Friends of Hastings Cemetery

Three of the sons from the second marriage, Walter, Thomas and Albert Edward, were killed, but also serving  were what turned out to be two step-brothers and also a son in law.  A further brother, Percy Farrier, was reported as having his lower arm blown off. He survived the War.

Thomas Frederick Farrier (1889 - 1915)

Birthplace:  Hastings, East Sussex, UK

Death:  Died May 17, 1915 in Vendin-lès-Béthune, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France

Buried - Bethune Town Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France

The Royal Sussex Regiment were on Guard Duty at the Tower of London, from November 1914 until they embarked for France on 18th February 1915.

"Mrs Sarah Farrier has received news that her son Thomas Frederic had been killed whilst on active service in the French town of Bethune on May 17th. He and two others had been killed by a shell landing in their billet at the Bethune Tobacco factory. His Commanding Officer stated that "he was a good soldier and well liked by everyone." It also stated that "before volunteering for Foreign Service, he was a very keen member of the Church Lad's Brigade, where he held the rank of Staff Sergeant."

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Walter James Farrier (1886 - 1915)
Birthplace:  Hastings, East Sussex, UK
Death:  Died August 8, 1917
Cause of death:  died at sea
Mercantile Marine, the forerunner of today's Merchant Navy, serving onboard HMS India in the engine room as a trimmer.

Able Seaman 801188 Walter James Farrier, lost at sea after the ship was torpedoed two and a half miles off of the Norwegian coast, on August 8th 1915.

The records state that out of her total crew of 301 Officers and Men, 160 were lost in the icy waters.