172407 Pte. Thomas Robert Lyons was born on February 1st, 1897, in Greenwich, London, to Alfred & Martha Lyons.

Emigrating to Hespeler, Ontario, in 1911, Thomas joined the 83rd (Queen's Own Rifles) Battalion in Toronto as Private, #172407, on January 3rd, 1916.

Thomas was amongst 241 men of the 83rd Battalion brought into the 4th CMR during June & July of 1916.

Alas, Thomas died on September 15th, 1916, age 19, at Courcelette, France (where he is buried). Three of Thomas's brothers and his father served in WW1; he was the only one not to return.

The picture on the right, of Thomas and another unidentified 4th CMR man, whom he refers to on the reverse of the picture as his "chum", was taken "after 16 days up the line".

Tragically, Thomas died 16 days after that picture was taken.

The question from Thomas's relatives is, "who is this "chum"?". If you can shed any light on who the man on the left of the picture is, do let 4cmr.com know and details will be passed on accordingly.

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Biography and photo credits to Meredith Johnson.