David Thomas John was born on the 2nd July 1891. His parents were William and Elizabeth John, of Halfpenny Furze, Laugharne. David had a younger brother John James John, and a sister Mary Ann John who were both born in Glamorgan. Their youngest sister Sarah Jane John was born in Laugharne, in Halfpenny Furze. In 1913, David John married Lillian Evans of Laugharne, and they had a son-John William John who was later known in Laugharne as 'Bill the Boat', and who was to become my Grandfather. At the outbreak of war, David was working as a Coalminer, in Bulli, New South Wales, Australia. On the 18th August 1914, he enlisted at Randwick, NSW into 'A' Company, 4th Battalion, 1st Australian Infantry Brigade, being given the Army Number 244. His medical examination certificate shows him to have been 23 years old, 5'7 ½" tall, 10st 7ibs in weight, with fair hair and blue eyes. During April 1915, Private David Thomas John embarked on the Troopship Lake Michigan, bound for Alexandria from Australia. The ship arrived on the 5th April 1915, and the troops were sent to Gallipolli. On the 29th July 1915, David was temporarily transferred to duties with Brigade Engineers as a well sinker, but by the 24th August 1915, David was suffering badly with fever, and was admitted to a Casualty Clearing Station, diagnosed with Pyrexia. By the 28th August, David was diagnosed with Debility, and was transferred to No.3 Auxiliary Hospital and from there sent back to hospital at Alexandria. By the 20th November 1915, David John was deemed fit enough for duty, and was transferred back to Base at Cairo, finally rejoining his Battalion on the 2nd January 1916. By the 12th February he was back in Hospital in Egypt and suffered spells in and out of the sick bed for some weeks. On the 29th March 1916, the Battalion boarded the troopship Transylvania and embarked from Alexandria to join the BEF in France, landing at Marseilles on the 6th April 1916. The build up to the Somme Offensive was racing ahead-and the Australian Troops had been dragged from the Hell of Gallipolli to join the Hell of the Western Front in France.
The Battalion spent time at Etaples-no doubt training and acclimatising themselves to their new surroundings, and also spent time in trenches around Armentieres and Fromelles, before being sent to the Somme, being billeted around Warloy Baillon. The Battle of the Somme began on the 1st July 1916 and the Australian Division played a huge and bloody part in the coming battles. Perhaps the bloodiest was the Battle for Pozieres-which took place between the 23rd to the 25th July 1916. The village of Pozieres was taken by the Australians at a huge cost in lives and remains one of the greatest feats of arms of WW1. Over 158,000 Commonwealth casualties were suffered between July 1st and August 1st 1916. After taking Pozieres, the front that the Australians now occupied was facing the renowned German Stronghold of Mouquet Farm. This was an immensely formidable fortified farmhouse, with a complex of bunkers and trenches making it almost suicidal to attack. David's Service papers show that on the 11th August 1916 he was promoted to Lance Corporal, and that day his Battalion were sent back to the front line, directly opposite Mouquet Farm. A letter from the archives of the Australian Red Cross states that on the 18th August 1916, the 4th Battalion were entrenched near Mouquet Farm. Company Headquarters were about 100 yards away from the Front Line trenches, and HQ wanted a patrol sent out to reconnoitre the area, as they were going to launch an assault later that afternoon. David Thomas John and three other men stepped forward-Private Oliver Williams, Private Bernard Conaty and Private Green. At 2 pm the four men went out of the trench and crossed through the barbed wire defences of the German Front Line, where a German Patrol surprised them. They were shot at and shelled from the German Lines and managed to return some fire and bombs themselves, but only Privates Conaty and Green escaped to tell the tale. Lance Corporal David John and Private Oliver Williams were missing in action in an area known as Shrapnel Gully, which is now a sedate looking field near to the rebuilt farmhouse. A court of Enquiry was held on the 1st September 1916 regarding the disappearance of David John and his compatriot. The findings of the court were that they were both killed in action. The Casualty Form has a small handwritten note on the bottom-Buried between Pozieres & Mouquet Farm-probably in Cemetery Sh 57DSE R34C. This is a British Army Trench Map Reference number. I have searched the area myself, following the map, but if there was a cemetery there then-it was wiped off the face of the earth in the coming battles-as were so many other War Cemeteries. Lance corporal David Thomas John's body was never recovered and he is remembered on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Brettoneux. He was 25 years old and had left a 3-year-old son behind.
John James John was a younger brother of David Thomas John. Born on the 21st May 1895 at Pontygwaith, Tyler's Town, he was the fourth child of William and Eliza John. The family later returned to Laugharne, living at Halfpenny Furze. John enlisted in 1915 and became a Private in the Pembroke Yeomanry, with the service number 4837. The Pembroke Yeomanry fought in Palestine in 1916, and the young Private John James John would have been serving with his cousin and fellow 'Larney' William John-who was killed on the Jerusalem Road. Whilst in Egypt in 1917, the Pembroke and the Glamorgan Yeomanry merged and became the 24th Battalion (Pembroke & Glamorgan Yeomanry) the Welsh Regiment. John's service number then changed to 320374. The 24th Battalion was a Territorial Battalion. It was attached to 231st Brigade, 74th Division. After a difficult campaign in Palestine, during May 1918 the 24th was sent to France, landing at Marseilles on the 7th May. There they were to fight during the great breakthrough and the German retreat. On the 11th November 1918-Armistice Day- they were sent to Belgium. John didn't get as far as Belgium though-he was killed in action on the 21st September 1918, when the battalion attacked Guillemont Farm, near St. Quentin on the Somme. The 74th Division were taking part in the Battle of Epehy, which was a major assault on the German Hindenburg Line. Casualties suffered by the Battalion during that attack were-2 officers and 12 other ranks killed, 4 officers and 92 other ranks wounded. The missing totalled 1 officer and 23 other ranks. The battalion war diary for the attack states-
'OWING TO HEAVY COUNTER ATTACK AGAINST BRIGADE ON RIGHT AND DIVISION ON LEFT NOT GAINING OBJECTIVES, 231 BRIGADE HAD TO WITHDRAW AT NIGHT TO BENJAMIN TRENCH AND LATER BRIGADE WERE RELIEVED BY 230 BRIGADE. BECAME RESERVE-THE BATTALION WITHDRAWING TO HUSSAR ROAD.'
John James John was buried at Unicorn Cemetery, Vendhuile, Aisne, France. His grave is referenced II.C.13. He had only just returned to the front after some well deserved leave, and was sadly killed just 15 miles from where his brother David had lost his life 2 years earlier.
John James John was born around 1898 in Laugharne. He was the son of David and Letticia John, of 7 Gosport Street, Laugharne and had an older brother David, and two sisters-Winnie and Martha. John joined the Pembroke Yeomanry, with the service number 4837. He was then transferred into the 15th Battalion the Welsh Regiment, where he became a Private, with the service number 60742. The Carmarthenshire County Committee raised the battalion during October 1914. They joined 114th Brigade, 38th Welsh Division, landing at Havre December 1915. The 15th Battalion served on the Somme, at Mametz Wood, and on the Ypres Salient, during the Battle of Passchendaele. John was injured during August 1917, while the battalion were in the line at Langemarck. The 15th had been temporarily attached to the 20th Division for the attack on Langemarck, for which they received congratulations from the High Command. It was during the Battle of Langemarck that John was wounded, and was sent to the casualty clearing station at Mendinghem, where he died of his wounds on the 31st August 1917. John was buried in the military cemetery there, and lies in grave IV.C.35.
William John was the son of James and Sarah John of Spring Gardens Cottage, Laugharne. He had an elder brother Benjamin and a sister Elizabeth. William was cousin to David Thomas and John James John of Halfpenny Furze. William was a Private in the Pembroke Yeomanry, service number 4396. The Pembroke Yeomanry were amalgamated with the Glamorgan Yeomanry to form the 24th Battalion, the Welsh Regiment, on the 2nd February 1917 in Egypt. Williams's service number changed to 320285. The 24th Battalion formed part of the 231st Brigade, 74th Division. William was killed in action on the Jerusalem Road, on the 27th December 1917, while the battalion was holding Hill 1910 R13C, which they had captured the previous day. The battalion war diary for the 26th and 27th December 1917 reads-
'AFTER FIERCE HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING HILL WAS TAKEN. COUNTER ATTACKS DROVE A COMPANY BACK THREE TIMES. REINFORCED BY D COMPANY. LIEUTENANT BONNYMAN WOUNDED'
08.00-'WE MAINTAINED HOLD OF 1910. COOPERATION OF SEC. 210 MG COMPANY EFFECTUAL IN BEATING OFF COUNTER ATTACKS. BATTALION H2 ON SOUTH SLOPES OF SH HASAN. A COMPANY CAPTURED 3 GERMAN MACHINE GUNS ON 1910-CAPTAIN O. FISHER WOUNDED. CAPTAIN J.H.L. YORKE KILLED.'
20.00-'ORDERS TO TAKE OVER HILLS KH EL DREIHEMEH, 2450 & CAIRN FROM 24TH RWF (WHO HAD SUSTAINED HEAVY CASUALTIES) TO GAIN CRESTS & HOLD AT ALL COSTS.'
22.00-'RELIEF OF 24TH RWF COMPLETED. BTTN. H2 ON 1910. TURKS RETURNED DURING NIGHT. TURKS ATTACK WITH 3 DIVISIONS ON JERUSALEM ROAD BROKEN UP'.
Private William John was killed in action aged just 22, on 27th December 1917. He is remembered on the Jerusalem War Memorial, on panels 30 to 32. Serving alongside him at the time were two local men-Private David Saer of St. Clears, who was killed alongside William, and Corporal J. Raymond of Laugharne, who wrote home to his parents, telling them of the event. An extract from the letter reads-
'I was speaking to Willie John less than an hour before the attack on Jerusalem in which he was killed. He said he hoped to pull through the same as he had done before, and ere we parted we shook hands and wished one another good-bye and good-luck.
I have made enquiries and am told that he was shot through the eye and died at once, without suffering. He was buried on the Hill which we captured, and a board has been placed with his name, number etc on it. Dai Saer too was buried with his pals where he was killed. Every one of his platoon deserve the VC, for they went through and captured a position which two other battalions failed to take an hour before. I believe I am right in saying that Willie Roberts was one of three who came back safe from there.'
William's family also erected a headstone in St. Martin's churchyard in Laugharne, which stands in the old graveyard.
Joseph Johnson was the son of James Henry Johnson and Emma Johnson, and was born in London in 1889. Joseph moved to West Wales and settled between Laugharne and Llanddowror, marrying Mary Phillips on the 25th October 1913. Joseph enlisted at Carmarthen on the 11th March 1915, and joined the Army Service Corps as a driver, with the serial number T4/059339. In France, he was attached to No. 1 Section, 99th Company, 27th reserve Park, before transferring to the Infantry joining the 1st Battalion, the East Yorkshire Regiment, who were part of 18th Brigade, 6th Division. They landed at St. Nazaire on the 10th September 1914. On the 26th November 1915 they became part of 64th Brigade, 21st Division at Armentieres. From June to July 1916, the 1st Battalion took part in the Battle of Albert-the opening of the Battle of the Somme. They fought through all of the major battles of the war, moving to the Ypres Salient in 1917, before returning to the Somme in 1918. It was here that the Battalion were to face the might of the 'Kaisershlacht'. On the 21st March, 1918, the Battle of St. Quentin began. The Germans had reinforced their lines on the western Front with over 50 Divisions facing the British lines, and inflicted heavy casualties on the British, throwing caution to the wind and gambling on a last ditch offensive to try and win the war before the Americans could amass enough troops to make an impact on the outcome. Joseph was killed in action aged 29, on the 31st March 1918 whilst his Battalion were fighting a fierce defensive battle against the superior numbers of the German Army. It shows how chaotic and awful the conditions were, as nothing at all had been heard of him by his family, until Christmas Day 1919. Joseph's wife received a telegram from the War Office saying that he had been confirmed as killed. Joseph's body , like so many others of that terrible time, was lost, and so Joseph is remembered on the Pozieres Memorial, on panels 27 & 28. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918. Joseph left two children-Oliver Henry Johnson had been born on the 2nd March 1915 and Joseph Randall Johnson born on the 20th July 1917. Joseph's bereaved widow Mary sadly died on the 10th February 1920 after a short illness, leaving the two boys orphaned.
