Dedicated to the memory of all the men and women of the South Staffordshire area who died during the two World Wars.
Thomas Andrew Wight-Boycott was born in Brighton in 1872. He was the son of Captain Cathcart Wight-Boycott of Rudge Hall, Pattingham.
Thomas was educated at Eton. He married Anne Catherine Morgan in 1894. He served with the 4th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry during the Boer War, winning the D.S.O. and being twice mentioned in despatches. He ended the war as Lieutenant Colonel commanding the 27th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry.
At the outbreak of the Great War, Thomas was appointed Brigadier General in command of the Warwickshire Yeomanry. He went to Gallipoli where he contracted an illness which caused him to be repatriated. He died on 30th March, 1916, at Princess Louise Hospital, Kensington Palace, London. He is buried in the family vault at Pattingham Church. A Memorial plaque reads:
IN MEMORY OF THOMAS ANDREW WIGHT-BOYCOTT, D.S.O. TWENTY YEARS AN OFFICER IN THE Q.O.R.R. STAFFS YEOMANRY. SERVED WITH DISTINCTION IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR, IN THE SERVICE COMPANY STAFFS. IMPERIAL YEOMANRY AND AS COLONEL COMMANDING THE 27TH BATT. IMPERIAL YEOMANRY. HE DIED ON MARCH 30TH 1916, AGED 44 FROM DISEASE CONTRACTED IN GALLIPOLI WHILE IN COMMAND OF A BRIGADE WITH THE RANK OF BRIGADIER GENERAL. THIS TABLET IS ERECTED BY THE OFFICERS OF THE Q.O.R.R. YEOMANRY
His death was reported in several newspapers. The report in the Dundee Evening Telegraph of 4 April, 1916 adds several interesting details:
Brigadier-General Thomas Andrew Wight-Boycott of Rudge Hall and Boycott, Shropshire (died on March 30 of illness contracted on active service), was born in 1872, He received the D.S.O. for the South African war. General Wight Boycott was a descendant of Thomas Wight, who fought at Pinkie in 1547, whose wife was a daughter of Cockburn, laird of Ormiston. By the marriage of the General's grandfather, Andrew Wight of Ormiston, to Louisa, daughter of the late Thomas Boycott of Rudge, that estate and the name of Boycott came to the General's father.
This memorial has mostly been compiled from official sources. It would be good to be able to expand it with more personal material - memories, stories, photos, etc. If you have any suitable material or any corrections please contact Greg.