Unpublished Memoir Sheds Light on P.O.W Experience

7th Battalion ‘A’ Coy Sergeants, Thomas Diplock standing on the left

I’ve written several articles on Sgt. Thomas Diplock over the past few years but who better to tell his story than the man himself. I would like to thank Sharon Gerbasi and Thomas’s other grandchildren very much for the opportunity to share with you Thomas Diplock’s previously unpublished memoir of his First World War experience.

In October 1978, shortly after the death of his wife Gwen, Thomas wrote a book on his life, a gift to his three daughters and seven grandchildren. The chapter on his First World War experience totals 42 pages and covers his service from the time he joined Vancouver’s 6th Regiment, Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles to his demobilization on his return to Canada in March 1919. Although put together in book form in 1978 the majority of writing took place during…