Charles William Wykeham King was born in Wykeham, Fareham, London. He was the husband of Ida L. Lane, of 80, Shrewsbury Road, New Southgate, London. Just previous to the outbreak of war, Charles King was resident at the Vicarage in Laugharne. Charles served as a Company Sergeant Major in the 28th Battalion (Artists Rifles), the London Regiment. His service number was 76003. The Artists Rifles were formed in London during August 1914, the 1st/28th Battalion being an Officer Training Corps, stationed in November 1915 in France. They absorbed the 2nd /28th Battalion and by March 1916 were at Hare Hall, Romford. In 1917 the Battalion was reformed and in June became part of the 190th Brigade, 63rd Royal Naval Division. The first major Front Line battle faced by the Artists rifles was to be the Second Battle of Passchendaele (Third Ypres). An account of the Artists Rifles part in the battle states;
'Immediately the attack started the forward troops came under intense MG fire from an almost unseen enemy, who were cunningly posted in carefully chosen tactical positions, having taken refuge in the pill-boxes during our intense bombardment… The ground to be traversed was nothing but a deep sea of mud and undoubtedly many men were drowned in those mud-filled shell holes, particularly those who were already wounded. Further, the mud clogged up rifles and Lewis guns in the first few minutes of the attack, and rendered them entirely useless. Consequently it was not long before the attack was brought to a complete standstill.'
The Artists Rifles had gone into the attack 470 men strong and suffered 350 casualties, of whom 170 were dead. Few had known graves after being lost in the mud, and their names appear on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the missing. Charles was killed in action by German Artillery Fire just before that fateful attack on Passchendaele Ridge, on the 28th October 1917. He is buried in Tyne Cot cemetery, Passchendaele, in Grave XXV.F.9. Charles had been awarded the Bronze Medal for Valour by the Italian Government (London Gazette 26th May 1917). His British medal entitlements were the British war and Victory medals. He was also entitled to the 1914 Star, as he entered the French theatre of war on the 26th October 1914 with the British Expeditionary Force, but for some reason it was never issued.
Martyn Tulloch Vaughan Lewes was born in Marylebone in June 1895, to Captain Price Vaughan Lewes and Anne Josephine Lewes. Following the family traditions-his mother's father was Colonel J. G. M. Tulloch of the Royal Scots, and his father's father was Colonel John Lewes, the 'Hero of the Redan'. Martyn was educated at Harrow, and afterwards studied at the Royal School of Mines, Camborne. After qualifying as a Mining Engineer, he travelled to Canada for a years experience before touring the world. At the outbreak of war Martyn joined the Officer Training Corps, and on the 15th August 1914, was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant into the 3rd Battalion, the Welsh Regiment. The 3rd Battalion was a Reserve Battalion that had been raised in Cardiff in August 1914 and stayed home throughout the war, acting as a feeder for other battalions of the Welsh Regiment. Martyn soon moved on though, being posted to the Monmouthshire Regiment in France. Martyn was wounded at Ypres soon after moving to the Front, and went home on leave. He then decided to join the Royal Flying Corps, where he trained as an Observer. Martyn was posted to 25 Squadron, who were based in France from February 1916. He is reported in the Harrow Roll of Honour that he was a Pilot, and had shot down three German aeroplanes, but at the moment there is no other evidence of this to be found. Martyn was reportedly taking part in a training flight on the 15th July 1916 as Pilot of an F.E.2b aeroplane. He got lost in fog over German lines, and when the fog cleared his aeroplane was hit by 'Archie', which damaged the landing gear. After returning to Bailleul and circling over the ground for a while, wondering how to get down, Martyn flew low to the ground and jumped out of the aeroplane. In the fall he broke his legs and suffered internal injuries, and was rushed to the Hospital at Bailleul for treatment. He sadly died of his injuries on the 22nd July 1916, and was buried at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, between St. Omer and Lille, in grave II.F.57. He was just 21 years old. Not on Memorial.
Price Vaughan Lewes was born on the 27th of February 1865 at Llanfear, Felinfach, Cardiganshire, to Colonel John and Mary Jane Lewes. At the tender age of 13, Price joined the Royal Navy, serving aboard the training ship HMS Britannia, under Captain E. Kelly. On the 23rd of July 1880, Price was posted to HMS Achilles, and just two months later, at the age of 15, he was promoted to Midshipman. During August 1893, Price had been promoted to Lieutenant, and was the third most senior officer aboard HMS Blanche, which was stationed at Zanzibar. The ships Captain and senior Lieutenant were ill in Hospital, when orders were received to proceed to Kismayu to deal with a Somali uprising. Being the most senior officer fit to take charge, Price gathered a force of volunteers, and led them on a march to Turki Hill Fort, which they promptly recaptured, then on to Gobwen, to rescue some besieged British Government Officials. Price then took command of the steamship Kenia, and ordered it to be armoured, before setting off up the River Juba in pursuit of the insurgents. While up river, he ordered the shelling and destruction of Magarada Village, and the taking of Hajualla Village, recapturing stolen goods and weapons. Price then sailed his makeshift gunboat back to Gobwen, where Price recounted the tale of his successful attacks in a lengthy letter to the Admiralty, which was published in the London Gazette of December 12th, 1893. For his bravery and skilful leadership in this affair, Lieutenant Price Vaughan Lewes was awarded the Distinguished Service Order by Queen Victoria.
On his return home, Price married his fiancée, Anne Josephine Tulloch at Chester, on the 30th April 1894, and a year later, Anne gave birth to their son Martyn Tulloch Vaughan Lewes. From this period onwards, the family often came to Laugharne when Price was on shore leave, spending their time relaxing at Hillside, the home of Samitt Willimott and his family. Price became very well known in Laugharne, which had become a haven for high-ranking military officers at this time. By 1897, Price had gained command of the newly launched gunboat HMS Hazard. On the 6th September 1898, HMS Hazard was stationed at Crete, which was under the control of the British Government, and Price Vaughan Lewes was the senior commander on the Island. After trying to gain control of the Custom House on Crete, a 'well-armed mob' attacked the small force of sailors under Price Vaughan Lewes, and also attacked the British Hospital and camp in Candia. Over 1000 Christians were killed in the uprising, and as a reprisal, Price ordered his gunboat to open fire on the town. For his fine leadership in this affair on Crete, Price Vaughan Lewes was promoted to Commander, by order of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. On the 30th June 1905, Price was promoted to Captain in the Royal Navy, and afterwards took command of the Battleship HMS Superb, which was launched in 1909. The Superb was a Bellerophon Class Dreadnought Battleship, with a main armament of ten 12" guns. During 1913, by the order of His Majesty King George V, Price received the CB as part of the King's Birthday Honours, to go with his Distinguished Service Order, and his Africa General Service Medal with Juba River Clasp.
At the outbreak of the Great War, HMS Superb was part of the British Home Fleet. Due to the outbreak of hostilities, the Royal Navy reorganised its fleets, and the Superb became part of the 4th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet, which was commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe aboard HMS Iron Duke. Price was on sick leave in Laugharne, but promptly resumed command of his ship HMS Superb. At the beginning of November 1914, Price was invalided to Devonport Naval Hospital, where he sadly died at the age of 49 on the 10th November 1914. He lies buried in the Plymouth (Western Mill) Cemetery, grave reference Con. A. 895. Not on Memorial.
George Lewis was born in Gosport Street, Laugharne, on the 6th May, 1880. He was the son of Henry & Elizabeth Lewis, who were both cockle merchants. George became a Farm Labourer, until on the 26th December, 1899, he signed up at Devonport, for 12 years in the Royal Navy. After serving on a succession of training ships, HMS Vivid, Vulcan, Hood, Caesar & Indus, and was aboard HMS Leande when War broke out. George passed for Chief Stoker on the 9th February, 1917, whilst serving aboard HMS Dido, then spent 3 months ashore at Devonport with HMS Vivid II. On the 15th February 1918, George transferred aboard the Battleship HMS Roxburgh. Until the end of 1908, HMS Roxburgh served with the 1st Cruiser Squadron in the Channel Fleet. After a refit at Devonport she joined the 3rd Division of the Home Fleet in August 1909. She was then moved to the 5th Cruiser Squadron in June 1912. In December 1912 she was ordered to protect the stranded SS Ludgate off Morocco. HMS Roxburgh then joined the 3rd Cruiser Squadron in February 1913 before joining the Grand Fleet in August the next year. On 6th August that year she captured a German merchant ship along with HMS Argyll. After a refit in January 1915, she was hit by torpedoes from German u-boat U39 and sustained damage to her bow on 20th June 1915. Repaired in April 1916 she was sent to Norwegian waters and later on in September of that year she served on the North America and West Indies Station until the Armistice. She rammed and sank German u-boat U89 while escorting a convoy off the coast of Northern Ireland on 12th February 1918. In 1919 she went into reserve but then became a wireless trials ship before being sold in 1921. Roxburgh had been assigned to Atlantic Convoys, escorting US troopships to Great Britain. On the 20th September, 1918, she was at anchor in Quebec, when George Lewis slipped and fell off a trestle bridge and was killed. George was given a Military Burial by his shipmates in the Quebec City (Mount Hermon) Cemetery, and they paid for a stone on his grave. George left behind a widow at Devonport, Elizabeth Jane Lewis, of 18, Horne Road, Ilfracombe, Devon. Nothing more can be found of Elizabeth. Not on Memorial.
George Fison Muller was born on the 28th May 1876 in Horsforth, Yorkshire. His parents were Harry and Agnes Muller, who were living at 12, West Park, Eltham, London at the time of their son's death. George married to Katherine Margaret Berkeley of Rawdon, Yorkshire on the 4th October 1906. Georges Aunt, Mrs. Brayshay, lived at the Glen, Laugharne, and George was a very frequent summer visitor to the Glen, becoming well known and respected in Laugharne, and in fact when war was declared George was on leave, and had just arrived at Laugharne with his wife when he received a telegram, recalling him to the forces. On the 1st September 1894, George Muller had followed in the footsteps of his Uncle, Commander Brayshay of the Glen, Laugharne and joined the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. His service record shows him as being a very capable pupil, and he soon gained promotion, becoming a full Lieutenant in July 1895. George passed his gunnery and musketry courses with distinction, being promoted again in May 1897, then again to Major by November 1904. George served all the way through from his enlistment to the start of the Great War with a service history that is second to none. On the 16th November 1914, George transferred from the Chatham Division, to the 10th (Plymouth) Battalion, Royal Marine Light Infantry, and the battalion formed part of the Royal Marine Brigade, 63rd Royal Naval Division.
