By 1837 his wife, his two sons William Frederick and Warren De la Rue and his eldest daughter were involved in the business. In 1855 Thomas was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur. However, there is no mention of Thomas de la Rue in the Base Léonore (the French Legion of Honour database) which has a copious entry on Warren, but nothing on Thomas. In 1858, he retired from De La Rue, handing over the management of the business to his sons.