Category Archives: Wales

Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, Gwynedd, history, illness, photography, Royal Field Artillery, story, Wales, war

Driver Griffith Williams

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Driver Griffith Williams

Griffith Owen Williams was born the autumn of 1876 in Llanberis, Gwynedd. One of nine children, his parents were blacksmith William Williams and his wife, Alice.

Little information remains about Griffith’s teenage years. The 1891 census record that, at 14 years old, he was a scholar, but the next document that can be attributed to him comes fourteen years later.

At this point, on 7th March 1905, he married Margaret Jane Williams at the parish church in Llanberis. Margaret was 24 years old, and the daughter of a quarryman: Griffith gave his profession as Post Office official, and he was living in Caernarfon, eight miles away, on the Menai Strait.

The young couple went on to have a daughter, Maggie, in January 1906. Sadly, Margaret died on 5th May 1908, when she was just 27 years of age. While the young family had been living in Caernarfon, she was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Peris Church in Llanberis.

At this point, Griffith’s trail goes cold once more. When war broke out, he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery, and was assigned as a Driver in the 248th (Howitzer) Brigade. By April 1915, Griffith found himself on the Western Front and, by the next spring he was fighting at the Somme.

During the winter of 1916/17, Driver Williams fell ill. He contracted bronchial pneumonia, and was medically evacuated to Britain to recuperate. Sadly, the condition was to prove too much for his body to take. He passed away on 23rd February 1917, at the age of 46 years old.

Griffith Owen Williams’ was laid to rest with his late wife in St Peris Churchyard, in their home village of Llanberis.

Commonwealth War Graves, Denbighshire, Great War, history, illness, Northern Ireland, photography, Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, story, Wales, war

Rifleman Joseph Collins

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Rifleman Joseph Collins

Much of Joseph Collins’ life is destined to remain a mystery. He was born in Northern Ireland on 8th November 1897, and was the son of William and Minnie Collins, who lived near Lurgan, in Armargh.

When war broke out, Joseph enlisted, joining the 16th (Service) Battalion – the 2nd County Down Pioneers – of the Royal Irish Rifles. Formed in Lurgan, the regiment moved from Northern Ireland to Seaford in East Sussex in July 1915. By that October, Rifleman Collins found himself on the Front Line in Northern France.

Joseph was invalided on 26th October, and medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Admitted to the Brynkinalt Hospital in Chirk, Denbighshire, he was operated on, but this was to prove insufficient, and he passed away from his injuries on 8th November 1915 – his eighteenth birthday.

Rifleman Collins was well thought of in his regiment, as the comments in the Lurgan Mail [Saturday 20th November 1915] confirmed. Captain HF Sheppard, who commanded Joseph’s Company, noted “I need hardly say I was shocked, as I thought when he left us that the operation necessary for his complaint was certain to prove successful. I had always been attracted by his cheerful temperament, and I was always keenly interested in him as he was one of the first to join my Company.“

Lieutenant E Somerfield noted that Joseph “was a great favourite with the rest of his platoon, and a boy I had great regard for. I can assure you we all feel his loss very keenly.“

The most touching comments, however, come from one of Joseph’s colleagues, Rifleman R McKeown: “I am sending you these few lines to let you know I got a letter today which Joe wrote before he died. The nurse found it in his locker and sent it on to me I am sending you a copy of it and the nurse’s letter. I was never so badly struck in my life as when I heard of his death, for his could not have grieved me more has it been my own brother. The day he went away I never got bidding him good-bye, for the morning he went on the sick list I was on parade, and when I came in he was away. The boys in the platoon and company he was in were all greatly grieved at hearing about his death. You have my sincerest sympathy in your trouble. I don’t know how I am ever going to go home – if I ever do – without him. He was like a brother to me.“

Unable to bring their son back to Ireland, William and Minnie had to be content with the fact that their son was given a military funeral in the town where he died. Joseph Collins was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Chirk.