The Royal Naval Division was formed in August 1914 and was moved to Ostend on 27th August 1914, although it returned 4 days later. On 20th September it arrived at Dunkirk with orders to assist in the defence of Antwerp. The two other Brigades moved to Dunkirk for the same purpose on 5th October 1914. In the haste to organise and move the units to Belgium, 80 percent of the men in the Division went to war without even basic equipment such as packs, mess tins or water bottles. No khaki uniform was issued, and the two Naval Brigades were armed with ancient charger-loading rifles only 3 days before embarking. RND units that withdrew from Antwerp returned to England, arriving 11th October 1914. After a lengthy period of refit and training (scattered in various locations, and still short of many of the units that ordinarily made up the establishment of a Division), the Division moved to Egypt preparatory to the Gallipolli campaign. On the 25th April 1915, the RND carried out a diversionary attack on Bulair, Gallipolli. By dawn on the 28th April, some 20,000 British troops had landed, facing only 6,300 Turkish defenders. The First Battle of Krithia began that day and ended with the British having failed to advance to higher ground and by not reaching their objectives. A few days of comparative quiet served to refresh the Allies, who took fresh heart from the increasing evidence of stores and equipment, and from glorious weather. At 10pm on the 1st May, however, a sharp Turkish artillery fire opened, followed immediately by waves of a large infantry assault. The British, roused from preparations for night and employing defensive positions created over the preceding few days, cut the Turks down in hundreds. The latter had in most places to cross several hundred yards of open ground to reach the Allied trenches. Theysucceeded in breaking through only in two places, but were held as local reinforcements came to bear. On the right, Senegalese units of the French army broke, and for a while the situation was critical until units of the Royal Naval Division and the 4th Worcesters of 88th Brigade re-took the lost positions. In this action, the Turks suffered many thousands of casualties before they got within measurable distance of the lines, and day broke to reveal No Man's Land choked with their dead and wounded. The French lost more than 2,000 casualties, the British fewer but with another crippling, disproportionate loss of officers including 5 Battalion CO's, 4 Adjutants and the commander of an artillery brigade. It was during this ferocious Turkish onslaught that Major George Fison Muller was mortally wounded. He died aged 39 on the 1st May 1915 and is buried in Lone Pine Cemetery, Anzac, in grave II.B.9. Not on Memorial.
John Thomas Parry was born around 1892, to Charles and Lydia Parry, in Laugharne. The family later moved to Penvilla road, Swansea. He had an older sister Margaret, two younger sisters, Florence and Clarice, a younger brother Charles, and another brother Frederick. John enlisted into the 2nd Battalion, the Welsh Regiment, with the service number 1468. He had joined the Welsh Regiment five months before the war broke out. The 2nd Battalion were in Bordon on the 4th august 1914 at the outbreak of war, becoming part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, based in France. The 3rd Brigade, 1st Division were among the first divisions to move to France, taking part in most of the major actions of the war-the Battle of Mons in the early stages, the Battle of the Marne, the Battle of the Aisne, actions on the Aisne heights, action of Chivy, the First Battle of Ypres. Divisional headquarters was located in Hooge Chateau, near Ypres on the 31st October 1914 when a German shell hit it- killing the Commanding Officer-Major General Lomax. Whilst still a Private, John attempted to rescue a wounded comrade whilst under heavy fire. John was wounded in this gallant rescue attempt and had to be evacuated to hospital at Rouen. For this act he was recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal, but the army hierarchy deemed not to honour the recommendation. After he had recovered from his wounds, John was promoted to Lance Corporal, and rejoined his battalion, which was preparing to take part in the Battle of the Somme. The division took part in the Battle of Albert and the Battle of Bazentin during the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. The total of British casualties in the first month of the Somme was over 158,000 men. The first day alone resulted in over 60,000 casualties. According to the Battalion War Diary, the days of July 21st-23rd were uneventful. Reinforcements were joining the Battalion, and they moved back into billets at Albert.
'July 24-Two other ranks killed and 4 other ranks wounded in Contalmaison. Battalion moves up into reserve at Contalmaison to relieve the 1st Loyal North Lancs. Enemy shell the village heavily with ???? shells.
July 25-Battalion moves up to relieve 1st Gloucester Regiment in front lines, SE of Pozieres. The Battalion makes an attack on point 41 but finds that it is already held by 17th Australian battalion.
July 26-At 3PM another attack is organised at Munster Alley. It is carried out by B Coy under Captain C.P. Clayton. Good progress is made until 5PM when the objective is reached. By this time all the Battalion bombers have been called up and all are in a very exhausted condition. The enemy then counter-attacks in large numbers and eventually we are pushed back to our original position. Another attack is then organised and with the assistance of 17th Australian Battalion 150 yards of Munster Alley is re-won and consolidated. About 9PM the relief of the Battalion is commenced by 10th Northumberland Fusiliers. Casualties for 25th-26th, Lieut. C.G. Bewicke and 2nd Lieutenant E.C. McGroarty? Killed. 131 other ranks killed wounded and missing.
July 27-Relief is completed about 4AM. The Battalion arrives in billets at Millencourt at about 8AM.'
Lance Corporal John Thomas Parry was wounded in the foot on the 25th July, being partially buried in a blown up trench, but with the help of his comrades, he was dug out and rejoined the action, before being fatally wounded the following day, during the attack of the 26th July 1916; the day after the Battle of Pozieres Ridge began. Visiting the area today gives few clues of the horrors that the area once held, but the remains of the giant Lochnagar Crater, and the adjoining Glory Hole give some impression of the cratered landscape faced by the attacking British Divisions. John's body was never recovered and so he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing, on piers 7a and 10a. The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916.
William Neville Hurt Peel was born on the 24th February 1884, to Edmund and Winnie Hurt Peel. They lived at Fern Hill in Laugharne. William had two brothers-Francis, the eldest, joined the South African Mounted Police, and Ralph, the youngest, who had immigrated to Canada. He also had a younger sister-Dulcie, who was born in 1898 at Fern Hill. William was an adventurer, like his brothers, who ran off with a fair girl, and made his way to South Africa, where he spent 2 years serving with the 1st Brabant's Horse. He then made his way to Canada, enlisting in the 184th (Overseas Battalion) the Canadian Infantry, on the 21st February 1916. His enlistment papers show him to be a tall man-at 6' 2" tall. Private William Neville Hurt Peel was given the service number 874140. His then wife, Harriet Ann Peel was named as his next of kin and was living at 187 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg, Canada. During November 1916, William embarked on the troop ship SS Empress of Britain, and arrived in England on the 11th November 1916. He was 'taken on strength' at Shorncliffe on the 12th November, then spent a short spell home in Laugharne on leave, before being transferred into the 8th (Manitoba) Battalion on the 30th November and sent to the Western Front, on the 1st December 1916. The 8th Bttn were part of the Canadian forces that took part in the famous Battle of Arras-which started on the 9th April 1917. The Canadians formed part of the 1st Army led by General Sir Henry Horn. Their part in the battle was to capture Vimy Ridge-where the famous Canadian war memorial now stands, and the 8th were used as a Reserve Battalion.
The Battle for Vimy Ridge was almost over when the 8th Battalion were brought into the action. On the 25th April they were sent to the areas around Bentata and Douai, relieving the 1st and 2nd Battalions in reserve trenches. On the 27th April orders were given to attack the village of Arleux-En-Gohelle. By the next day the village had been taken-the War Diary states that resistance was stubborn, with hand-to-hand fighting taking place in the village. William was reported missing in action on the 28th April 1917 and it wasn't until the 26th May that he was officially listed as being killed in action. He was 33 years old. By the end of the Battle of Arras, the British and Canadian Armies had suffered over 171,000 men killed, wounded or missing. Private William Neville Hurt Peel is buried at Orchard Dump Cemetery, in the Pas-de-Calais, France. His grave reference is VI.G.28. The cemetery was begun in April, 1917, on the new front resulting from the Battles of Arras, and it was used by the units holding that front until the following November. These original burials are in Plot VI, Row K, and Plot I, Rows A to F. The cemetery was greatly enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from the neighbouring battlefields and from other burial grounds. There are over 3000 casualties of the Great War buried or commemorated in this cemetery.
James Stanley Phillips was born in 1897 to David and Anne Phillips, of Parcnwc, Llanstephan. James's mother Anne was a Laugharne girl, the daughter of Mr and Mrs Thomas, Castell-Toch. James spent a lot of his childhood with his Grandparents at Castell-Toch, and was well known in Laugharne. Early in 1917, James was drafted into the army, where he became a Private in the 2nd Battalion of the famous South Wales Borderers, with the service number 39605. The 2nd Battalion formed part of 87th Brigade, 29th Division, who had landed at Marseilles on the 29th of March 1916 after a torrid spell at Gallipolli. The 29th Division had fought through the Battle of the Somme in 1916, then through the Battles of the Scarpe, near Arras, through the beginning of 1917. On the 7th of June 1917, the Flanders Offensive, a brainchild of Sir Douglas Haig, was begun around Ypres. The following battles were to become known as 'Third Ypres' or 'Passchendaele'. On the 16th of August 1917, the Battle of Langemarck began. This area, just North of Ypres, had become a hellhole. The continuous bombardment of the German Front Lines had turned the battlefields around Ypres into a quagmire of foul, sticky mud, full of the debris of three years of non-stop fighting. Private James Stanley Phillips, aged just twenty years old, was killed in action that day. As happened to so many other poor souls that fought in that area, his body was lost in the mud, and so he is commemorated on the massive Tyne Cot Memorial to the missing, on Panels 65-66. At the very time that James lost his life, his mother also had the agony of her elder brother in an Army Hospital in Birmingham having his leg amputated after a terrible wound suffered in France. The war was hitting families in Laugharne very hard. Not on Memorial.
Richard John Pile was born in 1898, in Llanelli. The family lived in 1901 at Broadway Mansion, Laugharne. Richard was the youngest son of Charles and Alvie Pile and had 4 sisters, Alvie, Maisy, Mary and Alexandra, and a brother Thomas. Richard volunteered into the Welsh Regiment, and was given the regimental number 44262. He was then transferred into the 8th battalion (Prince of Wales Volunteers) South Lancashire Regiment, where his number changed to 34189. The 8th Battalion was a service battalion, formed at Warrington during September 1914. They became part of the 75th brigade, 25th division during September 1914. The battalion was then billeted in Bournemouth, moved to Wokingham in May 1915, and June 1915 to Aldershot. They were sent to France in September 1915. The 25th division took part in some of the most horrific battles of the war, the Battle of Albert-the first phase of the Battle of the Somme 1916, the battle of Bazentin-where 4000 Germans were taken captive on one day, and the battle of Pozieres, alongside the Anzacs. The battle of the Somme was raging on still since its start on 1st July 1916, and on the 21st October 1916, Private Richard John Pile was killed in action. His body was never recovered, and he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial, on pier 7A and 7B.
