Thomas was born on the 1st November 1891 and lived and enlisted at Matlock in Derbyshire. He was the son of Thomas and Sarah Hetherington, of Widdrington, Northumberland. He was the Husband of Maggie Hetherington, and together they lived in Matlock.  

He originally served in the ranks with the 1/6th Battalion The Sherwood Foresters as a Sergeant and landed in France on the 28th February 1915 with ‘E’ Company. He was later commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the 28th November 1917. He was killed in action on the 1st November 1918 and is buried in the Preseau Communal Cemetery Extension, France, C.13.