GREAT WAR CENTENARY 1918 - Microsoft · THE GREAT WAR CENTENARY † 1918 PC 80 Edwin Samuel Brown...

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HEDDLU DE CYMRU • SOUTH WALES POLICE

THE

GREAT WARCENTENARY1914-1918 2014-2018

LEST WE FORGETREMEMBERED WITH PRIDE IN 2018 THOSE WHO DIED IN 1918 & 1919

L E A R N • E N G A G E • R E M E M B E R

1918LED BY IWM

T H E G R E A T W A R C E N T E N A R Y • 19 1 8

First World War embroidered silk postcards

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This year marks the centenary ofthe Armistice between the Alliesand Germany which brought theFirst World War to an end.

It was a terrible war which costthe lives of millions of people. It toreEurope apart and left a legacy whichled to another world war just overtwenty years later. Its effect can stillbe seen in the Middle East today.

Hundreds of policemen from ourpredecessor forces of Glamorgan,Cardiff, Swansea, Merthyr andNeath served in the armed forcesduring the war. Ninety three ofthem died. Many more werewounded, some of them seriously.

South Wales Police’scontribution to the commemorationof the centenary of the war was toestablish a project to research thelives of those who died and thosewho were recognised for theirgallantry. Each year since 2014 wehave produced a booklet with theresults of that research.

This year’s booklet, the last inour series, gives details of thosewho died during 1918 and 1919.

There are twenty of them in all.The inclusion of those from 1919reminds us that the suffering didn’tend with the signing of theArmistice on 11th November 1918.Men were still dying of the effects ofthe war long after its conclusion.

However, we also pay tribute tothose recognised for their braveryduring the same period-nine ofthem are recorded in this booklet.We note, in particular, the actions ofErnest Rollings whose raid on aGerman Corps Headquarters atFramerville in France when herecovered secret Germandocuments led, it was later said, tothe war concluding earlier than itwould otherwise have done, thuspotentially saving hundreds ofthousands of lives.

Ernest’s exploits won him fameand fortune in the 1930’s but weare equally proud of the endeavoursof all those who served. We hopevery much that our project and thebooklets which have been producedare a fitting and lasting record of thesacrifices they made.

Matt Jukes QPMChief Constable, South Wales Police

INTRODUCTION

WE REMEMBER THEM ALL WITH PRIDE. YN ANGOF NI CHANT FOD.

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As the Chief Constable hasindicated in his introduction, wehave now reached the concludingbooklet in our seriescommemorating the First WorldWar. It is, therefore, anappropriate time for reflection.

The war posed tremendouschallenges for the police service. Itwas the first time that the countryhad been mobilised for armedconflict on such a scale. The policeforces of Glamorgan, Cardiff,Swansea, Merthyr and Neath,small by today’s standards, had tocope with carrying out a host ofadditional duties to ensure thesecurity of the home front whilstat the same time their resourceswere severely depleted aspolicemen left to join the armedforces.

There is no doubt that theyformed an important element inrecruiting as they came fromdisciplined organisations and manyof them were, of course, pre-warreservists who were called up onthe outbreak of war.

Their contribution to the armyin Wales can be seen, for example,in the 16th (Cardiff City) Battalionwhich fought with distinction onthe Western Front including at

Mametz Wood on the Somme andat the Third Battle of Ypres. Anumber of Glamorgan policemenwere with it from the outset andwe remember Fred Smith, aGlamorgan Police inspector whobecame the Battalion’scommanding officer prior toMametz Wood, and the Welshrugby international, Dick Thomas,who was killed in action there on7th July 1916.

Policemen were alsoprominent in the Welsh Guardsfrom the time of its formation in1915 through to the end of thewar. Many of them displayedleadership qualities and becamenon-commissioned officers.Others received medals for theirbravery.

Our project has, since 2014,sought to tell the stories of thosewho died and those recognised fortheir gallantry. Ninety threepolicemen died-sixty one fromGlamorgan, sixteen from Cardiff,ten from Swansea and six fromMerthyr. Most of them areremembered on the GlamorganPolice War Memorial at PoliceHeadquarters in Bridgend and onmemorials at the Cardiff Bay,Swansea Central and MerthyrPolice Stations. During our

REFLECTIONS

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research we identified a furtherthree former policemen who arenot recorded on the GlamorganMemorial but who we have,nevertheless, remembered. Eightyeight of those who died have alsonow been commemorated by theplacing of wreaths on memorials,or crosses on graves, in Wales,England, France and Belgium.

There were those as well whowere wounded and survived thewar, sometimes, despite theirinjuries, returning to police duties.In this respect it is worthremembering PC RichardLawrence of the GlamorganConstabulary. He had served in theGrenadier Guards before the warand was recalled to the army as areservist in August 1914. He wasseverely wounded in the headduring the early battles of the warresulting in the loss of an eye.Nevertheless, in February 1915,with the support of the ChiefConstable and the PoliceCommittee, he re-joined the forceand resumed his policing duties.

As we bring our project to aclose it’s appropriate to thank anumber of people for theirsupport. They include themembers of the Project Groupwhose names appear on the cover

of this booklet, Dr. Jonathan Hicks,Mr. Gwyn Prescott, Mrs RhianDiggins of Glamorgan Archives, theSouth Wales Police PrintingDepartment (especially Mr. IanOakley and Mr. Peter Williams) andmany relatives of those policemenreferred to in our booklets. It’sbeen a privilege to meet andcorrespond with them. We areparticularly grateful for theirassistance in providing photographsand other material. We haveacknowledged their contribution inprevious booklets and this year weare particularly grateful to Mr. LenShurey for material in relation toEdward Shurey.

For me, being involved in thisproject has been a most rewardingexperience. Each year at the SouthWales Police RemembranceService I have read out the namesof those who died during therelevant year of the war. It is a verypoignant moment. The visits madeto the battlefields of the WesternFront and to other places toremember the fallen have alsobeen most memorable. My thanksfor their support go to those whohave accompanied me: Paul Wood,David Francis, Michael Lewis, JohnKnight, and Alan Fry. Without themthe visits would not have beenaccomplished so successfully.

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As in previous years twoversions of this booklet are beingproduced: one as an electroniccopy accessible via the followinglinks:www.peoplescollection.wales/users/9665 and www.south-wales.police.uk/en/about-us/heritage-centre/great-war-centenary/, and another, shorter

version, in printed form, both ofwhich are also available in Welsh.

We hope that the work wehave undertaken throughout theproject will provide a lastinglegacy which will be of interest formany years to come.

Gareth Madge OBEChair, First World War Project Group

13th April 2018, St Edeyrn’s Church, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff: South Wales Police and theWelsh Guards remember PC 319 William Jones Thomas of the Glamorgan Constabulary(Private 1333 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards) who died on 13th April 1917 following activeservice on the Western Front.

13th April 2018, St Edeyrn’s Church, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff: South Wales Police and theWelsh Guards remember PC 319 William Jones Thomas of the Glamorgan Constabulary(Private 1333 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards) who died on 13th April 1917 following activeservice on the Western Front.

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19186TH FEBRUARY

The Representationof the People Actgrants the vote to womenover the age of 30 whomeet a propertyqualification. The Act also givesthe vote to all men over 21.

3RD MARCH

Russia signs a peace treaty withGermany.

21ST MARCH

Germany launches its SpringOffensive.

25TH MARCH

PC 51 John Pope of theGlamorgan Constabulary is killedin action near St. Quentin inFrance.

26TH MARCH

PC 732 William Henry Radbourneof the Glamorgan Constabularydies of wounds sustained in actionnear St. Quentin.

28TH MARCH

Ex PC 118 Thomas Churches ofthe Glamorgan Constabulary iskilled in action near Arras inFrance.

1ST APRIL

The Royal Flying Corps andRoyal Naval Air Service are

brought together toform the Royal Air Force.

18TH APRIL

Military conscription in Britainis extended to cover most menaged between 18 and 51.

10TH MAY

PC 530 Charles Llewellyn Jamesof the Glamorgan Constabulary iskilled in action during an attack onAveluy Wood in the Somme area.

25TH MAY

PC 558 Edward Findlay of theGlamorgan Constabulary is killedin action near Forceville on theSomme.

11TH JUNE

PC 223 George Wilfred Lloyd ofthe Glamorgan Constabulary iskilled in action near Bethune inFrance.

15TH JUNE

In Italy the Second Battle of thePiave River begins and ultimatelyleads to the destruction of theAustro-Hungarian army and thecollapse of their empire.

1918 -1919 A SUMMARY


4TH JULY

PC 257 Albert John Channing ofthe Glamorgan Constabulary diesof pneumonia whilst on activeservice in France.

15TH JULY

The Second Battle of the Marnebegins with a German offensivewhich is resisted by Allied forcesand by its end the German armysuffers huge losses.

18TH JULY

PC 616 Edward Shurey of theGlamorgan Constabulary dies

following an accident duringbombing practice in Ireland.

21ST JULY

PC 696 Sidney Walter Williams ofthe Glamorgan Constabulary diesof wounds whilst on active servicein France.

8TH AUGUST

The start of the Battle of Amiens.Thousands of German troopssurrender as Allied forces makesubstantial gains in territory. It isthe beginning of the end forGerman forces-the final “HundredDays” of the War.

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British armoured cars near Amiens, 8th August 1918

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30TH AUGUST

Police in London go on strikebecause of poor pay andconditions. The dispute is resolvedthe following day following thepersonal intervention of PrimeMinister David Lloyd George.

4TH SEPTEMBER

PC 52 Richard William Brown ofthe Glamorgan Constabulary iskilled in action near the Canal duNord in France.

15TH SEPTEMBER

PC 150 Joseph Inman of theSwansea Borough Police is killed inaction near the Canal du Nord.

19TH SEPTEMBER

PC 692 Frederick George Smith ofthe Glamorgan Constabulary iskilled in action during the Battle ofDoiran in Greece.

20TH SEPTEMBER

PC 617 Ernest Thomas Jones ofthe Glamorgan Constabulary iskilled in action near Ronssoy inFrance.

27TH SEPTEMBER

An Allied offensive leads to thebreaching of the German defensivestructure, the Hindenburg Line,along the Canal du Nord and theSt Quentin Canal.