Commonwealth War Graves, Denbighshire, Great War, history, illness, London, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, story, Wales, war

Sapper James Tod

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Sapper James Tod

James Tod was born in the spring of 1891 in Chirk, Denbighshire, and was one of nine children. His parents were builder John Tod, who was from Scotland, and Margaret Tod, who had been born in Llangollen.

John passed away when James was in his teens and, when he left school, James found work as a joiner to help support his mother financially.

When war came to Europe, James was called upon to play his part. Full details of his military service are not available, but he had enlisted by the beginning of 1917. James joined the Royal Engineers as a Sapper, and was assigned to the London Electrical Engineers.

It is unclear whether Sapper Tod served overseas, but he certainly would have been based in the London area, carrying out repair works as needed. The London Electrical Engineers were also pioneers in the use of searchlights to spot enemy aircraft and Zeppelins raiding the capital. A detachment was also sent to France to position and man searchlights on the Western Front, although, again, it is not clear whether James was one of those involved.

It is clear that James was back in Wales at the start of 1917, however, as, on 18th January, he married his sweetheart, Emily Mary Edwards, at the parish church in his home town. Emily was the daughter of a gamekeeper from nearby Pontfadog, but it was in Chirk that the coupler were to make their home.

Sapper Tod was soon back on duty, however, and the next evidence available for him is that of his admission to the Grove Military Hospital in Tooting, South London. He had contracted a combination of influenza and pneumonia, and these lung conditions were sadly to get the better of him: he passed away on Armistice Day, the 11th November 1918. He was just 27 years of age.

James Tod was brought back to Wales for burial. He was laid to rest in the family plot in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in the town.

It seems that James had been in some debt when he passed, as some of his war pension was held over to cover those costs.

Tragically, Emily was five months pregnant when James died. She gave birth to a son, who she named after his father, on 9th March 1919.

Emily never remarried, and, by the time of the 1939 Register for England and Wales, was recorded as the Lodgekeeper for Deer Park Lodge, which was attached to Chirk Castle. She passed away on 19th December 1973, at the age of 84 years old. She was laid to rest with her late husband, a couple reunited at last after more than five decades.

James Jr lived a long life, passing away in the spring of 1999, in his eightieth year.

Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, illness, Lancashire Fusiliers, photography, Royal Air Force, Royal Engineers, Second Lieutenant, story, Wales, war

Second Lieutenant Francis Wakeford

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Second Lieutenant Francis Wakeford

Francis Reginald Steele Wakeford was born in the summer of 1893 in Penarth, Glamorgan. The middle of five children, his parents were Herbert – who was a master printer – and Mary Wakeford. When he left school, Francis became a stockbroking clerk, but when war broke out, he was quick to ensure he played his part.

Initially enlisting in the Royal Engineers, he was attached to the Glamorgan Yeomanry. By the time he was sent to France, however, he had been assigned to the Lancashire Fusiliers.

After eighteen months of fighting, in the spring of 1918, Second Lieutenant Wakeford transferred to the Royal Air Force and gained his wings. “During six months’ flying he had many encounters with enemy airmen, many of whom he brought down, and was also in several bombing raids over Germany.” [Western Mail: Monday 30th December 1918]

When the Armistice was declared, Francis returned to Wales. He has been suffering from an ongoing illness, and this was to be to what he was to succumb. Second Lieutenant Wakeford passed away in Cardiff on Christmas Day, 25th December 1918. He was just 25 years of age.

Francis Reginald Steele Wakeford was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Augustine’s Church in his home town of Penarth.

Second Lieutenant Wakeford (from findagrave.com)

Francis’ grave also commemorates the passing of his only brother, Charles Herbert Stanley Wakeford.

Four years Francis’ senior, Charles had enlisted in the 24th (Pembroke and Glamorgan Yeomanry) Battalion of the Welch Regiment. As the war moved through its final year, Lieutenant Wakeford found himself caught up in the fierce fighting of the Second Battles of the Somme.

