Roll of Honour

Tom Sherwood

Tom passed away on 15th October 2011

Tom was a Wiltshire lad, born and bred in Trowbridge the son of a cabinetmaker. Upon reaching the age of 15 he enlisted as an Army Apprentice Tradesman in April 1943 and with woodwork in his genes he chose to train as a carpenter & joiner therefore going to Beachley Camp Chepstow to join 43A group D Coy. He departed from Beachley Camp in April 1946 as a grade3 C&J and a competent rugby full back. Following the usual primary and basic Sapper training he arrived at Brompton Bks for trade upgrading where he was netted by the 6th AB Div RE recruiting team along with many others of his group.

After para training he was off to 6 AB Div RE in Palestine to join 1st Airborne Sqn RE where he met up with Harold Padfield who was to become a long standing friend he served there until the end of the Mandate in 1948.

With the reformation of 9 Indep AB Sqn RE in Hameln in 1948 Tom seemed to have been reemployed as a clerk in the Sqn office. When the Sqn returned to the UK to Malta Bks, Aldershot, Tom must have been the first of his era to enter into the matrimonial stakes having re-met and married Hattie. They had met some years before when Hettie, as an evacuee had stayed with Tom's aunt. He was the youngest member of the Sqn to be allocated a married quarter.

He stayed with the Sqn throughout the Canal Zone days and until its return to Waterloo Bks East.
Then he left to join a Clerk Of Works course and upon qualifying went off to the massive RAOC stores base at Bicester in his first and last posting as an Army C of W. This was due to the Corps deciding to trim the Works Pyramid resulting in some redundancies voluntary or otherwise. So Tom set off to seek his fortune elsewhere.

He obtained employment as Clerk of Works and later assistant bursar at St Johns College, Oxford taking his good friend Harold Padfield on board to run his stores complex. There he remained until his retirement where the College Dons held him in high regard.

He was a regular attendee at the 6 AB Div RE reunions at the Victory Club and and rewrote the register of attendees for the organiser Major John Shave MC.

His very close family and friends far and wide will sadly miss him.

Farewell old pal from all of your "Airborne friends".