Striking London policemen

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PC 80 Edwin Samuel Brown ofthe Cardiff City Police is killed inaction during the Battle of theCanal du Nord.

1ST OCTOBER

British and Arab forces takeDamascus.

4TH OCTOBER

German and Austrian peaceproposals are sent to theAmericans.

8TH OCTOBER

The German army is driven backby the Allies along a twenty milefront between St. Quentin andCambrai. The latter is capturedalong with Le Cateau. 10,000German troops are takenprisoner.

14TH OCTOBER

PC 144 William James Rapsey ofthe Swansea Borough Police iskilled in action near Ypres inBelgium.

17TH OCTOBER

Lille and Douai are liberated bythe British. Ostend is retaken byBelgian forces as is Zeebrugge thefollowing day. The whole of theChannel coast in the west ofFlanders is liberated.

21ST OCTOBER

PC 46 Albert Hollyman of theCardiff City Police dies ofpneumonia at Etaples in Francewhilst on active service

30TH OCTOBER

Turkish forces in Mesopotamiasurrender to the British. Turkeysigns an armistice with the Allies.

3RD NOVEMBER

Austria-Hungary signs an armisticewith the Allies.

9TH NOVEMBER

The German Kaiser, Wilhelm II,abdicates and flees to Holland.

11TH NOVEMBER

Germany signs an armistice withthe Allies. All fighting is to cease at11am that day.

PC 324 Frank Trott of theGlamorgan Constabulary dies ofpneumonia at Porthcawl followingactive service in France.

14TH DECEMBER

British General Election in whichthe Coaltion Government isreturned to power with DavidLloyd George continuing as PrimeMinister.

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19196TH JANUARY

PC Henry James Porter of theCardiff City Police dies ofpneumonia at Brighton followingactive service in France.

12TH JANUARY

The Paris Peace Conferencebegins.

10TH MARCH

PC 679 Henry George Evans ofthe Glamorgan Constabulary diesof pneumonia at Southamptonfollowing active service in France.

10TH MAY

PC 121 Patrick Shea of theSwansea Borough Police dies atSwansea of tuberculosiscontracted during his war service.

28TH JUNE

The Peace Treaty between theAllied Powers and Germany issigned at the Palace of Versailles,near Paris.

19TH JULY

Peace Day: celebrations are heldthroughout Britain to mark theend of the war including a VictoryParade in London.

The Peace Treaty is signed at the Palace of Versailles


In our booklet for 1917, weremembered those who, in thatyear, had been recognised for theirbravery and devotion to duty andwe do the same in this booklet forthose recognised in 1918 and alsothose whose awards were notmade until the following year.

Whilst there were severalcategories of recognition forbravery and service during theWar, we have limited what appearsbelow to the awards of the MilitaryCross, the Distinguished ConductMedal and the Military Medal.

These are the ones for which,generally, the most information isavailable although it must be notedthat the awards of the MilitaryMedal were usually simply listed inthe official Governmentpublications, The London Gazetteand The Edinburgh Gazette, withoutany detailed citations.

What follows is the best thatwe have been able to achievethrough our researches but wehope that it will be a usefulcontribution to remembering thebravery of those referred to.

1918 -1919 GALLANTRY AWARDS

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This was instituted inMarch 1916 and was

awarded to non officerranks of the Army “for

bravery in the field”. Oneof the first two recipientsof the medal in April 1916(backdated to 1914) was

PC Frederick WilliamMallin of the GlamorganConstabulary (see the

South Wales Policebooklet for 1916).

MILITARY MEDAL (MM)

This was instituted in1914 and awarded to

warrant officers and juniorcommissioned officers

of the Army for “gallant and distinguished

service in action.”

MILITARY CROSS (MC)

This was instituted in1854 as a result of themany acts of bravery

during the Crimean Warand was effectively the

first British gallantryaward. It was awarded to non officer ranks of

the Army.

DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL

(DCM)

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ERNEST JAMESROLLINGSPC 597 GLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYLIEUTENANT17TH (ARMOURED CAR)BATTALION, TANK CORPS

MILITARY CROSS

Ernest was born on 15thSeptember 1893 in Hereford. Hewas the son of Ernest ThomasRollings, who was from Heyopnear Knighton in Radnorshire, andEmma Rollings (nee Gittings) whowas also from Radnorshire havingbeen born in Womaston, nearPresteigne.

The family moved, in duecourse, to Knighton where Ernestattended school. At the time ofthe census of 1901 Ernest, hisparents, and his younger sister,Mabel Evelyn, were living inCanton in Cardiff where Ernest’sfather was a policeman with theCity Police.

Later Ernest worked as amessenger boy in Knighton and atthe time of the census of 1911 hewas living in lodgings in Abertillerybeing then employed as a porterwith the Great Western Railway.

On 28th July 1913, aged 19,Ernest joined the GlamorganConstabulary and was serving atCaerau, near Maesteg, at theoutbreak of the war.

Ernest was released from thepolice so that he could join thearmy and he enlisted on 11thNovember 1914.

He was posted as a Trooper tothe 2nd Reserve Cavalry Regimentfor basic training before he was tojoin the 2nd Dragoon Guards (theQueen’s Bays). He later said thathe wanted to be in the cavalrybecause he thought he mightbecome a mounted policemanafter the war. In the event he did

THE RECIPIENTS


not go on active service with the2nd Dragoon Guards, which hadbeen in France since the start ofthe war, but remained in Englanduntil 5th June 1915 when hetransferred to the King’s OwnYorkshire Light Infantry.

Ernest went to France on 27thJuly 1915 with the 2nd Battalion ofthe regiment as Private 23336 andwas appointed Lance Corporal on25th September 1915.

In May 1916 Ernestsuccessfully applied for acommission and joined theNumber 5 Officer Cadet Battalionat Trinity College, Cambridge on

5th October 1916.

On 31st January 1917 he wasappointed to a temporarycommission as a SecondLieutenant in the Machine GunCorps (Heavy Branch) whichbecame the Tank Corps in July1917.

He served with its C (latercalled 3rd) Battalion and took partin the Third Battle of Ypres whichbegan in July 1917. As referred toin our booklet for 1917, Ernestwas awarded the Military Crossfor his actions in August during theBattle. The citation for it was:

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Glamorgan Policemen armed in readiness for wartime emergencies. Ernest is pictured third from the right in the second row.

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“For conspicuous gallantry anddevotion to duty. He commandedhis tanks in difficult ground andunder heavy shell fire with thegreatest courage andperseverance, helping them outof many difficulties and keepingthem in action by his splendidpersonal energy and fearlessness.After he had completed his

duties, he went back to assist aseriously wounded officer andseveral men who were still underheavy shell fire.”

In November 1917 he tookpart in the massed tank actionduring the Battle of Cambrai.

In January 1918 Ernestreturned to England to join the

Ernest the young cavalryman

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17th Battalion of the Tank Corpswhich was originally to be issuedwith tanks but in the eventreceived Austin armoured cars.

The Battalion moved toFrance and spent the month ofMay in training and thenoperated with French forcesbefore it became part ofGeneral Sir Henry Rawlinson’sFourth Army.

Ernest was promoted toLieutenant on 31st July 1918 andon 8th August led his section ofarmoured cars in raids insupport of Australian forces onthe first day of the Battle ofAmiens. This was the battlewhich was the start of “TheHundred Days” which ultimatelyled to the defeat of the Germanarmy.

One action during 8th Augustwas, after the war, to bring Ernestgreat fame. During a raid on thevillage of Framerville, near Amiens,Ernest entered a German CorpsHeadquarters and took possessionof secret maps, plans and otherdocuments which he later tookback and handed over to seniorofficers.

After the war, Ernest describedwhat happened:

“I entered the building revolver inhand, wondering what sort ofgreeting I would receive. To myrelief there was no sign of life….On entering the room I saw lotsof papers, maps and officeequipment. I collected all I couldin the way of documents andmaps and handed them to themen in the car outside whopacked them in sandbags…Before leaving I did fix theAustralian flag over the


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headquarters….48 hours laterthe flag was still flying.”

For his actions that day Ernestwas awarded a second MilitaryCross, the citation for whichappeared in the London Gazette on2nd December 1918:

“For conspicuous gallantry incommand of a section ofarmoured cars during an attack.He took his section across theshelled area with skill andcourage, and penetrated a villagestrongly held by the enemy,

killing many of them andstampeding a quantity oftransport. He sent back reportsof great value, and finallyextricated and brought back hiscars without a casualty.”

However, Ernest was not toremain in France for much longersince at 9.30am on 21st August hesustained serious wounds to hishead and back in action at Achiet-Le-Petit. He was taken to number3 Casualty Clearing Station and theRed Cross Hospital at Boulognebefore being evacuated to England.

Ernest marching immediately in front of the tank on the left in front of the Cenotaph during the Victory Parade on 19th July 1919

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Ernest was treated at the 2ndWestern General Hospital inManchester and later convalescedat the St John’s Auxiliary Hospitalat Llandaff in Cardiff.

He spent several monthsrecovering from his injuries and in1919 returned to the 17thBattalion which was then inIreland during the time of theunrest there.

Ernest had the honour oftaking part in the Victory Parade inLondon to mark the end of thewar which was held on 19th July1919 when he led a column oftanks.

He was released from militaryservice on 13th January 1920 andsubsequently re-joined theGlamorgan Constabulary servingat Ystalyfera and Gwaun-cae-Gurwen in the Swansea Valley.

He was stationed at BritonFerry near Neath when, inNovember 1922, it became partof the Borough of Neath as aresult of changes to localgovernment boundaries andErnest then transferred to theBorough police force. He waspromoted to sergeant and ChiefClerk to the Chief Constable in1926.

On 8th November 1931 theSunday Express revealed what hadhappened during the Framervilleraid which it was said hadhastened the end of the war. Anappeal was made for informationas to “The Man Who Ended theWar.”

A week later, on 15thNovember, the Sunday Expressrevealed that Ernest had beenidentified as the man after aformer fellow officer, a LieutenantYeomans, had come forward withthe necessary information whichwas verified by the commandingofficer of the 17th Battalion at thetime of the raid, LieutenantColonel E.J. Carter.