Thomas Henry Price was born in Rhayader, Mid Wales, on the 16th August 1891. His mother was Miriam Price David, who was married for the second time, to William David, a butcher from Laugharne who owned the Browns Hotel. Thomas had an elder sister Annie Price, two younger brothers James and John Price, and a stepsister Miriam David. The family immigrated to Canada after the 1901 census. In 1915, upon enlistment, Thomas' address was 277 Carlton Street, Toronto, Ontario. Thomas enlisted on the 13th August 1915, into the 92nd Overseas Battalion, was given the service number 192312, and then recruited into the 15th Battalion (Highlanders) Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was 5 feet and 6 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. His attestation paper shows him working as a railway mail clerk, and his mother as next of kin. Thomas arrived in England on the troopship SS Empress of Britain, on the 29th May 1916. On the 17th July 1916 he was transferred to 'A' company, 13th Battalion. His record card shows him as being taken on strength on the 18th July 1916, then on the 5th August 1916 as being arrested for 'drunk, violently resisting escort, 7 days field punishment no. 2'. The 13th Battalion had fought at Ypres during April 1915, where gas was used for the first time. The Battalion suffered heavy casualties at Ypres, and Thomas Price was part of a draft of reinforcements for the 13th Battalion. They went on to fight at Festubert, Messines, Bailleul, Givenchy, Flanders, and the Somme. During September 1916, the 13th Battalion marched from Warloy to billets in Herissart. From there they took over the front line trenches near Courcelette. Three Companies of the 13th held the front line trench until the end of the month-suffering over 231 casualties in the month. On the 27th September 1916, Thomas Henry Price died of wounds at the 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, and was buried at Albert Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France, in grave I.P. 52. The Extension was used by fighting units and Field Ambulances from August 1915 to November 1916, and more particularly in and after September 1916, when Field Ambulances were concentrated at Albert. From November 1916, the 5th Casualty Clearing Station used it for two months. From March 1917, it was not used (except for four burials in March, 1918) until the end of August 1918, when Plot II was made by the 18th Division. There are now 862 First World War and 25 Second World War casualties commemorated in this site. His medals-the British War Medal and Victory medal were sent to his mother Miriam, as well as his Canadian Memorial Cross, Memorial Plaque and Memorial Scroll. The whole family served in the CEF in the great War-Thomas' stepfather-William David enlisted on the 1st May 1916 with the 208th Battalion CEF, serving as a private-no. 249507, at Camp Borden. Thomas' brother Private John Edward Price 43308 served on the Western Front after enlisting on the 26th October 1914, and won the Military Medal for Bravery in the Field before becoming a Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps. His other brother-Private James Lewis Price 338114 served with the 67th Battalion CEF after enlisting on the 13th February 1917. They all survived the War and carried on living in Canada.
Samuel George Rees was born in Angle, Pembrokeshire, to John & Elizabeth Rees, of Court House. When war broke out, Samuel was living in Laugharne, and enlisted into the 1/1st Battalion, Hereford Regiment, with the service number 28765. The 1/1st Herefords were a Territorial Battalion, which formed part of the Welsh Division on its formation in August 1914. On the 13th May, 1915 the Battalion became part of the 158th Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division. The Battalion embarked at Devonport on the SS Euripides on 16th July, 1915. From Devonport they sailed to Port Said, before landing on C Beach, at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli on the 9th August, 1915 at 7.20 a.m.For their part in the landing at Suvla Bay on 9th August the bn. was mentioned in despatches by Ian Hamilton. " .......the 1st/1st Herefordshire, which attacked with impetuosity and courage between Hetman Chair and Kaslar Chair about Azmak Dere on the extreme right of his line." After all the Allied forces had been withdrawn from Gallipolli, the 53rd Division fought with honour in Palestine. After a hard fought campaign, they had the Turks on the run in the Middle East, and with the Allies facing a shortage of men on the Western Front, after the German Offensives began in March, 1918, the Battalion left the Division, embarking on the 1st June, 1918 for France. On the 22nd June, they landed at Taranto, then arrived in France on the 30th June, becoming attached to the 102nd Brigade, 34th Division. The 34th Division were at this time fighting alongside the French XXX Corps in Champagne, where they took part in the Battle of the Marne, 1918, and the Battle of the Soissonais and the Ourcq. They then moved to Flanders, where they took part in the advance in Flanders, culminating in the Battle of Ypres, 1918, and the Battle of Courtrai. It was during the Battle of Courtrai that Private Samuel George Rees was killed, and he was buried where he fell. He now lies in Hooge Crater Cemetery, East of Ypres on the Menin Road, in grave XIV.A.3. Not on Memorial.
Daniel John Richards was born around 1900 in the Brill, Laugharne. He was the son of David and Margaret Richards. Daniel had an older brother Thomas and two sisters, Mary Ellen and Annie. Daniel joined the 4th (Reserve) Battalion, the Welsh Regiment on the 1st June 1918. His service papers show him to have been 5 feet 7 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. Daniel's enlistment form shows him to have a history of Bronchial problems, but this was not deemed bad enough to stop his enlistment. Daniel had the service number 76031. On the 2nd June 1918, Daniel was posted with the 4th Battalion to Cardiff, and then was attached to the 10th Battalion, London Regiment at Pembroke Dock from the 2nd September 1918. Daniel never served overseas, but stayed at home with the Garrison force. Private Daniel John Richards died aged just 18 on the 9th December 1918 of cirrhosis of the liver in Cambridge Hospital, Aldershot. It was just 3 weeks after the Armistice was signed. Daniel Richards was buried in St. Martin's churchyard in Laugharne on Saturday 14th December, near the West boundary-about twenty feet from the entrance to the Church.
George Richards was the eldest son of George and Sarah Richards, of Treventy Farm, Llanfihangel Abercowin. George Senior was born in Laugharne around 1843, and along with his brother Richard Richards and their wives, the whole family moved around the country following various jobs. In 1887 George Richards Junior was born in Herefordshire. George had a younger brother John, and two elder sisters, Ida and Amy. The family moved to Treventy Farm around 1895. George enlisted sometime in the war, as a Driver in the Royal Field Artillery, with the service number 19999. George served in the 42nd Battery, 2nd Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery, which formed part of the 29th Division of the British Army. The 29th Division fought through some of the bloodiest campaigns of the Great War, sailing for Gallipolli from Avonmouth on the 16th March 1915. On the 2nd January 1916 they were evacuated from Gallipolli and sent to France. On the 29th of March 1916, the Division landed at Marseilles, and were readied for the forthcoming Battle of the Somme. They fought in the Battle of the Somme, then the Battle of Arras, before being sent to Belgium, to the infamous Ypres Salient, to form part of the build up to the Battles of Third Ypres. Except for a brief period fighting at the Battle of Cambrai, the Division stayed in the Ypres sector. April 1918 was to see them playing a big part in the Battle of Messines, and the Battle of Mount Kemmel, when the Germans launched their desperate attempt to finish the war before the rapidly expanding American Army could be deployed. In the middle of this desperate 'backs to the wall' defence of their positions around Ypres, Driver George Richards was killed in Action on the 27th of May 1918. He was buried in Hagle Dump Cemetery, Elverdinghe, near Ypres in Grave I. C. 1. Not on Memorial.
James Richards was born in Haverfordwest on the 6th of July 1895. Sometime between 1915 and 1916, he married a Laugharne woman, Mary Ann Brown, daughter of David and Elizabeth Brown of Frog Street, Laugharne. They set up home in Laugharne, but James had already enlisted into the army, serving as a Private in the 2/5th Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment. The 2/5th Battalion, a territorial Battalion, formed at Salisbury Plain in September 1914, becoming part of 2/1st Hampshire Brigade, 2nd Wessex Division. On the 13 December 1914 they sailed for India, and on 29 April 1917 left for Egypt, arriving at Ismailia on 5 April 1917, where they became attached to 232nd Brigade, 75th Division. The 75th Division Formed in Egypt in March and April 1917, and under special instruction included units of the Indian Army. The assembly of the various units required was slow and the Division did not take final shape until August 1918. Artillery was difficult to provide, and the Division included a brigade supplied by South Africa. The Division served in Egypt and Palestine, taking part in the Third Battle of Gaza during October/November 1917, then the Capture of Junction Station, the Battle of Nabi Samweill and the capture of Jerusalem. At some stage around the time of the Battle of Nabi Samweill, Private James Richards fell ill. In a letter written to his bereaved widow Mary, one of James's Nurses told Mary how he had died.
'Ward 4, 21st General Hospital, Alexandria, 9th December 1917.
Dear Mrs Richards,
Please accept my deepest sympathy with you in your sad bereavement. As I have been nursing your husband and I was with him when he died, I thought perhaps it might help you a little to have some particulars about him. He was admitted to this Hospital on the 3rd suffering from dysentery. On Wednesday evening it was found that he had an appendix abscess, which required immediate operation, and he was transferred to this ward shortly after midnight from the operating theatre.
He was very ill indeed, but by morning was considerably better. On Friday he had a very comfortable night and slept well, and was quite bright on Saturday morning when I left him. In the afternoon, he was worse, had a lot of pain and was very ill when I came on duty that night.
Everything that could have been done to save him had been done, but without success. He seemed to decide in his own mind that he would not recover, but it did not appear to trouble him.
When I asked him for a message for you he said 'I love my wife so much-until death'.
He had very little pain that night and passed quietly away shortly after midnight, 12.55 a.m., Sunday 9th September. He was conscious until about ten minutes before the end. The Congregational Chaplain was with him about 12.30, having previously visited him during the day. Your husband asked me to have his Testament buried with him. I found among his belongings a khaki New Testament, which had been presented to him by the Congregational Church, Haverfordwest, and presuming that was what he wanted, I put it with his remains. There seems to be very little that we can do here to compensate you women in England for being unable to visit your loved ones when they are sick, but of course the distance to Egypt prevents anyone visiting here.
Again assuring you of my sympathy in you sorrow and with kind regards, I remain, yours Truly, M. Buchanan, Staff Nurse.'
James Richards had passed away on the 9th December 1917. His bereaved widow, Mary Ann had already suffered the heartbreak of the death of their twenty one month old daughter Florence Martha Richards who had passed away during September 1917 without James ever having the chance to see his daughter. James was buried in Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery in grave A. 99. Mary went on to remarry. In October 1918, she married her next-door neighbour-George Brown. George, or Georgie, as he was known in Laugharne, was to become my Grandfather. It is strange how, out of sad events such as the death of James Richards, a whole family is created that would never have existed had he not died that day in Hospital in Egypt. Not on Memorial.
Lionel St. George Mordaunt Smith was born on 23rd April 1896 in Rugby, Warwicks. He was the son of Mordaunt Kirwin and Ethel Mordaunt Smith. They lived at Milton Bank, Laugharne. Lionel had two younger siblings Ellen and Bridgeman. His father had served as a Major in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, before retiring into civilian life as a bank cashier. Lionel was born into a military family-his Grandfather was Major Lionel Seton Smith, late of the 54th Regiment, whose own Uncle was Colonel Lionel Smith, 65th Regiment who had served with distinction in the Indian Campaigns. Lionel's father had died in 1906 and his mother had remarried Major W. M. Mathew of the 4th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Regiment who had fought in South Africa. Lionel Mordaunt Smith was educated at Elstree School from May 1906-July 1910, then at Charterhouse until 1913, where he served as a Sergeant in the Charterhouse O.T.C. Lionel was admitted into the Royal Military Academy during the November-December 1913 intake. He was commissioned into the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, where he served in the 2nd Battalion, who were formed in August 1914-being part of 12th Brigade, 4th Division. They were then transferred to 5th Brigade, 2nd Division on the 26th January 1915. According to the War Diary of the 2nd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the Battalion were camped at Montmorency Barracks, Bethune, at the beginning of May 1915. The diary shows their movements from trenches at Cuinchy, billets at Bethune, Le Hamel and Richebourg. From the 9th May they remained in the Richebourg area, alternating time in the trenches with rest days. On May 12th they were posted to a front line trench, suffering several casualties whilst waiting for the order, which arrived on the night of the 15/16th May, to attack the German lines. The 2nd Battalion took part in the Battle of Festubert from the 15th to the 25th May 1915. The battle began with the British artillery bombardment on the 13th May 1915-with 433 guns firing onto the German lines over a 5000-yard front. After 2 days of intense bombardment, the infantry units were in position, and on the night of the 15/16th May 1915 the battle started. The 6th Brigade attacked on the left flank, with the 5th Brigade attacking in front. The 5th Brigade run into heavy machine gun fire- some men of the 2nd Inniskillings reached the German line, but the majority were cut down in no-mans land. The 2nd Bttn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers lost 4 Officers killed, 10 wounded and 4 missing. Other ranks amounted to 39 killed, 371 wounded and 239 missing. Well over half of the battalion had been lost that night. Lionel Mordaunt Smith was killed in this attack, as an officer he would have been one of the first 'over the top' and would have been the first hit. He was just 19 years old. His body was never recovered, and so he is remembered on the Le Touret Memorial, Pas-De-Calais. The Memorial is one of those erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to record the names of the officers and men who fell in the Great War and whose graves are not known. It serves the area enclosed on the North by the river Lys and a line drawn from Estaires to Fournes, and on the South by the old Southern boundary of the First Army about Grenay; and it covers the period from the arrival of the II Corps in Flanders in 1914 to the eve of the Battle of Loos.
