Corporal Thomas William Priday (1912/1913– 9 December 1939) was the first British Army soldier to be killed in action during the Second World War.

[7] Lord Gort outlines in his dispatches that he made arrangements in November 1939 for a British brigade to serve on the Saar Front under French command.

[7] It was while serving in this capacity that Corporal Priday was killed in the area of Metz.

[2] He died at the age of 27 while serving as a corporal with the 1st Battalion of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI).

[9] His death was reported in The Times on 1 January 1940 under the headline 'First British Soldier Killed in Action'.