Lady Houston, the wealthywidow of a shipping magnate,announced that she was making agift of £5000 to Ernest.

A ceremony took place at theEmpire Cinema in Neath on 20thNovember when Ernest waspresented with the cheque for£5000.

Further recognition followedon 20th January 1932 when Ernestwas made an Honorary Freemanof the Borough of Neath and waspresented with a scroll and a silver

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Sunday Express 22nd November 1931

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casket. A dinner was also held inhis honour by the Chief Constableof Neath and his police colleagueswhen an illuminated address waspresented to him. Ernest also hadfurther promotion in the NeathPolice, becoming an Inspector inOctober 1937. He was actingChief Constable of the Boroughwhen he retired in 1943.

Following his retirement hebecame an investigator with theBoard of Trade for six yearsbefore finally retiring in 1949.

After the Second World Warhe was attached to the GlamorganHome Guard when thatorganisation was re-activatedduring the Cold War and held therank of Major when it was finallystood down in 1957.

Ernest died at Neath on 3rdFebruary 1966 aged 72. Hisfuneral was well attendedby police officers andlocal dignitariesand there was apolice bearerparty.

His bravery continues to berecognised. South Wales Policewas proud to be able to mount anexhibition at the Firing LineMuseum in Cardiff Castle during2017 and 2018. In conjunctionwith the exhibition his story wasalso featured by the SundayExpress in its edition forRemembrance Sunday 2017 andsubsequently by the Western Mail.He has also formed part of thecoverage of ITV Wales of thecentenary of the First World War.

The South Wales PoliceHeritage Centre is privileged tohold many items relating to Ernestincluding his medal set andFreedom casket and scroll.

The policeman from Neath,who was described in anewspaper report following hisdeath as “always quiet and

unassuming, but respectedby all who knew him”,

deserves to beremembered.


The casket containing the scroll for the Freedom of the Borough of Neath

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THOMAS BEALEPC 82 GLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYCAPTAIN, 1/6TH BATTALION,NORTH STAFFORDSHIREREGIMENT

MILITARY CROSS

Thomas was born on 21st March1891 (or 1892, as the recordsvary). He was the son of David andMartha Beale of Wick in the Vale ofGlamorgan. Prior to the FirstWorld War he worked in farmingbefore joining the GlamorganConstabulary in 1911.

During the war he wascommissioned as an officer as theGlamorgan Gazette reported on27th April 1917:

“Commission for Wick Man-Onthe wall of Wick School is a list ofthirty nine old scholars of Mr.Kibblewhite who have joinedH.M. Forces. One of them (Pte.David Beale, Welsh Guards)made the great sacrifice last July.Five of them hold His Majesty’sCommission. The last to achievethis distinction is Lieut. ThomasBeale, son of Mr. and Mrs. DavidBeale, of Wick and brother of theabove. Joining up shortly after theoutbreak of war, he soon became

sergeant instructor in the WelshRegiment at Kinmel Park, NorthWales, and was ultimatelygranted an officer’s cadetship. Hehas now been gazetted to theNorth Staffordshire Regiment.”

As referred to in the abovereport, Thomas’s brother, David,had died whilst serving with the 1stBattalion, Welsh Guards on 25thJuly 1916. He is buried at theBrandhoek Military Cemetery inBelgium. The Glamorgan Gazettefor 16th August 1916 had given thefollowing details of David’s death:

“We regret to have to record thedeath in action of Pte. David R.Beale, aged 21 years, 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards. Pte.Beale was the son of Mr. andMrs. David Beale, Wick. Hejoined the Welsh Guards on theformation of the regiment. Hehad been very lucky up to thedate of his death, which tookplace on the 25th of last month.….In a letter to Mr. and Mrs.Beale, his commanding officersays-He was a good boy, and agallant, and one of the best Lewisgun men we had. We can ill sparesuch good fellows as him. He waskilled by a shell from a trenchmortar, and death was

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instantaneous, as was that of hisfriend standing near him.”

It was whilst serving with 1/6thBattalion of the North StaffordshireRegiment in October 1918 thatThomas was awarded the MilitaryCross. The citation for it, which didnot appear in the London Gazetteuntil its’ Supplement of 4thOctober 1919 reads:

“During the operation of the 14th– 17th Oct. 1918 he showedhimself to be a capable andfearless leader of men. He wasresponsible for capturing a farmon the east side of RiquevalWood, east of Bohain, one fieldgun, two trench mortars, and

nine prisoners. His example andhard work were responsible forgetting his company into positionand enabling the right of thebattalion to push on.”

The Glamorgan Gazette gavedetails of the award as well inits edition for 24th January1919:

“Capt. Thos. Beale, NorthStaffordshire Regiment, son of Mr.and Mrs. David Beale, Wick, hasgained the Military Cross forconspicuous gallantry at theforcing of the main HindenburgLine on the Sambre Canal, and atthe capture of Bellinglise, whichevents are stated by Sir H.S.

The medals of Thomas Beale now in the care of the South Wales Police Heritage Centre

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Rawlinson……commanding theFourth Army, to rank among thefinest and most dashing exploitsof the war. Captain Beale, M.C.,was educated at the Wick andMonknash School, and previousto enlistment was a member ofthe Glamorgan Constabulary,stationed at Porth. His manyfriends at Wick are very proud ofthe honour he has gained, andwish him long life to enjoy it.”

After the war, Thomas returnedto the Glamorgan Constabularybecoming an Inspector before heretired in March 1946. He died on31st August 1948.

EVAN GREYPC 20 / PS 6 NEATH BOROUGH POLICELANCE SERGEANT 1747314TH BATTALIONWELSH REGIMENTSECOND LIEUTENANTROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS


Evan Grey was born on 10thFebruary 1895 in Swansea.

Prior to the First World War heworked in the steel industry. At thecensus of 1911, he, his father,

William, mother, Mary Ann, andyounger brothers, John and Joseph,were living at 47 Penfilia Road inBrynhyfryd, Swansea. Evan’s fatherworked as a steel smelter, whilstEvan was described as a steelworker/engine driver, John was atin works labourer and Joseph wasin school.

After the outbreak of the warEvan joined the 14th (Swansea)Battalion of the Welsh Regiment,the “Swansea Pals”. It formed partof the 38th (Welsh Division) andEvan went to France with it on 2ndDecember 1915. The list of next ofkin of members of the Battalionrefers to Evan (with the initial “G”)as Private 17473 and his next of kinas his mother, M.A. Grey, of 45Penfilia Road.

It’s likely that Evan saw actionwith the Battalion at MametzWood in 1916 and later during theThird Battle of Ypres in 1917. Hewas, in due course, promoted toLance Sergeant and theSupplement to the London Gazettefor 17th April 1918 contained thecitation for the award to him of theDistinguished Conduct Medal:

“17473 L/Sjt. E. Grey, Welsh R.(Swansea)-For conspicuousgallantry and devotion to duty. Inaction he constantly patrolled his

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telephone wires to keep upcommunication, often underheavy fire”

In March 1919 Evan wascommissioned as a TemporarySecond Lieutenant in the RoyalWelsh Fusiliers.

After the war Evan served withthe Swansea Harbour Policebetween April 1922 and June 1923after which he joined the NeathBorough Police as Constable 20later becoming Sergeant 6. It is ofinterest to note that Sergeant 3 ofthe Neath Force was Ernest JamesRollings, who was awarded theMilitary Cross and Bar during thewar, and Sergeant 5 was Arthur

George Ham who received theDistinguished Conduct Medal andMilitary Medal. A brave trio indeedfrom a small force.

Evan became Sergeant 921 inthe Glamorgan Constabulary afterthe Neath Borough forceamalgamated with it in 1947. Evanretired in July 1948 and died on20th March 1961.

The uniform tunic of Evan Grey as Police Sergeant 6, Neath Borough Police.

Now in the care of the South Wales Police Heritage Centre.

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FRANCIS HOWELL HALLCONSTABLE 82 AND 378 GLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYLANCE SERGEANT 11851ST BATTALIONWELSH GUARDS


Francis HowellHall, or “Frank”as he seems tohave beenknown, wasborn in Cardiffin 1892.

He joined theGlamorgan Constabulary in 1912and before the war he wasstationed at Barry Dock.

On 10th April 1915 Frankenlisted in the army and becamePrivate 1185 in the 1st Battalion,Welsh Guards. He went to Francewith the Battalion on 17th August1915 and served with it on theWestern Front for the whole of theremainder of the war.

Soon after its arrival in Francethe Welsh Guards took part in thefierce fighting during the Battle ofLoos in September 1915.

Frank, in a letter quoted in the

Barry Herald of 12th November,gives a vivid account of hisexperiences during the battle:

“Private Frank Hall, of the WelshGuards, formerly a policeconstable stationed at BarryDock, in a letter to the ’BarryHerald’, describes the recentcharge and the great part playedby the Welsh Guards. ‘We came’says Private Hall, ‘along a mainroad for about three miles. Fromthere we came into a blob(artillery) formation on somewaste ground. There was a villagein front of us, and we had to getthrough this village to a hillbeyond and hold it. As soon as wewere on the waste ground wewere under heavy shell fire.Shrapnel and high explosive shellsfell to right and left of us. Nowriter in any paper or book candescribe the experience ofcrossing the waste ground. Wecrossed over all right, and startedto advance through the village.This was bad, for they wereshelling every house, and ‘JackJohnsons’ were coming by thedozens. A couple of my matesand I leant against the wall of ahouse for a ‘breather’ when ahigh explosive shell hit the houseopposite. I did not know where I

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was for a minute, but I went onagain, and eventually reachedour destination, which was heldeasily. Our scouts (of which I amone) had to take some picks andshovels to the first line oftrenches, for our chaps to digthemselves in, as the trencheswere of no use to them. We leftour headquarters, and startedoff. Suddenly the Germans shotup some star shells, and havingspotted us opened machine gunfire on us. This was absolutely‘hellish’ and I made a run andfell behind a tump of grass. I fella bit heavily, and to my surpriseI found I was not alone, for therewas another chap under cover. Iwaited there for a while, to seeif he was going to make a move.As he did not move, I startedpushing him and shouting. I putmy hand out and felt his face: itwas cold. I need say no more.Captain Osmond Williams, whomet his death in action on thefatal 27th September, wasabsolutely loved by every man inthe battalion. He was a grandman, and a gentleman. I knowhe was my superior, but he wasa father to us all, and he is sadlymissed by everyone, and I knowhe will always be remembered

by all. If anyone in Barry wantsto join the army tell them tohurry up, as all the chaps outhere are doing their utmost, andworking really hard. If a lot morewere to join, it would be a greatthing, for it would assist the menin the trenches, give a rest tothe men who have been here along time, and thus help toswamp the beastly Germans. Ifthere is anyone anxious to havea ‘go’ at the Germans join the‘WG’s’ and tell them they wantto go to the firing line. If everyeligible man was out here, andsaw what it meant for dear oldEngland, they would flock herein thousands.’”

