More Information​

William Thomas Hodder


​​William Thomas Hodder, known as Thomas, was born in Sharpness in 1876 to James Hodder, a farmer, and Emma née Timbrell, the middle child of three. In 1881, James was farming at Halmore. The family were at Oldlands farm, Hamfallow, in 1891, but had moved to Frampton by 1901. On 16 July 1903 Thomas married Florence Mabel, sister of Frederick Charles Gardner, and five children followed: Doreen, Hilda Muriel, twins William and James, and Jack Phillip. Thomas worked as a horse breaker, dealer and butcher from the property often called Ye Olde Cruck House, The Street.

On 18 August 1916 the recruiting office at Stroud sent Thomas Hodder a standard notice requesting him to attend a medical even though it appears that he had previously been rejected for service. He was called up at Stroud on 21 November and asked for the Army Veterinary Corps or the Remounts Service; not surprising given his background in horses. He was posted as a private to the 93rd Training Reserve Battalion and three weeks later to the 5th Battalion (Territorial), Gloucestershire Regiment. At some stage he was also posted to the 10th Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry from where, in October 1917, he was transferred to 536 Agricultural Company, Labour Corps. He was discharged on 17 February 1919.

The Hodder family (seen in a photograph in our Gallery) continued to live in Frampton for a few years after the war and Thomas Hodder's war service is commemorated on the plaque in the village hall.