Rita Thomas (1924 - 2001)

Born 9 Sep 1924 in Caernarfon, Caernarfonshire, Wales

Ancestors

Died 22 Jun 2001 at age 76 in Deception Bay, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Rita Thomas was born in Caernarfonshire, Wales.

Rita Thomas was born on the 9th September 1924, in Caernarfon, Caernarfonshire, Wales, the eldest child of John Thomas and Geraldine May Vaughan Watkins.^[1]

On the 29th September 1939, she was resident with her mother and youngest sister (Agnes) on Caernant Farm, Anglesey.^[2]

Rita was a member of the Women's Land Army.

Rita, and Agnes, worked as Women's Land Army girls with their mother for Mr E Gibby on his on Upton Farm, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire. Mother and daughters were featured in a newspaper report of their success with a herd of British Friesians and high milk yield.

Rita Thomas migrated from England to New South Wales, Australia.

She emigrated to Australia—where her next youngest sister and her family had gone in February 1958—departing Southampton on the 5th September 1958 aboard the Fairsky^[3] and arriving at Fremantle, Western Australia on the 30th, her occupation given as "farm worker",^[4] eventually arriving at Sydney where she gained employment on a farm. In 1960 her mother was to also emigrate, joining her in New South Wales where she was working. Later the two travelled north to Queensland where the McInnes family had settled in the Redcliffe area just north of Brisbane.

Rita Thomas passed away on the 22nd June 2001, in Deception Bay, Queensland, Australia, aged 75 years, having never married and with no known children.^{[5] [6]} She was remembered with great affection by her nephew William MicInnes, who dedicated his book A Man's Got to Have a Hobby to "Dad and Mum, Vaughan, Laurie, Rhian, Corby and Aunty Rita".

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Registration — England & Wales births, deaths and marriages registrations, General Register Office United Kingdom, Southport, England, HM Passport Office online search Births: Name: THOMAS, RITA; Mother's Maiden Surname: WATKINS; GRO Reference: 1924 D Quarter in CARNARVON Volume 11B Page 599
2. ↑ 1939 England and Wales National Register — Rita's entry on the 1939 Register is still censored as a living person—presumably due to her emigration to Australia making her death unknown in England—but can be inferred from the gap between her mother's entry, and her younger sister Agnes's entry.
3. ↑ Emigration — "United Kingdom, Outgoing Passenger Lists, 1890-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6858-1SXK : 28 October 2021), Rita Thomas, 1958.
4. ↑ Immigration — "Fremantle, Western Australia, Passenger Lists, 1897-1963"
   National Archives of Australia; Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes ACT 2600.; Inward passenger manifests for ships and aircraft arriving at Fremantle, Perth Airport and Western Australian outports from 1897-1963; Series Number: K 269; Reel Number: 164
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 5378 #3240038 (accessed 16 May 2023)
   Name: Rita Thomas; Departure Place: Southampton, United Kingdom; Arrival Date: 30 Sep 1958; Arrival Place: Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia; Vessel: Fairsky.
5. ↑ Newspaper Death Notice — The Ryerson Index to death notices and obituaries in Australian newspapers Surname: THOMAS; Given Names: Rita; Notice Type: Death notice; Date: 22JUN2001; Event: Death; Age: 75; Other Details: late of Deception Bay; Publication: Courier Mail (Brisbane); Published: 23JUN2001
6. ↑ Newspaper Funeral Notice — The Ryerson Index to death notices and obituaries in Australian newspapers Surname: THOMAS; Given Names: Rita; Notice Type: Death notice; Date: 26JUN2001; Event: Funeral; Age: ; Other Details: late of Deception Bay; Publication: Courier Mail (Brisbane); Published: 25JUN2001

• BDM registrations, census data.

• 1947 Electoral Register: "Pembrokeshire, Wales, Electoral Registers, 1740-1978"
  Pembrokeshire Record Office; Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales; Municipal Parliamentary Registers of Electors, Burgess Lists, Poll Books and Absent Voter Lists 1740s-1978; Reference: PCC/ER/1947 CIV
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61660 #200909 (accessed 16 May 2023)
  Name: Rita Thomas; Form type: Civilian Register; Record Type: Residence; Residence Date: 1947; Street Address: Upton Cottage B; Electoral Region: Cosheston; Residence Place: Pembrokeshire, Wales; Description: Civilian Register.