Another letter from Frank wasquoted by the Barry Herald on24th December 1915 under theheading “Barry PC’s NarrowEscape”:

“Private Frank Hall, of the 1stBattalion, Welsh Guards,formerly a police constable atBarry Dock, writing from France,relates the circumstances of anarrow escape which he hadrecently. ‘I had my rifle to myshoulder’, he writes, ‘and hadmy sight dead on a German. Ifired and hit him, but I had no

25


sooner fired than I had a bulletback. It hit the foresight of myrifle and burst the barrel, so Ifinished my work as a sniper forthat day, and I can assure youthat I had such a scare that Iwas not sorry to finish. But ‘All’swell that ends well,’ and I amstill in the land of the living.’”

On 3rd September 1919, theSupplement to the London Gazettecontained the citation for theaward to Frank of theDistinguished Conduct Medal:

“He had been in charge of thebattalion observers for the lasteighteen months, and hascontinually displayed thegreatest courage and devotion toduty. His services have been ofthe greatest use on manyoccasions, notably while thebattalion was in the Boyellessector in April and May, 1918,when he was able to givewarning of the enemy massing,which he observed under shellfire.”

Frank returned to Britain inJanuary 1919 prior to dischargefrom the army. He later resumedhis police duties.

ARTHUR GEORGE HAMCONSTABLE 30 ANDSERGEANT 5 NEATH BOROUGH POLICESERGEANT 1663 1ST BATTALIONWELSH GUARDS

DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL ANDMILITARY MEDAL

Arthur was born in East Brent inSomerset in 1894.

During the First World War heserved with the 1st Battalion,Welsh Guards, initially as Private1663 but was, in due course,promoted to Sergeant. He joinedthe army on 11th June 1915 andwent to France on 4th November1915.

Arthur was twice recognisedfor his bravery.

The Supplement to the LondonGazette of 28th March 1918contained the following citationfor the award to him of theDistinguished Conduct Medal:

“For conspicuous gallantry anddevotion to duty in an attack.He rushed his Lewis gun forwardunder heavy fire and engagedsome enemy machine gunswhich were giving trouble. Onreaching the enemy’s trench he

26


got a captured machine gun intoaction against the enemy andwas of the greatest assistance inorganising machine-gun teamsand getting the guns into action.His cheerfulness and couragewere a splendid example to all.”

In addition Arthur wasawarded the Military Medal forbravery as confirmed by theSupplement to the London Gazetteof 25th April 1918 althoughnothing further is known of theaction which gave rise to it.

According to Army records,Arthur was discharged on 17thSeptember 1919 but immediatelyre-enlisted on the following dayand continued to serve until 3rdMarch 1921.

After leaving the army Arthurjoined the police initially servingwith the Glamorgan Constabularyfrom May 1921 to November1922. Presumably as a result ofboundary changes, he thentransferred to the Neath BoroughPolice as PC 30 later becomingSergeant 5.

The Chief Constable stated inhis General Order of 30thSeptember 1937, that theBorough Watch Committee hadnoted a case in which Arthur hadbeen involved when a man hadobtained money by deception

from the Briton Ferry Ironworks:

“At the Police Court held at theGwyn Hall on 2nd September ……. the Chairman of the Benchaddressing PC Ham at theconclusion of the case stated onbehalf of the Justices theydesired to compliment him uponthe very capable manner inwhich he had acted in the casewhich resulted in the prisonerbeing brought before them.”

Arthur died in Neath in 1974aged 80.

HENRY JAMESNORMANPC 631 GLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYLANCE SERGEANT 151113RD BATTALIONGRENADIER GUARDS


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Henry James, “Harry”, Normanwas born in 1895 in Cardiff.

He joined the GrenadierGuards in February 1911 and waswith them at the Guards Depot atCaterham in Surrey at the time ofthat year’s census.

In February 1914 he left thearmy and joined the GlamorganConstabulary. However, he servedas a policeman for only a relativelyshort time since, as a reservist, hewas re-called to the colours onthe outbreak of war on 4th August1914.

He went to war with the 1stBattalion, Grenadier Guards,which then formed part of the20th Infantry Brigade of the 7thDivision, and landed with them atZeebrugge in Belgium on 6th/7thOctober 1914. The 1st Battaliontransferred to the 3rd GuardsBrigade in the Guards Division inAugust 1915 and served with it forthe remainder of the war.

At some stage Harrytransferred to the 3rd Battalion ofthe Grenadier Guards which hadlanded in France at Le Havre inJuly 1915 and in August of thatyear became part of 2nd GuardsBrigade in the newly formedGuards Division.

It was on 4th November 1918,just a week before the Armistice,that the 3rd Battalion wasinvolved in the advance of the 2ndGuards Brigade in the area of LeQuesnoy near Valenciennes inNorthern France. The History ofthe Guards Division in the GreatWar describes the scene:

“The 3rd Bn. Grenadier Guards,which had crossed the Rhonelleby means of a single plankbridge under heavy hostile shellfire, then came up and, passingthrough the Coldstream,continued the advance in touchwith the 2nd Bn. GrenadierGuards on the front of the 1stGuards Brigade. The area overwhich they were attacking wasmuch enclosed and theGrenadiers were hampered intheir advance by the enemy’smachine gun defence for whichthe country was admirablyadapted. They succeeded,however, in driving the Germansout of Preux-au-Sart, wheresome prisoners were taken, and,by 4pm, their leading companieshad reached the vicinity ofGommegnies. Here the progressof the battalion was temporarilychecked by the fire of hostilemachine guns posted in thehouses in the village; but touch

28


was well maintained with thetroops on either flank, and, assoon as it became dusk, moreground was gained.”

It was during this action thatHarry displayed the couragewhich resulted in the award tohim of the Distinguished ConductMedal. The citation for it did notappear in the Supplement to theLondon Gazette until 25thFebruary1920 and reads asfollows:

“For conspicuous gallantry atPreux-au-Sart on 4th November,1918. Although wounded heremained in command of hisplatoon until the end of the day.He led a strong patrol, whichcaptured four field guns underheavy machine gun fire, andsubsequently manoeuvred hisplatoon up to a field gun, whichwas shooting at short range,killed some of the gunners andcapturing the gun.”

The Penarth Times of 8th May1919 had already reported on theaward:

“Inspector John Davies is nodoubt proud, and pardonably so,of the fact that he has twoconstables under his charge whohave been awarded theDistinguished Conduct Medal.

One of them is Constable HarryNorman, who served in theGrenadier Guards. He wascalled up at the outbreak of waras a Reservist, and was one ofthe first lot to go to France,arriving there in October 1914with the famous 7th Division,who set up such a remarkabledefence in the first battle ofYpres, thus preventing theGermans reaching Calais.Norman was wounded on fouroccasions, but was in at thefinish. He has since beendemobilised and has returned totake up duties at Penarth, whichhe left on joining up. PC Normanis a well-known footballer,having played for Penarth andCanton.”

After his discharge from thearmy Harry re-joined theGlamorgan Constabulary inJanuary 1919 and, as mentioned inthe newspaper report, heresumed duty at Penarth. He waslater promoted to sergeant andserved for several years inAberdare before retiring in August1945. He died in November 1959aged 64.

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EDMUND FLAHERTYPC 118 GLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYCORPORAL 1794314TH BATTALION WELSHREGIMENTLANCE CORPORAL 29820KING’S SHROPSHIRE LIGHTINFANTRY

MILITARY MEDAL

Edmund wasborn in 1885in Penarth. He joined theGlamorganConstabularyin 1910 and at

the commencement of the FirstWorld War he was stationed atClydach in the Swansea Valley.

Edmund enlisted in the armyon 23rd November 1914 asPrivate 17943 and joined the 14thBattalion of the Welsh Regiment,the “Swansea Pals”. He went withthe Battalion, as part of the 38th(Welsh) Division, to France inDecember 1915, having by thenbeen promoted to Corporal.

He served with the Battalionuntil October 1916 (and wouldpresumably have fought with itduring the Battle of Mametz

Wood in July 1916), when he washospitalised suffering from trenchfever which led to him beingevacuated to England fromBoulogne on the hospital ship St. David in November.

He returned to France inMarch 1917 and subsequently sawservice on attachment to theDrake Battalion of the 63rd (RoyalNaval) Division before beingtransferred to the 10th Battalionof the King’s Shropshire LightInfantry in August 1918 as Private29820, later becoming a LanceCorporal.

It was during his service withthe 10th Battalion that Edmundwas awarded the Military Medalfor bravery as confirmed in theSupplement to the London Gazettepublished on 20th October 1919.

He was demobilised from thearmy in January 1919 andreturned to police duties.

