Thomas Dimes

  General Notes:

THOMAS DIMES (1822-1907) We know quite a bit about the life of the fourth son of Thomas, another Thomas born in 1822 in Crondall. His early life is chronicled through the poor relief records and after he was orphaned in 1832. The children were looked after ny a local poor woman Mary Parfett for a few weeks, then he (and the other 5 youngest children) were under the care of James Smith and his wife for 14s per week. In 1841 Thomas was still in Crondall working as an agricultural labourer on Robert Benham's farm but his life was to take a dramatic turn when he enlisted on 9th January 1843 at 3p.m. at Westminster into the 2nd European Regiment of Infantry, part of the Army of the East India Company to serve for an unlimited period. He was described as 5ft 7ins tall, with light coloured hair and grey eyes. On January 12th he was marched off to the depot to begin training and arrived the next day. Four months later, on May 11th he embarked on the British Sovereign for service in Bengal and would not set foot in England again for 19 years.

During his service in India, Thomas took part in the Punjab wars of the 1840s, earning the Punjab Campaign Medal. He also fought in the Indian Mutiny, sustaining a wound to his left leg on 19th June 1857. This earned him the Indian Mutiny Medal. He would appear to have been an exemplary soldier with four good conduct badges, for each of which he received an extra penny in his pay packet. After 18 years service he was awarded the long service medal and good conduct medal. On the disbanding of the East India Company army following the mutiny, the European regiment soldiers were given the opportunity to join the regular army. Thomas was one of a minority of men to take this up and he transferred to the 104th Regiment of Foot. This move entitled him to a bonus of two years service. The consequence of this was in 1862 Thomas had completed 21 years service and he was eligible for a pension. Thomas requested a discharge and he was sent home from Chatham in October 1862. He declared his intention of returning to Crondall.

Thomas had been home just over a year when he married Elizabeth Windiate on New Year's eve of 1863. Elizabeth was the namesake and niece of the wife of Thomas's elder brother John Dimes. The ceremony was in the church at Church Crookham. Thomas was 41 and Elizabeth 29. Their first child was still-born but their next, Thomas Henry, thrived. He was followed by another son, who survived only eight hours. Then came Martha Elizabeth in December 1867, John Windiate in September 1869 and William Daniel in November 1871. Earlier that year on census day (usually taken late March/ early April every ten years from 1801), Thomas and family were found at home at Dora's Green and their household included Elizabeth's mother, another Elizabeth who was 69. It is unclear whether Thomas and family shared the house with his brother Charles and his second wife Rebeccah.

In 1875 Elizabeth senior died and also young John Windiate aged six. Thomas Henry left home to take up an apprenticeship on the railway at Nine Elms, which he abandoned two years later in order to go to sea.

By the time of the 1881 census the household was reduced to four people, Thomas and Elizabeth, 13 year old Martha and 9 year old William. Thomas was registered as a Chelsea Pensioner.

Ten years later, the 1891 census showed that Thomas who was 69 was still employed as a general labourer. Thomas Henry was on leave from his ship and was visiting his parents and his sister Martha was still at home. They also had a visitor on census day, Elizabeth Sprague, who could have been the (twin ?) sister of John E. Sprague who married Thomas' brother WIlliam's daughter, Caroline. Both John E and Elizabeth were born in 1866 in London. In 1893, Martha married Jesse Costa at Crondall on 22nd May.

Some time before 1901, Thomas and Elizabeth moved south to Birdham Bridge near Chichester where Thomas worked as a lockkeeper with a rent free cottage and a wage of 7s a week. They remained there until Thomas died in the spring of 1907 aged 84.

Elizabeth then went to live at Duxford in Cambridgeshire where Thomas Henry had settled with his family after leaving the Navy. Elizabeth died there in 1913.

Thomas married Elizabeth Windiate, daughter of Henry Windiate and Elizabeth Knight, on 31 Dec 1863 in Crookham, Fleet, Hampshire, England. (Elizabeth Windiate was born on 4 Aug 1834 in Crondall, Hampshire, England and died in 1913 in Duxford, Cambridge, England.)