Following his education at Wrekin College, Thomas joined the firm of Messrs Warwick Savage, in which his uncle and father were partners. Always keenly interested in aviation he was an active member of the Civil Flying Corps where he had qualified as a civil aviator before the war. In 1939 he joined the RAF and following training was posted to 64 Squadron at RAF Leconfield in October 1940 as a Sergeant Pilot flying the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain: thus he became one of ‘The Few’.

Thomas was commissioned in August 1941 and posted to 92 squadron based in Malta from June 1943 where it provided air cover for the 8^th Army during the campaigns in Sicily & Italy. Whilst on an operational sortie in Spitfire JL182 he went down in the sea on Saturday 10^th July 1943 whilst engaged in a dogfight with a JU88 that was attacking Allied shipping, as a result  of a blue on blue: shot down in error by an Anti-Aircarft battery of the US Navy. 

Mentioned in Despatches.

The Squadron Operations book for 10^th July 1943 reads:

The invasion of SICILY has begun and we have been engaged in maintaining an air cover over the PACHINO PENSINSULAR throughout the day. We have done a total of 42 sorties. F/Lt T. Savage opened the score for the Squadron, and the Wing, for operations from MALTA when he destroyed a JU.88 in a third show today. Our aircraft attacked six JU.88’s with an escort of 12 ME.109s and at least 2 Mc202s and besides F/Lt SAVAGE’S success, Lt J GASSON (S.A.A.F) damaged another JU88. Our joy was overshadowed, however, by the news that both F/Lt SAVAGE and F/O DICKS-SHERWOOD are missing. It is believed that “A” Flight’s Flight Commander bailed out and we are anxious for definite news.
 

Thomas was 23 years old and is commemorated on the Malta Memorial, Floriana, Malta. He also commemorated on the Battle of Britain memorials in London & Kent.

Son of George Savage & Dora Savage of Porthill, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed
by so many to so few'
Winston S. Churchill: 20^th August 1940

A copy of this story is available for download here.

Revised: November 2025