The local newspaper for theSwansea Valley-Llais Llafur (LabourVoice) - referred to Edmund’swartime service, and that of otherClydach policemen, in its article of22nd February 1919:

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“Clydach may feel justly proud ofthe military record of its policeforce. The six police constablesstationed in the neighbourhoodat the outbreak of war andduring hostilities heard the callto arms, and volunteered foractive service. Police constablesEdmund Flaherty and Lyonsenlisted in the SwanseaBattalion of the WelshRegiment; Police constablesWilliam Rees, G. Davies andDavid Griffiths soon followed byjoining the Welsh Guards, andsome time later Police constableWilliam Morgan Davies enlistedin the Royal Garrison Artillery.They took part in some hard andheavy fighting on the battlefieldsof France and Flanders. LanceCorporal G. Davies and Ptes. W.Rees and D. Griffiths were eitherwounded or gassed, and weresubsequently discharged as unfitfor further military service, andGunner W.M. Davies was alsogassed. Pte Lyons has sinceattained to rank of CompanySergt. Major, while Corpl.Flaherty was demobilised a weekor two ago. The fine record ofthe force is further enhanced bythe fact that Corpl. EdmundFlaherty was awarded the

Military Medal for conspicuousservice on the Somme inSeptember, 1918. Valley peoplewarmly congratulate him uponthis distinction. Enlisting in theSwansea Battalion, October1914, Corpl. Flaherty was in duecourse drafted out to France,where he was transferred to theDrake battalion of the RoyalNaval Division and later wastransferred again to theShropshire Regiment. Of Irishextraction, he is a native ofPenarth, and it is interesting tounderstand that he was one ofthree brothers who served withthe colours, two of whom wereawarded the Military Medalwhile the other was severelywounded. Since their dischargeand demobilisation, Policeconstables William Rees, GriffithDavies, David Griffiths andEdmund Flaherty have allresumed their police duties atClydach, where they are verypopular and held in warm regardby the people.”

In due course, Edmund retiredfrom the police and died in 1951aged 65.

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EDWIN GEORGE PASKPC 208/762 GLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYSERGEANT 241490LIEUTENANT, 5TH BATTALIONWELSH REGIMENT

MILITARY MEDAL

Edwin wasborn in 1891in Treherbertin theRhondda. Hehad militaryexperiencebefore the

First World War since he enlistedin the South Wales Borderers inJanuary 1908 and was stationed asa Lance Corporal with its 2ndBattalion at Artillery Barracks inPretoria, South Africa, at the timeof the census of 1911.

In November of that year hebought himself out of the armybut obtained permission tocontinue to live in South Africa.

After the outbreak of the FirstWorld War he saw service asSergeant 286 with the Natal LightHorse which had been formed inAugust 1914 and was engaged incountering a rebellion by Boers insupport of Germany and in actions against German Forces in

South West Africa before it wasdisbanded in 1915.

It seems that Edwin thenreturned to Britain and joined theGlamorgan Constabulary in 1915.

At some stage he re-joined thearmy becoming in due coursesergeant 241490 in the 5thBattalion of the Welsh Regiment.The Battalion had been part of thepre-war Territorial Force and inAugust 1915 landed at Gallipoli aspart of the 53rd (Welsh) Division.It then continued to serve in theGallipoli campaign until December1915 before serving in Egypt andPalestine until the end of the war.

Whilst serving with the 5thBattalion, Edwin was awarded theMilitary Medal for bravery asconfirmed by the list whichappeared in the Supplement tothe London Gazette for 19thMarch 1918. There is no furtherinformation as to the backgroundto the award. However, as Armyrecords indicate that Edwin wascommissioned as an officer in the5th Battalion on 26th November1917, it may have been that it wasfor his actions in Palestine.

Edwin returned to policeservice after the war beforeretiring. He died in 1965 aged 74.


25TH MARCH

PC 51 JOHN POPEGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYSERGEANT 1809713TH BATTALIONGLOUCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT

John was bornon 22ndAugust 1888in the villageof Long Suttonin Somerset.His father, alsocalled John,

was an agricultural labourer whilsthis mother was Mary Ann. Theytoo had been born in Long Sutton.John was baptised in the ParishChurch of Holy Trinity on 2ndJune 1890.

The census of 1891 recordsthe family as living in Sutton Streetin Long Sutton. In addition to Johnand his parents, also there werehis brothers Francis, aged 19, ageneral labourer, Arthur, aged 15,an agricultural labourer, and hissisters Alice, aged 13, a glovemaker, and Louisa and Gertrude,aged 10 and 3 respectively.

By the census of 1901, thefamily had moved to New Streetin Long Sutton. John’s father hadby then died and his widowed

mother had taken up employmentas a “washer woman”. John, then12, was employed as anagricultural labourer whilst theonly other member of thehousehold was his younger sister,Bessy, who had been born in1894.

On 12th December 1908 Johnjoined the GlamorganConstabulary and was stationed atvarious times at Senghenydd,Bargoed and Pontlottyn in theRhymney Valley.

At the time of the census of1911 he is shown, along with alarge number of other policemen,as stationed in Barry Dock. This islikely to have been in connectionwith industrial unrest at the docksin the town at that time.

In January 1915 John left thepolice force and enlisted with the13th (Forest of Dean) Battalion ofthe Gloucestershire Regiment atCinderford. Not long afterwards,on Saturday 29th May 1915, Johnwas married to Lily May Tucker ofBethel House, Pontlottyn at theChurch of St Tyfaelog in thevillage, the vicar, the ReverendGilbert Williams, officiating.

The 13th Battalion was apioneer battalion, that is to say its’

1918 ROLL OF HONOUR

32

33


role was to provide men inmaking and mending roads,digging trenches, constructingstrong points and so on and theyalso acted as additional infantry ifthe need arose. They oftenworked in conjunction with theRoyal Engineers.

The Battalion had been raisedby a local MP shortly after theoutbreak of war and, after aperiod of training, it went toFrance in March 1916 as thepioneer battalion attached to the39th Division. During thesubsequent years of the war theBattalion saw a great deal ofaction including the Battle of theSomme in 1916 and the Battle ofPasschendaele in 1917.

In late March 1918 theGerman Army launched its Spring Offensive which, initially,achieved great success in drivingback Allied forces. On 21st Marchthe Germans attacked near thetown of St Quentin where theywere opposed by the British FifthArmy. Fighting was desperate andall available British troops,including the 13th Gloucesterswere thrown into the Battle. It’slikely that it was during thisfighting that, on 25th March, Johnwas killed in action. He was 29years of age.

Sadly John has no known gravebut is remembered on theCommonwealth War GravesCommission Memorial at Poziereswhich is a village 6km north eastof the town of Albert.

The Memorial records thenames of over 14,000 casualties ofthe British and South Africanforces who died in the Sommearea between 21st March and 7thAugust 1918 and who, like John,have no known grave.

John is also remembered onthe war memorial at Pontlottyn,on a panel in the church in whichhe was married, St Tyfaelog, onthe war memorial outside HolyTrinity Church in Long Suttonwhere he was baptised, and onthe Glamorgan Police WarMemorial at Police Headquartersin Bridgend.

A South Wales Police cross at thePozieres Memorial remembers John Pope

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26TH MARCH

PC 732 WILLIAMHENRY RADBOURNEGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYLANCE CORPORAL 196013RD BATTALIONCOLDSTREAM GUARDS

William wasoriginally fromSurrey havingbeen born atOutwood, avillage nearRedhill, in

December 1894. His father,Henry Thomas Radbourne, was ablacksmith and was from Baydonin Wiltshire whilst his mother,Emily, had been born in Chieveley,Berkshire.

At the time of the census of1901, the family was living inOutwood and the householdincluded, along with William andhis parents, his younger brother,Ernest, and his cousin, AlfredHamblin.

At the census of 1911 thefamily’s address is given as BeachCottage, Outwood and in additionto William, his parents, andErnest, it now included William’sbrother Brice Edward, then aged

9, and his sister, Elsie Emily, thenaged 5. William was by then 16years of age and employed as agrocer’s assistant.

In 1914 William joined theGlamorgan Constabulary and wasstationed at Llandaff, Cardiff,before he enlisted in the army on9th December 1915.

He joined the ColdstreamGuards and, after a period ofservice in Britain, went to theRegiment’s 3rd Battalion in Franceon 24th May 1917. On 12thDecember that year he waspromoted to Lance Corporal.

As has been mentioned earlierin relation to PC John Pope,March 1918 saw the launch of amajor offensive by German forces.At that time William’s battalionwas part of 4th Guards Brigadewithin 31st Division and it’s likelythat it was during the fiercefighting during that period whenthe Division was in action in thearea around Bapaume and StQuentin, that William receivedwounds from which he died at the9th Field Ambulance on 26thMarch. He was 23 years of age.

A report on William’s deathappeared in a local newspaper:

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“Much sympathy has been feltfor Mr. and Mrs. Radbourne….in the sad death of their eldestson, Lance-Corpl, W.H.Radbourne, Coldstream Guards,who died on March 26th fromwounds received in action.Lance-Corpl. Radbourne, beforejoing His Majesty’s Forces…..was a member of theGlamorgan Constabulary,stationed at Llandaff, where hewas much respected, and wheremuch sympathy has beenexpressed towards his bereavedparents, including the followingletter from the Chief Constable:‘Dear Mrs. Radbourne. I amindeed grieved to hear of yourson’s death. On the day that thefirst contingent of woundedsoldiers arrived at LlandaffHospital your boy stoodwatching me as I spoke to them,and at that moment he made uphis mind that he too would goand fight for his country, and heleft the force to do so thefollowing day. I could only wishhim luck and God speed.Sympathising with you in yourgreat misfortune- Believe me,yours sincerely, Lionel Lindsay,Chief Constable.’”

On 6th April 1918 a notice as

to William’s death appeared in theWestern Mail which stated that hewas “deeply mourned by hissorrowing friends and fiancee, LauraGreatrex.”

In the same edition of theWestern Mail the notices columnreferred to the death of the ChiefConstable’s nephew, MajorClaude Frederick Thomas Lindsay.Fuller details were contained inthe following report in the samenewspaper under the heading“Glamorgan Family’s Heavy Loss”:

“Widespread sympathy will beextended to Col. H.E. MorganLindsay, C.B., and Mrs. Lindsay,of Ystradmynach,Glamorgan, inthe heavy toll which the war hasextracted from their family. Theloss of three officer-sons in thecourse of the last nine monthshas reduced the male issue inthe family to one son, a boy ofsix years old. Following the newson Tuesday that Lieut. ArchibaldT.T. Lindsay, of the RoyalEngineers, one of the sons, hadbeen killed in action in France,another telegram was receivedon Thursday that his elderbrother, Major Claude FrederickThomas Lindsay, of the RFA, hadalso made the supreme sacrifice.

