squadrons containers were lost during the drop, Capt. Thomas ordered the men to try to find them, much was lost to opposing forces.
1900 hrs, Capt J.G Smith 1 Troop joined ½ 3 Troop, all under command of Capt N. Beaumont-Thomas in support of 21 Indian Parachute Company. Captain Beaumont-Thomas seemed to be the only one who knew what was happening and soon got everything organised.
Nigel was hit during a mortar attack at about 1000 hrs on September 20th 1944 and badly wounded. He was taken to Ommershof House for treatment, Sapper Leonard administered medical treatment but Nigel died from his injuries.