Private Thomas Hughes was born in Manchester, England on April 26th, 1892. Immigrating to Canada prior to the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted with the 2nd Division Cyclist Corps in Toronto on December 8th, 1914.
He embarked for England on the troop ship S.S. Corinthian in May of 1915, and was sent to France the following October. He remained with the Cyclist Corps throughout the war (all Cyclist units merged to become known as the Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion from May 1916 onward).
Pte. Hughes died of pneumonia while still in service post-Armistice, on January 19th, 1919. Originally buried in the Poppelsdorf Cemetery in Bonn, Germany, he was later reinterred to Brussels Town Cemetery in Brussels, Belgium.
The photos here are from the Canadian Letters & Images collection of fellow Cyclist Corps member Pte. Edward Cresswell Ramsey.
External links:
Pte. Hughes' service record (Reg/Ser# 185) is available online through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Pte. Hughes can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.