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It was only in June of last yearthat the eldest son, Capt.George Lindsay, of the RoyalFlying Corps, was killed on activeservice. All three sons were veryfine types of soldiers andexcellent athletes. They werethe nephews of Lord Tredegarand of Capt. Lionel Lindsay,MVO, Chief Constable ofGlamorgan.”

As for William, he is buried atthe Cabaret-Rouge BritishCemetery which lies just south ofthe town of Souchez, near Arrasin Northern France. Thecemetery derives its name from asmall red bricked and red tiledcafé that stood close to this site

during the early days of the warbefore it was destroyed byshellfire. It contains over 7,650burials of the First World War,over half of which remainunidentified.

William is also remembered onthe Outwood village warmemorial and on the GlamorganPolice War Memorial.

28TH MARCH

EX PC 118 THOMASCHURCHESGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYPRIVATE 40101ST BATTALIONWELSH GUARDS

Thomas wasborn inLlanbradach,nearCaerphilly on14th February1896. His

father was also called Thomas andwas from Meare near Glastonburyin Somerset. His mother, Mary,was born in the United States.

At the time of the census of1901 the family lived inCoedleddyn Row in Caerphilly. Inthe household, with Thomas and

William’s grave

37


his parents, were his olderbrother Herbert, and his oldersister Lilian, together with hisyounger brothers, Percy andWilliam George, and his youngersister, Violet.

By the census of 1911 thefamily had moved to CoedybrainRoad in Llanbradach, nearCaerphilly. Also in the family nowwere Thomas’ brothers Rufus,aged nine, and Kenneth, aged six,and sister Sybil, who was a yearold. Sadly, Thomas’ brother, Percy,had died in January of that yearaged twelve. Thomas, his father,and his brother Herbert, were allcoal miners/hewers.

Thomas joined the GlamorganConstabulary on 20th February1915 and became Constable 118.He was stationed at some stage atPentre in the Rhondda.

He resigned from the Force on23rd October 1915 and appearsto have returned to coal miningsince his occupation was stated tobe as a collier when he was calledup for military service on 25thMay 1917 at which time bebecame Private 4010 in the 1stBattalion of the Welsh Guards. Helanded in France on 3rd January1918 and joined the battalion onthe 27th of that month.

It was whilst serving with themthat he was killed in action on28th March 1918 in the area ofBoyelles, near Arras.

German forces had launched amajor offensive in the spring of1918 and the history of the WelshGuards in the First World Warrecords:

“On the night of the 27th thebattalion relieved the 1stBattalion, Grenadier Guards onthe right of the divisional front.The battalion held a front ofsome 2,000 yards with theirright on Boyelles, and at 7am,on the 28th the enemycommenced to bombard thetrenches, and continued doing sowith increased violence until11.30am. Companies on theright of the line reported theenemy massing in Boyelles,which was partly concealed by arise in the ground. TheCommanding Officer put theartillery on to him, and theattack did not develop in thatquarter. On the left, however,the enemy drove back thedivision holding the hill north ofBoiry Becquerelle on to the mainArras-Bapaume Road andproceeded to attack the flank of

38


the Prince of Wales’sCompany.....2/Lieut. E. J. Davieswas killed while repelling thisattack.”

The Battalion’s war diaryrecords that, in addition toLieutenant Davies, 9 other rankswere killed that day, Thomasbeing one of them, and 20 werewounded.

Thomas has no known graveand, along with others from theBattalion, is commemorated inFrance on the Arras Memorial tothe Missing which contains thenames of almost 35,000servicemen from the United

Kingdom, South Africa and NewZealand who died in the Arrassector between the spring of 1916and August 1918. The adjacentcemetery contains some 2650Commonwealth burials of theFirst World War.

Thomas’s name does notappear on the GlamorganConstabulary Roll of Honour orthe War Memorial at PoliceHeadquarters in Bridgendpresumably because he had leftthe police before joining the armyin 1917. Nevertheless, hisinclusion in this booklet willensure that his sacrifice is notforgotten.

The Arras Memorial and Cemetery

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10TH MAY

PC 530 CHARLESLLEWELLYN JAMESGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYLIEUTENANT15TH BATTALIONWELSH REGIMENT

Charles wasthe son ofWilliam andBarbaraJames. Hisfather wasfrom Whitland

in Carmarthenshire whilst hismother was from Cowbridge.

Charles was born in St.Nicholas in the Vale of Glamorganon 17th January 1891. That year’scensus records that the family,which included Charles’ olderbrother, Thomas, then a year old,was living in the police station inthe village since Charles’ fatherwas a sergeant in the GlamorganConstabulary and based there.Two other police officers werelodging in the station at the time-aPC David Jones who was fromCardiganshire and a PC BenjaminJames from Pembrokeshire.

By the census of 1901 Charles’father had been posted to

Ferndale in the Rhondda since thefamily is shown as living in thepolice station there. By then thefamily had grown with theaddition of Charles’ brother,Daniel, then aged 9, and his sister,Gladys, aged 6. Also lodging therewere PC’s H.H. Headen, ReginaldFudge, Edward Ryan and GeorgeEvans. There were also twoprisoners in the cells.

On 3rd January 1910, Charlesfollowed in his father’s footstepsand became a police officer in theGlamorgan Constabulary. He wasemployed as a haulier at the timehe joined.

When the census was takenthe following year Charles was atthe Turberville Hotel in Penygraigin the Rhondda where he waspresumably based, along with anumber of other police officers, inconnection with the policing ofthe industrial disputes which werethen taking place in the collieriesin the area.

At the outbreak of the FirstWorld War, Charles was stationedat Bridgend but resigned from thepolice on 6th November 1914 inorder to enlist in the army whichhe did on 9th November.

Initially he served with a

40


cavalry regiment, 2nd DragoonGuards (The Queen’s Bays) asPrivate GS/5744. He went toFrance on 18th May 1915 aboardthe SS St. Petersburg landing atRouen the following day andjoining his regiment ten days later.It had been on the Western Frontsince August 1914 and had takenpart in the early battles of the warsuch as Mons and Le Cateau.

Charles returned to England inJanuary 1917 having applied tobecome an officer. His applicationwas successful and he was postedto Number 4 Officer CadetBattalion at Oxford before beingcommissioned as an officer on26th June 1917. Charles was thentransferred to the Welsh Regimentas a second Lieutenant.

In May 1918 Charles wasattached to 15th (Carmarthen)Battalion of the Welsh Regimentwhen, on the 10th, the Battaliontogether with elements of the14th (Swansea) Battalion of theregiment were to attack AveluyWood in the Somme area ofNorthern France.

Despite careful preparationsby the infantry commandersinvolved, the attack failed due tothe artillery barrage which was

meant to support the attack,falling short causing a largenumber of casualties andconfusion amongst the attackingtroops.

The 15th Battalion lost 20 menkilled that day, with three moredying of their wounds. Over ahundred men were wounded andtwo were missing. The SwanseaBattalion lost twelve men killedand thirty wounded.

Amongst those killed in actionwas Charles, presumably as aresult of the inaccurate firing bythe British artillery. He wastwenty seven years of age.

The officer in overallcommand of the artilleryconcerned, Brigadier General R.P.Benson, subsequently submitted areport in which he outlined thereasons for the mistakencalculations which had such atragic outcome for Charles and hiscomrades:

“One battery of 18 pdrs whichwas engaged in the creepingbarrage was undoubtedlyshooting short. The reason wasas under:

Some batteries have beensupplied from Ordnance with

41


arcs and rulers which are fixedon to the Battery boards withdrawing pins. The arcs aregraduated into 1/2 degreesdivisions, and there is no furthermark on the arc except that‘1/2’ degrees is marked on theedge. The Major of the batteryin question had fixed the arc onthe board with drawing pins withhandles and the handle of one ofthe pins was folded down overthe ‘1/2’.

On the 9th instant the Major ofthe Battery was relieved by theCaptain, who worked out theswitches for the barrage and, in

error, ordered the preliminarybarrage line ‘So many degrees’left of the Zero point instead of‘So many half degrees’.

The Battery therefore openedfire on a line well in rear of ourfront line and measurementsshew that it would catch thethird wave of the infantry at thetime when the advance to thesecond objective was due.”

And so it was that anincorrectly placed drawing pin ledto so many deaths and injuries.

The Brigadier Generalexpressed his regret at what hadoccurred:

Martinsart British Cemetery

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“Finally, may I, on behalf of thewhole of the Artillery of V Corps,express my deep regret thatmistakes on our part havecaused so many casualties tothe 114th Infantry Brigade, andshould have undoubtedlyprevented them from succeedingin the operation in which theywere engaged. I can assure themthat every step will be taken toprevent a recurrence of suchmistakes and I trust that theywill not lose that confidence inthe support of the Artillerywhich these events mustnaturally have shaken.

I should be grateful ifCommanding Officers couldarrange for NCO’s and men ofthe Brigade should have anopportunity of seeing thisreport.”

Charles was originally buriednear Aveluy Wood, his grave beingmarked by a wooden cross. Hisbody was exhumed in thefollowing year and re-buried atthe Martinsart British Cemeterywhich is some 4km north of thetown of Albert. There are 488casualties of the First World Warburied or commemorated there.The cemetery is unusual in that

the headstones are of redsandstone rather than the moreusual Portland stone.

Commonwealth War GravesCommission records show thatCharles’ father’s address after theend of the war was “Llwyn yr Eos,Pontnewydd, Monmouthshire”and so Charles is remembered onPontnewydd’s war memorial. Heis also remembered on theGlamorgan Police War Memorial.

25TH MAY

PC 558 EDWARD FINDLAYGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYLANCE SERGEANT 436914TH BATTALION,BEDFORDSHIRE REGIMENT

Edward wasborn inSevenoaks inKent in June1887according topolice recordsbut other

records vary showing 1883, 1884and 1885.

It’s clear, however, that hisfather was Andrew Findlay whowas from Fordoun inKincardineshire in Scotland whilst

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his mother, Isabel Shand Findlay,was also Scottish having beenborn in Huntly, Aberdeenshire.

Soldiers Died in the Great Waris a little more specific as toEdward’s place of birth since itstates that it was at “Knole Park”in Sevenoaks. As, according to thecensus of 1901, Andrew Findlayappears at that time to have beenemployed as a gamekeeper, it maybe that when Edward was born hewas working as such on the largeKnole estate with itsaccompanying historic manorhouse.