Charles was killed on 7th September 1918, aged 28 years old. He was laid to rest in Tincourt British Cemetery, in Picardie, France. He is also commemorated on the family grave in St Augustine’s Church, Penarth.

Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, illness, Machine Gun Corps, photography, Private, story, Wales, war, Welch Regiment

Private Charles Tucker

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Private Charles Tucker

Charles Wilfred Tucker was born in the summer of 1898 in Penarth, Glamorgan. He was the oldest of four children to Wilfred and Elizabeth Tucker, restaurant owners on Windsor Terrace in the centre of the town.

Little information is available about Charles’ early life. When war broke out, he enlisted in the Welch Regiment, before transferring to the Machine Gun Corps at some point during the conflict. In the autumn of 1919, Private Tucker was put on furlough while waiting to be demobbed, and he returned home.

Sadly, it was while here that Charles contracted pneumonia, and it was from the lung condition that he was to pass away. He breathed his last on 30th October 1919, at the age of just 21 years old.

Charles Wilfred Tucker was laid to rest in the family grave in St Augustine’s Churchyard in his home town of Penarth.

Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, illness, injury, Merchant Navy, Ordinary Seaman, photography, Royal Navy, story, Wales, war

Ordinary Seaman William Radford

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Ordinary Seaman William Radford

William Richard Radford was born in the spring of 1900 in Cogan, on the outskirts of Penarth, Glamorgan. He was one of eight children to coal trimmer turned dock labourer Richard Radford and his wife, Susan.

Little information is available about William’s life. What is documented is that he enlisted in the Royal Navy, and, by the time he came of age in 1918, he held the rank of Ordinary Seaman. William was serving at HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard, by the end of the war.

At this point, details of Ordinary Seaman Radford’s life become a little unclear. He seems to have been stepped down to the Marine Mercantile Reserve, returning home in January 1919, when he passed away. His Pension Ledger Card gives the cause of death as a fractured shoulder, while another document states that he died from a sarcoma.

Whatever the cause of his passing, William Richard Radford was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Augustine’s Church in Penarth. He shared his grave with his mother, who had passed away the previous year. Richard Radford was also buried in the same plot when he passed away in 1926.

Commonwealth War Graves, Company Sergeant Major, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, injury, Northamptonshire, photography, South Staffordshire Regiment, story, Wales, war

Company Serjeant Major Henry Bird

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Company Serjeant Major Henry Bird

Henry Sidney Bird was born on 2nd December 1884 in Penarth, Glamorgan. He was the second of two children to painter and glazier Frederick Bird and his wife Emma. Henry’s mother passed away when he was only eleven years old and, by the time of the 1901 census, he was boarding with a family in the town, and working as a domestic gardener.

The next census – in 1911 – found the family back together again. Henry’s brother Frederick Jr was the head of the household, and she and his family – wife, Eliza, and three children – shared their home with Henry and his father. Harry, by this time, was working as a ship’s fireman.

Little information remains about Henry’s military service. He joined up when war broke out, and records show that he had enlisted in the South Staffordshire Regiment by the start of 1916. Assigned to the 8th (Service) Battalion, it is likely that he soon found himself on the Front Line.

Henry’s bravery seems to have been without fault. He went on to reach the rank of Company Serjeant Major in his battalion and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. The citation confirmed this was for “conspicuous gallantry. When the enemy rushed an isolated trench he saved the situation by collecting bombs and superintending the erection of stops and barbed wire. During the whole operations he set a splendid example to his company.“

Company Serjeant Major Bird’s battalion was caught up in the fighting at Ypres early in 1916 and, by the summer, was involved in the Battle of Albert. It was here that Henry was wounded, and he was quickly evacuated to Britain for medical treatment. Admitted to the General Hospital in Northampton, his wounds were to prove too severe, and he passed away from them on 18th July 1916. He was just 31 years of age.

