“ Being a strong Protestant he took part in the rising against Queen Mary led by Sir Thomas Wyat in 1554, being captured and thrown into the Tower of London. Having whilst in prison tried to commit suicide and been tortured on the rack in the hope of incriminating the princess Elizabeth, he was found guilty and was hanged at Tyburn on the 18th of May 1554. ”

“ This was the first work of its kind in English. Thomas made an English translation of Josafat Barbaro’s account of his voyages, Barbaro being a Venetian traveller who died in 1494. With an introduction by Lord Stanley of Alderley this was published by the Hakluyt Society in a volume of Travels to Tana and Persia (London, 1873) . See John Strype, Ecclesiastical Memorials (Oxford, 1822) .
Thomas has a namesake, William Thomas (1613–1689) , bishop of St David’s from 1677 to 1683 and bishop of Worcester from 1683 to 1689. ”