In 1901 the family was living inAdlestrop in Gloucestershire.Edward, then said to be seventeenyears of age, was also employedas a gamekeeper, whilst hisyounger brother, George, whowas fourteen, was a farmlabourer.

Adlestrop is a small village nearStow-in-the-Wold inGloucestershire. It has aconnection with the First WorldWar as the poet Edward Thomaswrote about it in his poem of thatname:

“Yes. I remember Adlestrop-

The name, because one afternoon

Of heat the express-train drew upthere

Unwontedly. It was late June.

The steam hissed. Someonecleared his throat.

No one left and no one came

On the bare platform. What I saw

Was Adlestrop-only the name

And willows, willow-herb, andgrass,

And meadowsweet, and haycocksdry,

No whit less still and lonely fair

Than the high cloudlets in the sky.

And for that minute a blackbirdsang

Close by, and round him, mistier,

Farther and farther, all the birds

Of Oxfordshire andGloucestershire.”

Sadly, Edward Thomas died farfrom the tranquillity of theAdlestrop of his poem as he waskilled in action on the first day ofthe Battle of Arras in April 1917.

It appears that Edward Findlaymoved from Gloucestershire atsome stage since the census of1911 shows that he was living as a

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lodger at the Post Office atScethrog, Bwlch, near Brecon. Itappears that he was thenemployed as a night watchman ona nearby estate.

Shortly after the outbreak ofthe First World War, Edwardjoined the GlamorganConstabulary on 11th August1914 and was later stationed atAberdare before resigning on 30thApril 1915 to join the army alongwith colleagues as the photographfrom the Aberdare Leader shows.

Records indicate that heserved for a time with the ArmyService Corps with the numberT/4/069991 and the South WalesBorderers as a Corporal number9/275540.

However, in May 1918 he wasserving as Lance Sergeant 43691with the 4th Battalion of theBedfordshire Regiment which waspart of 190th Brigade which, inturn, was part of the 63rd (RoyalNaval) Division.

The latter had been formed inAugust 1914 out of men whowere surplus to the requirementsof the Royal Navy for maritimepurposes. It fought withdistinction throughout the warand took part at Gallipoli and inmajor battles on the WesternFront.

In May 1918, Edward’sbattalion was at Forceville in thearea of the Somme. On 20th Mayanother Glamorgan policemanjoined the battalion whenLieutenant Colonel FrederickWilliam (“Fred”) Smith, formerlyan Inspector at Bridgend, assumedcommand of it. He had previouslycommanded the 16th (CardiffCity) Battalion of the WelshRegiment and full details regarding

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him can be found in our bookletfor 1917.

The Battalion’s War Diaryrecords that on 24th May itcarried out a raid on the enemy’sline. The entry for the followingday, 25th, gives details ofcasualties, possibly as a result ofthe raid. Several officers werekilled, wounded or missing whilstsix other ranks were killed, elevenwere missing, thirty one wounded

and one gassed. It’s assumed thatEdward was one of those killed ormissing since records show thathe was killed in action on 25thMay.

Edward has no known graveand, like his colleague from theGlamorgan Police, PC John Pope,he is commemorated on thePozieres Memorial. Edward is alsoremembered on the GlamorganPolice War Memorial.

The Pozieres Memorial

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11TH JUNE

PC 223 GEORGEWILFRED LLOYDGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYGUNNER 180347ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY

George wasborn on 26thOctober 1894in the smallRadnorshirevillage ofGlascwm, theson of James

Owen Lloyd and his wife, Mary(nee Jones), both of whom werefrom Radnorshire his father havingbeen born at Llanbister and hismother in Betws.

At the census of 1901 Georgewas living in Cwmshepherd nearBuilth Wells. His father was afarmer and in the household,along with George and hisparents, were his older brother,John, then aged 13, and hisyounger brother, Charles, thenless than a year old. His aunt, hismother’s sister, Jane Jones, whowas a domestic waitress, was alsowith the family.

By the census of 1911 Georgehad left home and was living witha farmer, David Griffiths, and his

family, at Battle End near Brecon.George, then aged 16, wasemployed as a cowman on thefarm.

George joined the GlamorganConstabulary on 21st August1915, his employment at the timebeing described in police recordsas a haulier. He was serving atMountain Ash when on 31stAugust 1917, he left the policeforce to join the army.

George served with the RoyalGarrison Artillery, which operatedthe heavy guns in support of thearmy, but according toCommonwealth War GravesCommission records he wasattached to the Royal FieldArtillery when he was killed inaction in France on 11th June1918. He was twenty three yearsof age and left a widow, Elizabeth.

Local newspapers reported onhis death. The Brecon and RadnorExpress of 25th July 1918 said thathe was:

“….the third son of Mrs. Lloyd,Cilgarennydd, Pont Faen.Previous to enlistment he wasstationed as a constable atMountain Ash, where he leavesa young widow and a wide circle

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Houchin British Cemetery

of relatives and friends to mournthe loss of a most faithfulhusband and an upright andtrustworthy friend. Muchheartfelt sympathy is expressedwith the young Mrs. Lloyd, andalso the mother at Cilgarennyddin the loss of a good son.”

The Western Mail of 26thOctober 1918 reported thatGeorge had been killed “…somewhere near Bethune, by ashell bursting on his dugout.”

George is buried at theHouchin British Cemetery which

is 5km south of Bethune inNorthern France. The cemeterycontains 700 Commonwealthburials of the First World War.

The inscription on George’sgrave reads:

“In Silent Loving RemembranceWe Deeply MournGod’s Will Be Done”George is also remembered

on the Glamorgan Police WarMemorial.

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4TH JULY

PC 257 ALBERT JOHN CHANNINGGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYCORPORAL 82346124TH FIELD COMPANYROYAL ENGINEERS

Born inGrangetownin Cardiff on4th June 1895,Albert was theson of Johnand ElizabethChanning. His

father was from Upton Pyne inDevon and his mother was fromOtterton in the same county.

Albert was baptised at St Paul’sChurch in Grangetown on 18thJuly 1895 when the family wasliving in Llanmaes Street,Grangetown. At that time hisfather was employed as a gasstoker.

By the time of the census of1901 the family had moved to livein Devon Place in Canton, Cardiff.Albert’s father was then describedas employed as a coal trimmer. Inaddition to Albert also at homewas his sister, Eliza, then aged 8.

Sometime afterwards thefamily moved to live in Cora

Street in the nearby town of Barrywhere Albert attended the HoltonRoad School.

By the census of 1911 thefamily had moved the shortdistance from Cora Street toMorel Street in Barry. At that timeAlbert’s father was working for acoal exporter whilst Alberthimself, then 15 years of age, hadobtained employment as anapprentice gas fitter and plumberin the Barry Docks.

However, on 15th August1914, just after Britain haddeclared war on Germany, Albertjoined the GlamorganConstabulary and was laterstationed at Penrhiwceiber in theCynon Valley. Albert served as aconstable until he left the Forceon 5th March 1915 to enlist in thearmy.

He joined the Royal Engineers,initially as a Sapper, and servedwith 124th Field Company whichwas attached to the 38th (Welsh)Division. Albert went to Francewith the Division in December1915. Albert’s unit remained withthe Division throughout the warproviding it with engineeringsupport such as building defensivepositions, bridges and so on.

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Albert was promoted, eventuallybecoming an Acting Sergeant.

The soldiers who served onthe front line during the FirstWorld War faced many hardshipsand dangers. One aspect whichwas a constant source of miseryand irritation was the infestationsof lice. However, they didn’tdampen the mens’ sense ofhumour as can be seen from apoem entitled “Pilgrims of theNight” which was published by theBarry Dock News on 13th April1917. It had been written by menserving in the Royal Engineers andhad been sent back home byAlbert. Here are the first fourverses:

“When you take King George’s shilling,

And express yourself as willing,

To come out and fight the Hun,

Then your troubles have begun,

For you also have to fight,

With the pilgrims of the night.

There are many things out here,

That you don’t quite like, I fear,

Against which you must contend,

While your country you defend,

But the thing to make you grouse,

Is that aggravating louse.

When you’re going off to sleep,

They are forming up two deep,

When you’re in the land of nod,

They are forming up in squad,

And you’ll find it most annoying,

When the section start deploying.

We don’t mind the German’s boasts,

We don’t mind the German’s hosts,

We can always play our cards,

When we meet the Prussian Guards,

But it’s fit to turn you barmy,

Wiping out this lousy army.”

During June and July 1918 theWelsh Division was in the Sommearea to which the fighting hadreturned during the closing stagesof the War. It was around this timethat Albert contracted pneumoniafrom which he died at Number 3Casualty Clearing Station on 4thJuly 1918, aged 23. The BarryHerald of 12th July reported thathe had been enagaged to bemaried to a woman from Barry.

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The Barry Dock News of 19thJuly 1918 carried the folowingnotice:

“CHANNING-Mr and Mrs J.Channing and Daughter wish tothank all friends for their kindletters and expressions ofsympathy shown them in the sadloss of their son, SergeantChanning, R.E., France.”

Albert is buried at the BagneuxBritish Cemetery at Gezaincourtnear Doullens in Northern France.Number 3 Casualty ClearingStation was based in Gezaincourt

between April and September1918. There are 1374 servicemenfrom the First World War buriedor commemorated in thecemetery.

On Albert’s grave is theinscription:

“His battle o’erand victory won.RIP. From Mamand Dad.”Albert is also commemorated

on the Glamorgan Police WarMemorial.

Bagneux British Cemetery

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18TH JULY

PC 616 EDWARD SHUREYGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYLIEUTENANT16TH BATTALIONWELSH REGIMENT

Edward wasborn on 16thSeptember1891 atYstrad,Rhondda, theson of Harryand Charlotte

Shurey. His father, a coal miner,was from Portsmouth whilst hismother, nee Evans, wasoriginally fromCardiganshire.Edward wasbaptised in theParish ofYstradyfodwg,Rhondda, on 17thNovember 1892.