Richard Douglas Stealey was born in London in 1894. He was the son of the late Captain John Stealey, a retired Master Mariner, and of Ada Page Stealey. He had an elder sister Mary Page, who was born in Laugharne, and they lived in Sunny Hill, Holloway Road, Laugharne. Richard was a member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and enlisted as soon as war broke out. In September 1914, he was drafted into the Nelson Battalion, Royal Naval Division. His service number was Z/191, showing that he was in the London Division RNVR. His father had died by now, and his widowed mother had moved the family to Attleborough Cottage, the Tilt, Cobham, Surrey. The Nelson Division was a naval land force-akin to the modern day royal marines. They served with the 5th Battalion, 2nd Royal Naval Brigade, and fought at Gallipolli-landing at Anzac beachhead on the 29th April 1915. On the 3rd May 1915 the Royal Naval Division was in the middle of a spell of heavy fighting at Krithia. It was during this terrible fighting that Richard Stealey was shot in the head and mortally wounded, but managed to walk back to a first aid post from where he was evacuated, by Hospital ship, to Alexandria. Richard died of his wounds aged just 20 on the 7th of May 1915 and was buried in the Alexandria (Chatby) war memorial in Egypt, in Grave C81.
John Arloe Edward Thomas was the son of Charles and Martha Thomas, and was born on the 24th August, 1880 at Horsepool Farm, Laugharne. When Charles retired from farming at Horsepool, the family moved to number 17, St. Thomas' Green, Haverfordwest. John was already a veteran in the Royal Navy at the outbreak of the Great War, after signing on in September 1902 for 12 years, and was serving as a Leading Carpenter, with the service number 345555, aboard HMS Hawke. Here he served with another local man, Engineering Lieutenant Commander Thomas Morgan David, of Laugharne. HMS Hawke was an Edgar class cruiser, which saw service in the war as a converted depot ship for destroyers and submarines. She was torpedoed and sank by the German submarine U-9 on the 15th October 1914, with the loss of 500 men. Only 70 survived. John Arloe Edward Thomas was lost in the sinking of the Hawke, along with his fellow Laugharne man Thomas David. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial, in Kent. The Chatham Naval Memorial commemorates the lives of more than 8,500 sailors of the Great War, and over 10,000 sailors of the Second World War.
Charles Vincent Todman B.A. was the son of William and Matilda Todman, and was born in Victoria Street, Laugharne on the 12th January 1892. He had three sisters, Margery, Maud and Ivy, who all served as Nurses in the war, and two brothers- John Thomas served with the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company, and another served in the Infantry. The family later moved to Cricklewood, London. Charles enlisted into the army, in April 1914, as a Private in the 9th Battalion (Queen Victoria's Rifles) the London Regiment. His Attestation Paper shows him to have been a teacher, employed by the London County Council. The 9th Battalion formed part of the 13th Brigade, 5th Division, and landed at Le Havre on the 5th November 1914. After landing in France, the Battalion fought through the Battles of Mons, Le Cateau, the Marne, the Aisne, La Bassee, Messines and the First Battle of Ypres. On the 18th March 1915, Charles was promoted to Corporal, before being granted a Commission into the 10th Battalion (Hackney) The London Regiment. Charles then served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 10th London regiment, 175th Brigade, 175th trench Mortar Battery throughout the Battle of Passchendaele, before being evacuated to Hospital in England with severe Gas Wounds on 12th September 1917. Following an operation to remove his damaged tonsils, Charles left Hospital in Chelsea on the 4th December 1917, and on the 23rd May 1918 was listed in the London Gazette as being appointed as a Lieutenant (Flying Officer) with the newly formed Royal Air Force, in Number 16 Squadron. Number 16 Squadron formed part of 41 Wing, based at Ochey in France, and commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel C.L.N. Newall. 41 wing mounted its first attack against a factory at Saarbrucken in Germany on 17th October 1917, and a week later carried out a night attack against the same target. The wing was later expanded with the inclusion of numbers 99 and 104 Squadrons. From June 1918, the wing gained greater involvement in bombing missions in Germany flying the RE-8 aeroplane from their new base at Camblain-l'Abbé. From there the Squadron were used in support of the First Army at their junction with the Second Army at Armentieres. Lieutenant Charles Vincent Todman was killed in action on the 3rd August 1918. He was acting as an Observer in an R.E.8, serial Number C2518 piloted by Lieutenant Percy West, when they were attacked by three German Aircraft East of Vimy Ridge, whilst on Artillery Observation. Their attackers drove them down, and both men sadly died in the resulting crash, which was claimed as a victory by Leutnant Paul Billick of Jasta 52. Charles was buried at Aubigny Communal Cemetery, Aubigny-en-Artois, Pas-de-Calais, France, in grave reference IV.D.2, alongside his fellow airman Lieutenant Percy West. There are 2,771 Commonwealth burials from WW1 in Aubigny Communal Cemetery, which was used by the 42nd Casualty Clearing Station during the duration of the war, the 30th in 1916 and 1917, the 24th and 1st Canadian in 1917 (during the capture of Vimy Ridge by the Canadian Corps) and the 57th in 1918. The following is an extract from a letter written to Charles's parents by his Squadron Leader-
'Dear Mrs. Todman, I am as the Squadron Commander of your late son, Lieutenant Charles Vincent Todman, to express the extreme sympathy extended to you by all ranks of this Squadron in your great loss. He was shot down by enemy aeroplanes after a brave fight. Your son was a splendid officer and died doing his duty.'
Thomas Rees Waters was born in Laugharne on October 4th 1884. He was the son of John and Martha Waters, of Penrhiw, New Mill, Laugharne. He had 3 elder sisters; Esther Ann was 18 years older than him, Martha Jane, 6 years older, and Mary, 4 years older. His father John was a mason (builder) according to the 1901 census. Thomas enlisted into the 16th (Service) Battalion, the Welsh Regiment. He received the service number 44078. The 16th was known as the Cardiff City Battalion, and was raised at Cardiff in November 1914. They formed part of 130th Brigade, 43rd Division at Colwyn Bay during December 1914, before the formation became part of 115th Brigade, 38th Welsh Division on the 29th April 1915. They landed at Havre during December 1915, and took part in the Battle of the Somme during July 1916, including the famous Welsh action at Mametz Wood. Thomas was drafted into France in April 1916, as part of the build up to the Battle of the Somme. It was in France that he joined 'C' Company, 16th Battalion, the Welsh Regiment. Thomas was promoted to Lance Corporal in June 1916, and fought through the carnage of Mametz Wood with the 38th Welsh Division through July that year. After the severe mauling that the 38th Welsh Division suffered at Mametz, they were withdrawn from front line service to rebuild and recover their immense losses. They then had the misfortune to be posted to the Ypres Salient, where they played a big part in the actions at Boesinghe and the Pilckem Ridge, during the 3rd Battle of Ypres. The most famous casualty of the 38th Welsh Division during these actions was the poet Hedd Wyn, who was killed on the Pilckem Ridge on the 31st July 1917. The 3rd Battle of Ypres is better known by the name 'Passchendaele', where a desperate attack planned by the British Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, resulted in the deaths of so many commonwealth soldiers. Between the months of July and August 1917, the British and French had lost over 74,000 men killed, with around a quarter of a million casualties. Lance Corporal Thomas Rees Waters was killed in action during the Battle of Langemarck on the 27th August 1917. His body was never recovered, due to the terrible conditions of the Battlefield, and so he is commemorated on the walls of the massive Tyne Cot memorial, near Zonnebeke, on panel 93-94. There are over 11.952 commonwealth servicemen buried here, with 8,365 of these unidentified. The memorial panels around the top of the cemetery commemorate over 50,000 missing men. Not on Memorial.
William Waters was born in Laugharne around 1883. He was the son of John and Jane Waters of Pantyglas Farm, Broadway, Laugharne. He had an elder brother, Joseph, and younger siblings Mary Jane and Llewellyn Waters. William enlisted at the age of 22 years and 9 months along with his friend Herbert Roblin of Colston Farm, Laugharne. William was posted to the 216th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, with the service number 79715, while Herbert was posted to the Royal Field Artillery. The 216th Siege Battery consisted of four 6" howitzers, which together with their crews formed a small part of the 46th North Midland Division. The 46th Division had fought through some of the toughest campaigns of the Great War. They took a leading part in the opening of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, and fought through the Battles of the Ancre, the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line in 1917, and through to the Battle for Hill 70. On the 15th of August 1917, the Battle for Hill 70 began, near Loos. The 46th North Midland Division were in the thick of the fighting, and on the 27th of August, William's parents received a letter from his Company Chaplain dated 22nd August 1917-
'France, 22nd August 1917. Dear Mrs. Waters, it is my most painful duty to inform you that your son, Bombardier W. Waters, was killed in action on the afternoon of the 16th August. His gun was just ready to fire when a Hun shell fell into the gun pit causing the whole detachment to become casualties. It will be a little consolation to you to know that death was practically instantaneous, and that he suffered no pain. He was buried on the following day at a British Cemetery, some distance behind the battery, being laid to rest with two others of the same detachment. The Chaplain read the burial service at the graveside and a cross has been placed on the grave. He was loved by the men of the battery for his great character, strength and industry. By the officers he was admired for his keen sense of duty. Two days before his death he was promoted to Bombardier, and his future was very promising for further promotion. We feel his loss very much. Both officers and men combine in sending their deepest sympathy to you in your great bereavement.
I am, Yours Sincerely, C. T. E. Murphy, Second Lieutenant.'
Gunner William Waters was killed in action along with two fellow crewmen from his gun battery on the 16th August 1917, and is buried at Maroc British Cemetery, Grenay, Pas-de-Calais alongside his fallen comrades, Gunner William Holt and Bombardier Henry Barber. Gunners William Wallbank, Alfred Steele, Albert Stanisford, John Richards, Simeon Johnson, David Dair, and Bombardier Albert Rowley, from the same 216th Battery as William, all died within a few weeks of each other and are also buried at Maroc. William Waters lies in grave reference II.K.10.
George Watts was born in Laugharne on the 4th February, 1883. His father was John Watts, who lived at The Lakes, Laugharne. George also had two elder brothers Thomas and William Watts, who later lived at 25 Biggyn Road, Llanelli. George was another Laugharne man with a taste for adventure. In 1901, at 18 years old, his profession on his census return was a 'Journeyman Baker'. On the 31st May, 1902, George enlisted at Devonport into the Royal Navy, signing up for 12 years. He served for 5 ½ years in the Royal Navy on active service, and for 6 ½ years on the reserve. In 1914, George found himself in Australia, working as a miner, and on the 28th September 1914, he enlisted in Townsville, into the 15th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force. George's attestation papers show him to have been 5' 4½" tall, with a dark complexion, brownish grey eyes, and black hair. He was 31 years and 8 months old. He had enlisted into the 15th Battalion, 4th Infantry brigade, and his service number was 208. The 15th Bttn formed part of the 4th Australian Infantry Division, 4th Australian Infantry Brigade. George embarked at Melbourne on the 22nd December 1914 aboard His Majesty's Australian Troopship Ceramic, bound for Egypt. He was promoted aboard ship to Lance Corporal on the 1st of January 1915. The ship landed in Egypt, where the Anzacs were readied for the Gallipolli campaign. The 4th Brigade landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipolli on the afternoon of the 25th of April 1915. From May to August, the battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the ANZAC front line.