Henry Sidney Bird’s body was brought back to Wales for burial: he was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Augustine’s Church in his home town of Penarth.

Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Great War, history, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, photography, Sergeant, story, unknown, Wales, war

Serjeant Frank Carter

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Serjeant Frank Carter

In the graveyard of St Augustine of Hippo Church in Penarth, Glamorgan, lies the Commonwealth War Grave for Serjeant Frank Carter. The headstone confirms that he had died on 31st August 1915 and that he was in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment.

Little further information is available about him, apart from a few scattered details from a number of documents.

Frank’s burial record shows that he had been residing in The Fort, Penarth, a garrison constructed on the cliffs near the entrance to the harbour and Cardiff Bay. The record, written by George Turner, confirms that his burial was on 2nd September 1915, and that he was 51 years old when he passed.

Serjeant Carter’s record in the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects confirm that he was in the 2nd/4th Battalion of his regiment, and that he must have enlisted at some point before February 1915. The document states that he died in the Western Hospital in Cardiff, and that his beneficiary was Miss M Smithson.

These few documents add up to very little, and do not provide enough information to concretely uncover anything else of Frank Carter’s life. His is a story that is destined to remain lost to time.

Frank shares his grave with another member of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, Private Edward Savage. Read his story here.

Commonwealth War Graves, Glamorganshire, Great War, Guardsman, history, injury, photography, story, Wales, war, Welsh Guards

Guardsman Bertie Thomas

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Guardsman Bertie Thomas

Bertie John Thomas was born in Penarth, Glamorgan, in 1890, one of twelve children to Henry and Elizabeth Thomas. Henry was a ship’s rigger, but much of Bertie’s life remains a mystery.

The 1901 census recorded the family living together in a small terraced house in Cliff Street, but ten years later, with the family having grown, many had dispersed. Bertie’s older sisters had moved on – Hannah as a live-in barmaid in nearby Barry; Gladys working as a dressmaker in the Rhondda, living with her aunt and uncle. Of Bertie himself, however, there is no record.

When war came to Europe, Bertie would have played his part. He had enlisted in the Welsh Guards by the spring of 1916, and was a Guardsman in the 1st Battalion. The Guards Division were involved in many of the key conflicts of the war, including at Loos in 1915 and at the Somme the following year.

Guardsman Thomas was caught up in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette in September 1916, and was badly wounded. He was medically evacuated to home soil for treatment, and was admitted to a hospital in Cardiff. His wounds were to prove too severe, and he died on 26th September 1916, aged just 26 years of age.

Bertie John Thomas was brought back to Penarth for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Augustine’s Church in the town.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Leicestershire, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Somerset, story, Surrey, Training Reserve Battalion, Wales, war

Sapper Walter Wigginton

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Sapper Walter Wigginton

Walter Wigginton was born in the Leicestershire village of Illston-on-the-Hill in the summer of 1880. The second of seven children, his father John was a grazier, managing cows over a six-acre pasture. His mother, Rebecca, who was also born in Leicestershire, raised the family and managed the home.

Walter turned his hand to carpentry, and, by the time of the 1901 census, he was boarding with a widow in Frimley, Surrey, employed for his woodworking skills. By 1905, his journeyman life had taken him to the Somerset village of Trull. It was here that he met and married Annie Oaten, and here that the couple settled down to raise their family. They had two children, Dorothy, born in 1906, and Winifred, who was born two years later.

War was closing in on Europe and, by the summer of 1916, Walter had joined up to play his part. Initially assigned to the 65th Training Reserve Battalion, he had not long transferred across to the Royal Engineers as a Sapper when he fell ill.

Sapper Wigginton was admitted to the Kinmel Park Military Hospital near Abergele on the North Wales coast, suffering from bronchial pneumonia. Sadly, this lung condition was to get the better of him, and he passed away at the hospital on 29th December 1916, at the age of 36 years old.

Walter Wigginton’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of All Saints’ Church in Trull, where his widow and children still lived.