Thomas was born on 9th April 1879 and named Thomas Robert Eves in Rettendon the son of Thomas Eves and his wife Mary Ann but was baptised at Rettendon Parish Church on 28th May as Thomas Robin. His father registered his birth and signed with a cross. Thomas seems to have alternated between Robert and Robin for the rest of his life. Thomas senior and Mary Ann Munson had married at Rettendon Parish Church in May 1873.
The 1891 census shows that the family were living at Brook Farm, Woodham Ferrers and Thomas had six siblings. Robert senior died in October 1894 at the young age of 46 and was buried in St Mary’s Churchyard on 22nd October.
Thomas had moved away from home by 1901 when he was living in Great Baddow working as a groom (domestic).
The following year on 1st September he married Sarah Rosina Tucker at Twerton Parish Church , a suburb of Bath and by 1911 he was living in Upper Weston, Bath and had been married to Rosina for nine years and they had three children. He was employed as a coachman domestic. At the time of his marriage he used Robert as his second name.
The 7th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders was a service battalion raised as part of Kitchener’s first volunteer army and formed part of the 9th (Scottish) Division. Thomas enlisted in Edinburgh, using Robin as his second name, although it is not clear when but as he was only awarded the British War and Victory Medals he did not serve overseas before 1916.
In 1916 the battalion took part in several engagements as part of the Battle of the Somme and by 1917 they were fighting in the Arras area of north west France and, at 05.30 hours on 9th April 1917, they attacked German positions in the First Battle of The Scarpe, an engagement that was to continue until the 14th April. Sadly Thomas was killed on the first day of the attack. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial which lists almost 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who were killed and for whom there are no known graves. By the end of that first day the division had advanced 3½ miles.
At the time of his death he was owed £2-3-11d which was paid over to his widow who later received a gratuity of £3. He was subsequently awarded the Victory and British War Medals. By the time the Arras Memorial was erected his wife had remarried and was living at the County Club, Tredegar as Sarah Rosina Smart.
Robert’s younger brother Arthur was also killed in action on 2nd November 1917 just seven months later which must have been a great blow to their mother having already lost her husband at a comparatively young age. She had two other sons serving Francis and Joshua and possibly her grandson Charles but thankfully they returned. She died in 1936 and was buried in St Mary’s Churchyard 3rd October that year.