| Was |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
| From |
France England United Kingdom |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 1896, Chopwell, North East England, England, United Kingdom |
| Death |
13 October 1917, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, France (aged 21 years) |
Thomas “Tom” Cairns (1896 – 13 October 1917) was an English professional football inside left who played in the Football League for Newcastle United.
Personal life
Cairns enlisted as a gunner in the Royal Field Artillery in 1915, during the First World War. Serving in ‘Z’ 61st Trench Mortar Battery, he saw action at Fromelles and at the Third Battle Of Ypres. Cairns was killed east of Arras on 13 October 1917, during the build-up to the offensive on Cambrai. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.