On the 14th July 1915 George was admitted into the 4th Field Ambulance at the Greek Island of Mudros, with a boil on his neck. His medical card next shows him admitted to the 4th Field Ambulance at Anzac beach on Gallipoli on the 11th August 1915. George returned to his Battalion the next day and found himself caught up in one of the final stages of the Gallipolli campaign-the Battle for Hill 60. A detachment from 'A' Company of the 15th Battalion was sent to reinforce the 13th Battalions unsuccessful attempt to take the position. It was during this futile struggle that George Watts was wounded, along with many other gallant Australian 'Diggers'. The final entry in his papers is for his admission to the 16th Casualty Clearing Station, on the 27th August 1915, for a gunshot wound to his left arm. He was ferried aboard the hospital ship Huntsgreen, where he died of his wounds on the 30th August 1915. The chief officer aboard HS Huntsgreen buried lance Corporal George Watts at sea that day. George's personal effects were sent to his brother Thomas in Llanelli. They comprised of-five coins, two keys, and two pairs of sleeve links, two wallets, letters, photos and post cards. Thomas also received Georges' medals-the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal, as well as Georges' Memorial Plaque and Scroll, and his savings book. George Watts is commemorated alongside 4,931 comrades on the Lone Pine Memorial, in Turkey.
Eric Western Wilson was born on the 12th July 1893 at Thornton-le-Moor, Yorkshire. He was the only son of John Western Wilson and C.M. Wilson, of The Corse, Laugharne. He was a nephew of Engineer Lieutenant Commander T.M. David, R.N., H.M.S. Hawke, who was also to sadly die during WW1. Eric was educated at Carmarthen Grammar School, at Kelly College, Tavistock, and at Leeds University. Eric graduated from the University Officer Training Corps and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the Special Reserve, the Prince of Wales Own West Yorkshire Regiment in July 1913, and joined the 1st Battalion on the outbreak of war. The 1st battalion at the outbreak of hostilities was stationed at Lichfield. They were sent to France with the BEF, landing at St. Nazaire on the 10th September 1914, as part of 18th Brigade, 6th Division. The German Army had been hard hit by the BEF in early September, and by the 11th September 1914 it was clear to the British that the Germans had retreated behind the River Aisne. On the 15th September, Marshal Joffre ordered the French and British armies to attack the withdrawing Germans. This action became known as the Battle of the Aisne. The main attack was carried out by the British, against the Chemin-des-Dames ridge in the direction of Laon. The attack met stubborn resistance and was called off. Approximately 3,000 men of the BEF had been killed during the Battle of the Aisne, with a total of around 12,000 casualties in all; the BEF had been dangerously weakened. On the 20th September 1914, Second Lieutenant Eric Western Wilson was killed in action, around 60 kilometres east of Paris, on the river Marne, while leading his platoon to recapture a trench near Troyon that had been taken by the enemy earlier in the day. He has no known grave, and is remembered on the La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial, Seine-et-Marne, France. He was just 21 years old, and the first Laugharne man to be killed in the Great War.
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Laugharne War Memorial
World War Two, 1939-1945
John William Congreve was born in 1912. His parents were Major Claude Vyvian Congreve, of the Indian Army, and Mary Hudson Congreve, of Island House. John Congreve enrolled into the RNVR (London Division) on the 22nd January 1937. He was promoted to T/S/ Lieutenant on 28th September 1939 and posted to H.M.S. Rhodora-an armed yacht. On the 15th August 1940 John was made a full Lieutenant and posted to the destroyer H.M.S. Tynedale, a 'Hunt' class destroyer, laid down on the 27th July 1939, by A. Stephens & Sons ltd, Glasgow. The HMS Tynedale took part in 'Operation Chariot' on the on the night of March 28th 1942. Operation Chariot was an ambitious plan hatched by the British Combined Operations to disable the Normandie dry dock at St. Nazaire on the French coast. HMS Tynedale was part of the escort to the old American destroyer HMS Campbelltown, which was used to smash into the gates of the massive dry docks, and was exploded there-putting the dock out of action for the rest of the war-and thus prevented the Germans from bringing their massive Battleship, the Tirpitz into the port. She was escorting a convoy off the coast of Algeria on the 12th December 1943 when she was spotted and torpedoed by the German submarine U-593. Lieutenant John William Congreve died that day, as a result of the torpedo explosion, at the age of 31. He is remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon.
Thomas Lewis Ebsworth was born in Pendine, being the son of Mr. & Mrs. John Ebsworth of the Beach Hotel. At the outbreak of the Great War, Thomas enlisted into the Welsh Regiment, with the serial number 1994. He was soon promoted to Sergeant, and in 1916 Thomas was commissioned into the Officer Training Corps, Ayrshire. He was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Welsh Regiment in the 6th Battalion, on the 19th December, 1916. The 6th Welsh was mobilised in Swansea in August 1914, as part of the South Wales Brigade. On the 29th October, 1914 the Battalion landed at Le Havre, and moved to Lines of Communication. On the 5th July, 1915, the Battalion became part of 84th Brigade, 28th Division. On the 23rd October, 1915 the Battalion transferred to 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. The 1st Division had been on the Western Front since the outbreak of war, and had fought through the Battles of Mons, The Marne, The Aisne, and First Ypres, and had suffered heavy casualties. The next test for the Division were the Battles of Aubers and Loos, in 1915, before being heavily involved in the Somme Battles of 1916. By now, on the 6th May, 1916, the 6th Welsh had become the Divisional Pioneer Battalion. Huge casualties were suffered by the Battalion and indeed the Division, and so a steady flow of reinforcements were kept up. Part of the last draft of reinforcements at the end of 1916 contained Thomas Ebsworth, now as an Officer. The 1st Division were kept in the forefront of the fighting on the Western Front for the rest of the war, taking part in fighting off The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line. The Division was warned to prepare for an operation along the Belgian coast in Summer 1917 and several mobile units were attached in readiness. The operation was cancelled when the initial assaults in the Third Battle of Ypres failed to progress as expected, and so the Division was moved to Ypres, where they fought in the Second Battle of Passchendaele, The Battle of Estaires, The Battle of Hazebrouck, the Battles of the Lys, The Battle of Bethune, The Battle of Drocourt-Queant, The Battle of Epehy, The Battle of the St Quentin Canal, The Battle of Beaurevoir, The Battle of the Selle, and The Battle of the Sambre, where the Division fought the Passage of the Sambre-Oise Canal. At the Armistice, the Division was selected to be one that would advance into Germany and form part of the Occupation Force at Bonn. On the 4th February 1919, Thomas was demobbed. By now he had been awarded the Croix-de-Guerre by the French Government. He returned back to Wales and set up home in Fullerton House, Laugharne. Thomas settled back into civilian life well. He became a partner in the firm of Ebsworth Bros., Clifton Garage. He took an active role in the Township, becoming the Vice President of the regatta committee, a member of the War Comforts & Welcome Home Committee, Chairman of the Billiard & Social Club, as well as a Foreman of the Jury in Laugharne Corporation. Upon the outbreak of WW2, Thomas reenlisted, and raised the local Home Guard. He enrolled over 100 men, and was appointed Company-Commander of 'E' Company, Carmarthenshire Home Guard. But the stress of all this took its toll, and on Sunday 1st February, 1942, after a short illness, Thomas died at his home. He was survived by his wife and son, Tommy. The following Thursday saw a huge funeral take place in St. Martins Church, where Thomas was laid to rest. Not on Memorial.
Douglas George Edmunds was the son of Thomas Rees and Mary Jane Edmunds of Hendy, Pontardulais. He was born around 1917 in Laugharne. In the 1901 census, Douglas' father Thomas lived at Halldown Farm, Laugharne, with his Grandmother Elizabeth. Douglas enlisted during WW2 and joined the 5th Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment, service no. 3963251. The 5th Battalion was part of the allied army that landed at Sicily between the 9th and 12th July 1943. They invaded Italy on September 3rd and mounted an amphibious assault at Salerno on the 8th September 1943. The objective of the Italian campaign was to draw German troops away from the Russian front, and especially from the French coast, where the offensive was planned for the following year. Private Douglas George Edmunds was killed during the battle at Salerno on the 9th September 1943, and is buried in the Salerno War Cemetery, Italy, in grave III.B.46. Salerno War Cemetery contains 1,846 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.
Henry Brynmor John was the son of Jonah and Mary John and was born in 1897 in High Street, Narberth. Henry had married Elizabeth Dorothy Williams, who was the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. John F. Williams of Laugharne. Henry Brynmor John was educated at Narberth School, and during 1914, at the age of 17, he entered into St. George's College in London to pursue a Naval Career. At the age of 18, Henry was serving in the Royal Navy-probably aboard H.M.S. Juno, where he assisted with the rescue of survivors from the torpedoed passenger ship 'Lusitania', which had been sunk by a German submarine off the Irish coast with great loss of life. By 1920, Henry had been awarded the Order of the Nile, whilst serving at the Royal Naval base at Port Said. And had reached the rank of Paymaster-Lieutenant. Later that year Henry was awarded the MBE and was invested by King George V at Buckingham Palace. By the age of 38, Henry had risen to the rank of Paymaster Commander. Henry's first posting after the Great War was aboard the cruiser HMS Frobisher. On the 14th November 1930, he was posted to Bermuda (HMS Flora). Henry spent a year aboard the battleship HMS Rodney, until July 1935, and then transferred to the cruiser HMS Exeter where he saw active service during the famous 'Sinking of the Graf Spee' off the River Plate in South America. He served aboard the HMS Exeter until August 1939 and from the 15th November 1941, Henry served aboard the Battleship HMS Resolution, as Squadron Accountant, 3rd Battle Squadron. On the 29th December 1943, Henry was transferred to the navigation school at Portsmouth (HMS Dryad). He was promoted to Commander in the Royal Navy, and served on the Combined Operations staff under Lord Mountbatten, which planned the D-Day landings. Henry's last posting was at HMS President-a Royal Naval Gunnery School in London. It was whilst serving there that Henry and his wife decided to visit Plymouth en-route to a trip home to visit family in Narberth and Laugharne. Whilst in Plymouth, Henry took ill and was taken into St. George's Hospital in London. He died three weeks later of heart failure. Commander Henry Brynmor John died at the age of 49 on the 26th August 1946 and was cremated in the Golders Green Crematorium, Middlesex. He had been a Burgess of Laugharne and also a Vice-President of the 'Laugharne Sports and Attractions.' Henry left behind his wife Elizabeth, his brother, Lieutenant-Commander Roy John, and two sisters, Mrs J. Evans Williams of Llanelli and Miss Elvie John of Narberth.
Thomas William Saint John was born in 1911. His parents were Thomas and Mary John, of Avon Bank, St. Clears. He served in the Far East during the Second War as a Gunner in the 118th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, with the service number 1089358. The 118th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery was in Singapore at the time of the Japanese attack on the 8th February 1942, as part of 18th Division. The survivors of the Battle for Singapore were interned in the infamous Changi Jail. From here, the men were shipped to various parts of the Far East to be used as labourers by their Japanese captors. Thomas was among 900 British Prisoners of War who boarded the Japanese 'Hell ship' Kachidoki Maru on the 6th September 1944 at Singapore. 6 days into her voyage to Japan, the convoy containing the Kachidoki Maru was spotted by a patrol of 3 American Submarines in the South China Sea. The Americans opened fire-The USS Sealion sank the Rakuyo Maru with over 1300 POW's aboard, while the submarine USS Pampanito fired a spread of torpedoes into the helpless Kachidoki Maru, with 900 POW's aboard. After realising what they had done, the Americans surfaced and began to pull survivors out of the water, but over 1550 British and Australian POW's were lost in the sinkings. Amongst the dead was Gunner Thomas John. Thomas John had tragically died aged 34, on the 12th September 1944 aboard the Kachidoki Maru. The inscription on his parents headstone states that he was Lost in Action at Sea. Thomas is remembered on the Singapore Memorial, Kranji, on Column 22. There are 4,458 burials from the second war at Kranji cemetery, with over 24,000 men with no known grave commemorated on the Singapore memorial.
