[2] He played his football across half back and was on a flank in East Perth's 1936 premiership side.
[3] Thomas enlisted in the Australian Army in July 1942, and served with the 13 Field Company during World War II.
[4] Having been sent to Victoria to attend a physical training course at an army school in Frankston, Thomas made four appearances for Essendon, all of which the club won, including a semi-final against Richmond.
Thomas was subsequently stationed in Darwin, and was a member of a West Australian team that defeated a combined South Australia–Victoria side in 1942.
After eighteen months in Darwin, Thomas was posted to New Britain (in present-day Papua New Guinea).