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Brother Wilfred Thomas spent his schooldays at Lesvauxbelets on Guernsey, a Brothers' School on the island, which spoke only French. With scholarly diligence, however he soon picked up the language, and in fact went on to learn German as well.

In 1927 he went to Dover for further studies and to take the Habit, before being sent back to his old school on Guernsey, this time as a teacher and a Brother. He taught there for a further ten years and it was a station that he enjoyed. There was an Agriculture School that was all part and parcel of the unit and large grounds were spread out all around the school.

For the first year of the Second World War Brother Wilfred again found himself posted to Dover, but in 1940 he was moved yet again, this time to St. Joseph's at Beulah Hill where he remained for the rest of the war. Back on Guernsey at Lesvauxbelets in 1946, he found the school still there, but the Agriculture School had gone, and some of the grounds were let out to raise much needed funds. Four more happy years were spent there, however, before he was again directed back to the mainland, this time to the other St. Joseph's based at Ipswich.

He arrived at St. Peter's in 1963 to join the Chemistry Team, and to spend the next 15 years helping to raise the pass rate in '0' levels.

He became a popular figure at the school despite his reticence, whereby he would never use two words where one would do. He was not renown for losing his temper, although on occasions a tiresome boy might learn that he was not a Brother to be taken for granted.

He attempted to make the teaching of chemistry interesting while his interests outside the school centred on ornithology.

His last day of teaching was the 20th December 1978 and at that time had been teaching for some 49 years, 15 of them at St Peter's.

On his retirement day he was at the side of Mr Alex Smart in the Staff Room when the latter called everybody's attention, and, much to Brother Wilfred's embarrassment, because he was not a Brother renowned for drawing attention to himself, Mr Smart made a little speech and presented him with a cheque 'to buy some very special books on ornithology'.

Not renowned either for lengthy conversation, in thanking Mr Smart and the staff for their generosity, he said that, as he had been short all his life, he was not going to change that now - and he didn't.