Delme Owen Lewis was born in Laugharne on the 29th April 1920. His parents were David and Beatrice May Lewis of Bronwast Farm. Against his father's wishes, Delme enlisted into the Territorial Army around 1937, along with many of his friends from Laugharne. At the outbreak of War the Territorials were called up, and Delme served as a Private in the 1st Battalion, the Welch Regiment, with the service number 3963252. The 1st Welch were serving in Palestine at the outbreak of war, as a peace keeping force, then were posted to the Western Desert, arriving at Mersa Matruh during November 1939. Before they had a chance to take on the Italians in North Africa, they were sent to Alexandria and when the threat to the British refuelling bases at Crete became serious, were sent to reinforce the garrison on the island. On the 14th May 1941, the German onslaught against Crete began. The island was saturation bombed by 600 Luftwaffe aircraft, softening up the British defences before the German airborne assault was launched. Waves of Junkers 52 troop carrier aircraft and gliders brought German paratroopers to the battle, and by pouring in reinforcements the Germans were virtually in control of the island within a week. The 1st Battalions' last stand in Crete came on the 28th May, when 9 German battalions overwhelmed them. Some 300 survivors reached the British naval base at Sphakia, where they were evacuated to Alexandria. The 1st Welch and the 1st South Wales Borderers were now up against the German Afrika Korps. On the 16th June a strong panzer attack was made on the battalion's position at Sidi Rezegh, and after a terrible time spent defending their positions, the 1st SWB were ordered to withdraw to Sollum on June 17th. The withdrawing troops ran straight into German attack-30 panzers and massed German infantry drove them into trap-14 officers and 500 other ranks were reported missing. Only 4 officers and 100 men survived. Meanwhile the 1st Welch were involved in the fierce struggle to hold Benghazi throughout January 1942, but were ordered to withdraw to the Egyptian frontier. The Welch battalions had been split into individual companies during the withdrawal, and met with vastly differing levels of success-many were wiped out by the Germans. Of the 700 odd officers and men of the 1st Welch who fought at Benghazi, only 214 survived. The survivors of the battalion were sent to Khartoum, where it refitted and was brought back up to strength and then was sent to Palestine to train for the invasion of Italy. Letters from the International Red Cross Archives show that Daniel was captured on the 11th February 1942 by the Italian Army at Tobruk. The Red Cross have records of a telegram sent to them by the Italian Authorities on the 19th February 1942 stating that Delme was a Prisoner of War of the Italians, and that upon being shipped from North Africa back to Italy, along with hundreds of other Allied POW's, the steamer that they were on was torpedoed and sank. I can only presume that it was sunk by a British submarine. Daniel Delme Owen Lewis is remembered on the Alamein War Memorial in Libya. The records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission state that Delme died 'sometime between the 28th January and 20th May 1942'. This statement alone shows just what a terrible and tempestuous period that early 1942 must have been in North Africa. In fact Delme had drowned aboard the POW transport steamer on the 19th February, 1942.
Henry Douglas McDermott was the son of Commander Thomas and Mrs. Frances McDermott, of Laugharne. He was born around 1899 in Gosport, Hampshire. In the 1901 census, Douglas along with his mother, elder brother Dermott and an elder sister Ivy were living at No. 2 Monmouth road, Portsmouth, Hampshire. Douglas married to Eliza McDermott and during WW2 he served as a Major in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, with the service number 118968. The Royal Army Ordnance Corps were responsible for the storage and supply of food, weapons, clothing and equipment for the British Army. It was in this role that Henry Douglas McDermott was sent to Burma with the RAOC. Douglas died in Burma aged 46 on the 20th July 1945 and was buried in the Kirkee Cemetery, Poona, India, in grave 9.D.6.
Francis Edward Hugh Owen was the son of Hugh and Edith Owen of Laugharne and was born in 1915. Francis served as an Able Seaman aboard H.M.S. Huntley, a minesweeper that operated in the Mediterranean. He had the service number C/SSX 15155. On the 31st January 1941, H.M.S. Huntley was attacked by German aircraft in the Eastern Mediterranean, and sank about 30 nautical miles West of Mersa Matruh. Able Seaman Francis Edward Hugh Owen was killed in the attack, and is remembered on the Chatham Naval Memorial, Kent.
Thomas Brian Owen was born in 1920 in Laugharne. He was the son of William and Annie Owen, who were living in Carmarthen at the time of their son's death. Thomas was a Sergeant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, with the service number 1162333. He died in the RAF Hospital at St. Athan aged 26, on the 30th May 1947, after suffering from Tuberculosis and was buried in the new graveyard at St. Martin's church, Laugharne, with a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone. Due to the unavailability of Thomas's RAF Service Records, sadly no more is known about his War service.
Austin Thomas Phillips was born on the 29th January 1918, and was the son of Richard Lewis Phillips and Mary Winifred Phillips of Brook Cottage, near Laugharne. Austin was married to Margaret Winifred Phillips and they had a daughter Rose Mary Phillips. Austin was a pupil of Brook School, before he went to Whitland Grammar School at 11. After leaving school at 17 years old, Austin Phillips went to work at Great House Farm, Laugharne, before enlisting into the Royal Navy at 19 years old, on the 17th August 1937. Training was thorough in the Royal Navy, and Austin spent time training at several Naval Bases including Drake and Tamar-before getting a posting on the ship HMS Glenearn on the 12th December 1940. He was now a Stoker 1st Class. The HMS Glenearn was commandeered by the Royal Navy in October 1939 and converted into a Fast Fleet supply Ship. Her role was to supply fuel and ammunition to secret Atlantic Squadrons-tasked with the destruction of German surface ships in the Atlantic, but the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in 1940 meant that she was brought into service to aid in the evacuation of the besieged forces from the famous beaches. She was then converted to a Troopship-capable of carrying 1090 troops, 12 small Landing Craft and 2 large Landing Craft. In April 1941 she was sent to Malta, along with her sister ship the Glengyle and on the 19-20th April was used in the first ever Commando assault from specialised ships. On the 22nd, while assisting in the evacuation of Greece, she received a direct hit on the foc'sle but remained operational-and on the 26th was hit twice more. She had to be towed to Crete by the destroyer HMS Griffin, and then to Alexandria. After the evacuation of 50,672 troops from Greece, she sailed through the Suez Canal, and was hit by a burning ship, and had to go to Colombo for repairs. In mid 1942 she returned to England and was fitted with davits to handle larger Landing Craft and was used in the Allied landings on D-Day on Sword Beach. In 1945, the Glenearn was sent to the Far East to join the Pacific Fleet, but in April was damaged by a fuel explosion while she was near the mouth of the Markham River, Papua New Guinea, and on the 15th April 1945, after being critically ill in Hollandia Hospital, Leading Stoker Austin Thomas Phillips died of burns. He was aged 27. Austin was originally buried at Hollandia Hospital Cemetery, but after the War, the Graves from outlying cemeteries were brought into Lae, as it was impossible to maintain the smaller outlying cemeteries. Austin Phillips had survived some of the greatest and most famous conflicts of WW2-Dunkirk and D-Day-and sadly died in an accidental explosion on board ship. He left behind his young Widow Margaret and his 17-month-old daughter Rose Mary. He lies buried at Lae war cemetery, Papua New Guinea, in grave FF.A.10. The cemetery contains 2,818 casualties of the Second World War.
Frank David Thomas Phillips was born in Laugharne around 1907. He was the son of John and Mary Anne Phillips of Laugharne (who resided in Carmarthen at the time of Franks' death) and the cousin of Austin Thomas Phillips. Frank joined the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of war, becoming a Flight Sergeant in 35 Squadron, RAFVR. His serial number was 1128364. He was trained as an Air Gunner-becoming a 'Mid-Upper Gunner'. 35 Squadron was a bomber squadron, which in November 1940 was reformed for the purpose of introducing the new Handley-Page Halifax bombers into active service. The squadron was one of the groups that attempted to sink the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during their escape dash from the North German Ports. In August 1942, 35 Squadron were incorporated into the elite 'Pathfinder' force, taking a major part in many bombing missions during the war, including the commando raids on Le Creusot and Peenemunde. In March 1944, the squadron converted to Lancaster's, taking part in the D-Day bombing campaigns. On the 19th/20th October 1944, Flight Sergeant Frank David Thomas Phillips was part of an eight-man crew of the Lancaster Mark III serial no. TL J. Their mission was to bomb the German City of Stuttgart, which was deep behind the front lines. At 17:56 on the 19th October 1944, Lancaster TL J took off from RAF Gravely. The raid was numbered ND755. The Lancaster had crossed the front Lines, and was almost into Germany, when it was brought down by enemy fire. The unfortunate crew were all killed in the resulting crash and are buried together at Wintzenbach Protestant Churchyard, Bas-Rhin, France. Frank Phillips is buried in Grave 2.
The crewmen who perished in Lancaster TL J were:
Pilot- Flying Officer Robert Westland Brown, DFC RAAF (Aus/414768)
Flight Engineer- Sergeant Colin Johnson RAF (1819247)
Navigator- Pilot Officer John Anthony Creemer Clarke DFC RAF (177263)
Bomb Aimer- Flight Sergeant Reginald Francis Jack Bright RAF (1800892)
Bomb Aimer- Warrant Officer Dennis Thompson DFC RAF (1090928)
Wireless Operator- Flying Officer Adam Linton DFC RAF (158128)
Mid-Upper Gunner- Flight Sergeant Frank David Thomas Phillips RAF (1128364)
Rear Gunner- Flight Sergeant E Joseph Kiely RAF (2211230).
George David Roberts was born in 1912 in Mardol. His father, Frank was from Laugharne. He joined the Merchant Navy on the 26th March 1928 and served aboard several ships, before joining the crew of the SS Queen City on the 23rd February 1940. The Queen City was a cargo ship that had been built in 1924. It formed part of the Cardiff based fleet of the Reardon Smith Line Ltd. George's Merchant Navy papers show that he died of wounds received that day, on the 28th September 1940 aboard the SS Queen City, due to enemy action. The ship was 40 miles out of Hull when German Dive Bombers attacked it. George was aged 27, and is buried at the Rhondda (Ferndale) cemetery; plot F, joint grave 449. George's younger brother Jimmy Roberts was also aboard the Queen City but survived the attack. The SS Queen City survived another 2 years at war, before being torpedoed and sank on the 21st December 1942 off the coast of Paraguay.
James Frederick Roberts was the brother of George, and was born in 1920 in Mardol. James served with George aboard SS Queen City, and was killed during the same attack. He was just 20 years old, and is buried in a joint grave with George, at Rhondda (Ferndale) Cemetery. Not on Memorial.
Thomas Essery "Tim" Rose-Richards was born in Glamorgan in 1902. His father Major Thomas Picton Rose-Richards, had served throughout the Great War, and had become a Mid-War MP for Breconshire, before retiring & moving to Island House, in Laugharne. Tim entered Le Mans 5 times finishing in 3rd place in 1931 (with Owen Saunders Davies), 1932 and 1933. He also raced in Grand Prix finishing 4th in the 1934 Dieppe GP with a Bugatti T51, and 3rd in the 1935 Eifel Voiturette GP driving ERA R1A. Tim won a coveted BRDC Gold Star in 1935, and this resulted in him being remembered in the BRDC Hall of Fame, at the famous Brooklands. When War broke out, Tim volunteered into the Royal Navy. From the Navy, he became a Flight Lieutenant in the Fleet Air Arm, serving at HMS Daedalus on the South Coast, with 765 Squadron. 765 Squadron flew the Supermarine Walrus. This was a single-engined 'flying-boat', which was used as a search & rescue and reconnaissance aeroplane. On the 7th October, 1940, during the Battle of Britain, a German Bomber was forced down in the English Channel. Thomas and his aircrew were sent to rescue the downed crew, in their Supermarine Walrus. As they came down to prepare for landing, their aircraft was raked by machine-gun fire from a German Heinkel, which sent them spinning into the sea. Thomas was reported mission 7-8 miles south of Anvil Point. None of the bodies were recovered, and so Thomas Rose-Richards is remembered on the walls of the Lee-On-Solent Memorial, Bay 1, Panel 6. Not on Memorial.
Bridgeman Rochfort Mordaunt Smith was the husband of Elsie Mordaunt Smith, of Copthorne, Essex. His parents Mordaunt Kirwan Smith, and Blanche had lived in Laugharne, and are buried in the churchyard, and his older brother Lionel was killed in the Great War, serving with the Inniskilling Fusiliers. Bridgeman served in the Great War as a Midshipman in the Royal Navy. He was aboard H.M.S. Colossus in the Battle of Jutland, when the Colossus was hit by German shellfire and damaged. He was home in Laugharne on leave shortly afterwards, before returning to sea and finishing the war off unscathed. After the Great War, Bridgeman was commissioned into the Royal Indian Navy, where he served as Sub-Lieutenant until resigning his Commission in 1922. Later that year he was commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment as 2nd Lieutenant, resigning his commission there in September 1926, due to Bankruptcy proceedings due to a failed business venture. At the outbreak of the Second War, Bridgeman was commissioned as Temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, on the 16th November 1939. From the 10th January 1940, he served at H.M.S. Elfin-a submarine base in Blyth, then from 7th January 1941 at H.M.S. Flora-a Royal Naval base at Invergordon-for miscellaneous services. Bridgeman Rochfort Mordaunt Smith was recorded with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as killed in action on the 6th September 1943, but the details of his death are a bit sketchy, as his Death Certificate shows that he died at home in Warwick of Heart Failure at the age of 44. Bridgeman had been serving at the Royal Naval base at Invergordon, which was used as a base for Sunderland 'Flying Boats' during WW2. The base was within range of German Bombers and had been deemed to be too dangerous to be used as a Naval Base for the British Naval Fleet.
Ivor Morgan Thomas was born in Laugharne to Albert William and Sarah Dora Thomas (nee Harries). He was married to Josephine Thomas. He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and was transferred to the submarine service as a Sub Lieutenant aboard a top secret experimental craft-the submarine X-4. She was designed and built early in WW2 for the express purpose of attacking enemy warships moored in protected anchorages, in particular the German battleship 'Tirpitz' which was moored in a protected anchorage in Norway. Four craft, the X-1 to X-4 were built in utmost secrecy, and sent to Loch Striven in Scotland for sea trials. The training was rugged and thorough, with the crews trained in every facet of an operation, such as cutting through anti-submarine nets and escape and evasion. The crew were also subjected to depth charge attacks to familiarise themselves with the fearful experience. Two men lost their lives through accident during training-the first of these was Sub-Lieutenant Ivor Morgan Thomas. He died whilst training on the 11th December 1942. He is remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Devon, on Panel 71, Column 2. Portsmouth Naval Memorial commemorates almost 10,000 sailors of the First World War and almost 15,000 from the Second World War. The book "Tip of the Spear" by Pamela Mitchell mentions Sub Lieutenant Ivor Morgan Thomas- (the first X craft casualty) on page 36. This is a quote taken from the book-
'Neither were the teething troubles of X4's crew over, when the first X craft casualty occurred during an aptly named "Endurance Trial" in Inchamarnock Water in December 1942. The commencement of the exercise coincided with a ferocious "Clyde stinker" perhaps the first storm ever experienced by X craft. Not realising the height of the waves or how low in the water was an X craft's freeboard. Sub. Lt. Morgan Thomas opened the "Wet and Dry" compartment hatch to ditch the gash (rubbish) and was promptly plucked out by a vicious wave, never to be seen again. The same wave created mayhem and dismay amongst the two remaining occupants, filling the escape compartment and leaving X4 suspended diagonally on the surface. They were, of course, concerned over what had happened to Lt Morgan Thomas. Lt Godfrey Place RN forward in the control room was isolated from, and totally unable to communicate with Engine Room Artificer Whitley, who was aft in the engine room. The flooded W & D could be pumped out from forward but not with the hatch open. Whiteley's acutely uncomfortable, and potentially dangerous position was caused by the fact that in X3 & X4 the batteries were aft and there was a real danger of salt getting into the battery acids and setting up chlorine gas. This had been known to happen on previous occasions. ... Eventually Lt Place, soon to win the Victoria Cross, managed to send out distress signals to "Present Help" and after the worst two hours either of them had ever experienced X4 was found, towed into the lee of land and pumped out .As a direct result of the tragic death of Morgan Thomas the "Hezlet Rail" was fitted to all future X craft This was a horizontal bar and leather belt attached to the induction, trunk the belt encircling the waist of the officer on the casing.'
The fellow crewmen of Ivor Morgan Thomas went on to mount a successful mission to inflict damage to the Battleship Tirpitz-which put her out of action for practically the rest of the war. Two men were awarded the coveted Victoria Cross for the action-one was Ivor Thomas's compatriot from the X-4, Lieutenant Godfrey Place.
Gordon Thomas Garfield Williams was the son of Thomas Stanley Garfield and Annie Jane Williams of Cathays, Cardiff. He was related through marriage to George Roberts, who was killed in 1940. They were both related to Cyril Roberts-a very well known man in Laugharne. Gordon was the Head Gardener at Amroth Castle. Before the war, much the same as today, there was a shortage of work around Laugharne, so Gordon moved back to Cardiff with his wife and 2 children, where he enlisted into the Royal Air Force. Gordon was transferred overseas with the Royal Air Force, and was stationed in Malaya at the early part of the war. Simultaneously with their attack on Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on 7th and 8th December 1941, the Japanese landed at Kota Bharu, Malaya, and also crossed the border into Mainland Hong Kong. Hong Kong fell on 25th December 1941 when less than 100 RAF men were captured. As the Japanese advanced down Malaya, one by one, the twenty-two airfields in Malaya were evacuated and by 16th January 1942 all Air Force Squadrons, Units and Station Staff had been driven back to Singapore Island. At much the same time the aircraft and pilots from 232 and 258 Squadrons arrived, having been despatched from the United Kingdom, and the evacuation of ground staff RAF men to Java began. By 10th February, all but one of the four airfields on Singapore Island was in Japanese hands and the few remaining aircraft were withdrawn to Palembang on Sumatra. Singapore fell on 15th February 1942, less than 100 RAF men remaining to be captured there. Many of the ships evacuating civilians and service men from Singapore were sunk off Sumatra. Approximately 125 shipwrecked RAF men survived to be captured by the Japanese and taken to Bangka Island. Another 150 RAF men were captured at Padang, which fell on 17th March 1942. These men had used the established River Indragiri Escape Line through central Sumatra to Padang but there were insufficient boats for all to get to Ceylon. Those RAF men withdrawn from Singapore to Palembang were joined by two Fighter Squadrons (605 and 242 Squadrons) who had left the United Kingdom on 8th December 1941 and two Bomber Squadrons (84 and 211 Squadrons) who had been in the Middle East at the outbreak of war in the Far East. However, after a two-day battle, it was decided on 14th February 1942 that all air force units must withdraw to Java. In Java were not only those RAF men withdrawn from Eastern Sumatra, and those evacuated from Singapore, but also men unattached to any Squadron or Unit who had left the United Kingdom on 8th December 1941, the intention being that they would relieve men who had been overseas for three years. On 28th February 1942, soon after midnight, the Japanese landed at three places on Java. By 5th March the few remaining British aircraft had been assembled at Tasikmalaya and that evening all British Units were ordered to an area south of Bandung. They were in position before dawn on 8th March but soon afterwards a Dutch proclamation declared that all organised resistance had now ceased. A few RAF men did manage to board the few boats and reach Australia safely, but approximately 4600 men went into captivity. About 100 men of the RAF and the various Commonwealth Air Forces were captured after being shot down in Burma. Less than 30 were shot down elsewhere. Generally, shot down aircrew were very badly treated by the Japanese. Gordon Williams died on the 6th March 1942, aged 33, and is remembered on the Singapore Memorial, Column 420. The Singapore Memorial stands in Kranji War Cemetery, which is near the site of a former Japanese POW camp, and commemorates over 24,313 casualties of the Japanese invasion of Malaya from WW2.
Other Laugharne men who Served
Above is a newspaper clipping showing the four sons of Willie John, of South Hills, Laugharne, who all served in WW2. All survived the War, and descendants live in Laugharne still today.
This photo postcard shows three soldiers, and is dated August 25th 1911. I saw this for sale on ebay, and bought it, as it is addressed to a Mrs. Jones, C/O Mr. Lewis, Hugdon, Laugharne. After looking at the uniforms and badges, and comparing with the list of Laugharne soldiers who fought in WW1 (which is below), I am 99% sure that the three men are Lance Corporal J. Jones, Royal Engineers, of Broadway, Sapper William Henry Jones, Royal Engineers, also of Broadway, and the man in the middle is Alfred Lewis, Royal Marine Light Infantry, of Hugdon. There is a note on the back of the postcard also which says 'Remember to be at Llanstephan tomorrow-tell David John'.
A photograph of Private John Thomas, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. I discovered by chance a poem written by his brother, Private Jack Thomas, also of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He sent it home to his parents, Mr and Mrs R. Thomas of Castell Toch, a year after his brother John had his leg amputated following serious wounds suffered at the front. Their nephew James Phillips of Llanstephan, was lost at Langemarck.
A Laugharne Hero
Don't take him, Sir, take me instead,
He's far more useful to my Dad than me!
And in the Great War's records none are found
More worthy of a noble name than he.
Four sons there were, of worthy, Welsh farm home,
And one they wanted for the Army's ranks;
Thus spake the hero and the other's place
He freely took, and asked no other thanks.
Two years and more he spent in France's Hell,
And fought with single power the deadly foe
Till wounded in each limb he fell in strife,
And back to Blighty came with strength but low.
An amputated leg, a fractured arm,
And scarce his medals are. And for reward
A conscience clear, which bids him rise and take
The gratitude of brother, King and God.
Jack Thomas, August 1918.
Above is a clipping showing the two Rowlands brothers, Verdun and Bernard. They both served in No. 1 Commando, after having volunteered from the 4th Welsh, and saw active service in North Africa and Italy with the Commandos. Four men from Laugharne volunteered to serve in the Commandos in WW2, and were accepted after having passed their rigourous training course at Achnacarry, Scotland. They were my Uncle, Glynford Brown (below), Maurice Brace, and Verdun and Bernard Rowlands. Glynford was wounded on a Commando raid, either at Dieppe or St. Nazaire, and was posted to the 5th Welsh. He landed with the 5th Welsh as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division as part of the second wave of troops into Normandy, and was wounded again in France. These were tough men even into their old age!