At the censusof 1901 thefamily was livingat 15 WilliamStreet, Ystrad,when thehouseholdconsisted of

Edward and his parents, hisyounger brother, Harry, then agedseven, and an Albert Stark whowas a twenty six year old coalhewer from Devon, who waslodging with the family.

By the census of 1911 thefamily had moved the shortdistance to 17 William Street,Ystrad. Edward, now nineteenyears of age was, like his fatherand his brother, Harry, employedin a local colliery as a coalminer/hewer. The family also thenconsisted of Edward’s brother,Herbert, then aged four, his sister,Ivy, a baby, and eleven year oldMargaret Ann Foreman who had

been adopted.

Later in 1911Edward left coalmining and joinedthe GlamorganConstabulary. Hewas stationed atWhitchurch inCardiff and theCambria DailyLeader of 13thApril 1914referred to a caseinvolving him andanother officer:

Harry and Charlotte Shurey with Edward as a baby

52


“Mr. Turnbull, of Heath House,near Cardiff, was aroused onemorning by wild ringing of thebells at the front and rear of hisresidence, and by pebbles beingthrown at the windows. Lookingout he saw a man, who, it wasevident by his action anddemeanour, was beside himself.Consequently, Mr. Turnbull,telephoned to the City andCounty Police.

P.C. Hutchings and P.C. Shurey,of Whitchurch, were the first onthe scene, and after a searchthey found the man on theCardiff side of the Heath Wood,accompanied by a blackretriever dog, which he hadloosened from the chain when atthe Heath House.

When approached he seemedvery wild and excited, and struckout at P.C. Shurey. Bothconstables closed with him, andafter a severe strugglesucceeded in handcuffing theman. Ascertaining that the manresided with his parents in theCathays district, the City Police

took him to hishome, andsummoned Dr. C.C.Sheppard, who, afteran examination,pronounced the manto be of unsoundmind.

He is suffering from amania of a religiouscharacter.”

Edward on the right as a young constable with his father in the centre

Edward on the far leftwith police colleagues

53


On 27th November 1914Edward enlisted in the army atCardiff joining the 16th (CardiffCity) Battalion of the WelshRegiment as Private 23091.

He was one of a number ofGlamorgan policemen who joinedthe 16th Battalion and is includedin this photograph whichappeared in the Western Mail of30th November 1914. It’s possiblethat it was taken outside theCardiff Labour Exchange, whichoperated as a recruiting office, onthe day that Edward went thereto join up.

It’s clear that Edward washighly regarded since he wasquickly promoted to corporal on1st December 1914 and then tosergeant on 1st January 1915before becoming a commissionedofficer with effect from 31stMarch 1915 as a SecondLieutenant. He was subsequentlypromoted to TemporaryLieutenant.

Edward joined the Cardiff CityBattalion in France in April 1916and within a few weeks, on 5thMay, he was seriously wounded inan accident when a rifle grenade

In uniform Captain Frank Gaskell, who was to be the first commanding officer of theCardiff City Battalion, and Sergeant Davies of the Battalion, along with Glamorganpolicemen from left to right: P.C.’s Gammon, Keyes, Shurey, Williams and Furlong

54


exploded prematurely during atraining exercise. Eight othersoldiers were also injured. TheBattalion was at the time, as partof the 38th (Welsh) Division, inthe area of La Gorgue nearArmentieres.

The History of the WelshRegiment in the First World Wardescribes the hazardous nature of training with rifle grenades and bombs:

“… at intervals when theBattalions were not in thefront trenches, instruction inbombing and the use of riflegrenades was given, therebeing a Brigade bombinginstructor, as well as oneofficer and two sergeants ineach Battalion.

The standard aimed at wasthat every man should throwtwo live bombs, that 128men per Battalion should beexpert bombers, while 384men should have thrown atleast ten live bombs. Duemainly to mechanicaldefects, and perhapsoccasionally to carelesness,accidents were notinfrequent...”

The history then lists twoofficers and two men from theRegiment who lost their livesduring such practice and fiveofficers and sixteen men whowere wounded at different times,the latter including Edward and

Edward on the left as asergeant after joining the army

55


Major (later Lieutenant Colonel)Fred Smith of the GlamorganConstabulary who was to becomecommanding officer of the CardiffCity Battalion, after LieutenantColonel Frank Gaskell was fatallywounded by enemy action lessthan two weeks after the incidentinvolving Edward.

Following the incident on 5thMay, Edward was evacuated toEngland on the hospital shipAsturias. He appears to have spentsome time recuperating from hiswounds and didn’t return to activeservice on the Western Front.Instead, he was posted to KinmelPark Camp in North Wales wherehe joined the 21st (Reserve)Battalion, of the Welsh Regiment.This later underwent severalchanges of title becomingsuccessively the 61st TrainingReserve Battalion, the 221st(Graduated) Infantry Battalion,and finally the 52nd (Graduated)Battalion of the CheshireRegiment.

In 1917 Edward marriedFlorence Mary Pritchard at St.Asaph in Denbighshire and laterthat year, their son, Kenyon, wasborn.

Edward was engaged on

instructing duties with the reserveor training battalion mentionedabove and was posted with it toIreland. Inititially it was sent toGalway but by 1918 it was basedat the Curragh Military Camp nearDublin.

On 17th July 1918 Edward wasthe officer responsible for givinginstruction to a group of soldierson the use of rifle grenades.During that morning several of thegrenades had failed to detonateand had to be destroyed. Similarlythere were “duds” during theafternoon firing session.

After the training hadconcluded Edward went forwardto look for the unexplodedgrenades when suddenly one ofthem exploded causing seriousinjuries to his hands and chest. Amedical orderly and an ambulancewere quickly on the scene andEdward was immediately taken tothe military hospital at theCurragh Camp where, sadly, hedied of his injuries on thefollowing day, 18th July.

Edward’s father received thefollowing letter of condolencefrom Captain Lionel Lindsay, Chief Constable of Glamorgan:

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Chief Constable’s Office

Canton, Cardiff

22nd July 1918

My dear Mr Shurey

I am indeed grieved to hear of your gallant boy’s death.

He had often assured me that he would return to the “Force”

after the war.

If he had been spared to do this he would of course have

risen to a good position and it is indeed a bitter

disappointment to me not to have a chance of doing what

little I could to show what we who stayed at home felt

towards those brave hearts who were the first to go out and

fight for their country.

Your son was such a sportsman and a gentleman. At the

boxing competition which he only entered for at the last

moment, to fill a vacancy, every one said that his fight

with our Sailor Policeman “Light” was the best event of the

evening. Hard hitting whilst showing the best of feeling.

This was the spirit that enabled our practically untrained

boys to stand up to the finest army the world had ever seen

and take down their record.

Well Mr Shurey great as your grief is your intense pride in

your dead boy will day by day more and more help you to

bear it.

Hoping to meet you before long and in deepest sympathy with

you and yours.

Believe me

Yours faithfully

Lionel Lindsay

Chief Constable

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Edward is buried in theCurragh Military Cemetery whichcontains 103 Commonwealthburials of the First World War.The inscription on his grave reads:

“In memory ofLieut E Shurey The Welsh Regtwho died 18th July1918 This stonewas erected by hisbrother officers”He is also commemorated on

a number of memorials includingthose at Whitchurch in Cardiff, StStephen’s Church, YstradRhondda, the North WalesMemorial at Bangor and on theGlamorgan Police War Memorial.

Edward’s widow and son livedin Leamington Spa after the war.The Leamington Spa Couriercontained the following notice on16th July 1920:

“SHUREY-In sacred and sweetmemory to you my belovedhusband, Lieut. Edward Shurey,died 18th July 1917 (sic). Neverforgotten. Always in my thoughtsmy beloved. Loving wife Flo andlittle son.”

The same newspaper had thefollowing notice in its edition for17th July 1925:

“SHUREY-In sacred memory ofmy beloved husband, Lieut.Edward Shurey, who died ofwounds July 17th (sic) 1918.The choicest pearl from mystring has gone. Loved by hisdear wife, and son Kenyon.”

21ST JULY

PC 696 SIDNEYWALTER WILLIAMSGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYGUNNER 180347ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY

Sidney was born in Magor nearNewport, Monmouthshire in1895, the son of Thomas andMary Williams. His father had alsobeen born in Magor whilst hismother was from Caldicot.

At the time of the census of1901 the family was living atCastle Coch Cottage in Magor.The household consisted ofSidney, his parents, his sisters,Florence aged 16, and Emily aged10, together with his brothersReginald, aged 12, and Frank, aged8. His father’s occupation is givenas “haycutter”.

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Sidney joined the GlamorganConstabulary in 1915 and servedat Ton Pentre in the Rhonddabefore leaving to enlist in the armyat Pentre becoming a gunner inthe Royal Garrison Artillery.

It was whilst he was servingwith the 326th Siege Battery inFrance that he died of wounds on21st July 1918 at the 73rd FieldAmbulance. He was 22 years ofage.

On 8th August 1918 theWestern Mail published a poem inhis memory an extract of which isgiven below:

“THE CHORISTER’S ‘LAST POST’(In memory of Sidney Walter Williams. RGA,Magor, August 4, 1918)

The sun poured light in from the flaming West

Upon the humble worshippers of God

Who came to bow before His chastening rod

And render thanks for blessings manifest

And when the service done of praise and prayer

Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery, British Extension

59


Ere yet the priest the Blessing did bestow

The organ peeled forth chords, first sad and low.

Of thrilling requiem with appeal so rare

A singer of this white robed country choir

Had served his King ‘neath friendly alien skies

And rendered up his soul on War’s grim pyre,

Lit to serve one Monarch’s lust and lies

Strange that a shot on France’s battle-plains

Re-echoes here…………..

LEWIS DAVIES”

Sidney is buried in the Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery,British Extension, some 20 kmnorth of Arras. It contains 803Commonwealth burials andcommemorations from the FirstWorld War. 141 of the burials areunidentified.

Sidney is also commemoratedon the Magor War Memorial andon the Glamorgan Police WarMemorial.

4TH SEPTEMBER

PC 52 RICHARDWILLIAM BROWNGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYSERGEANT 4910617TH BATTALIONROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS

Richard was born in 1889(although his police record giveshis date of birth as 26thNovember 1888) in Newport,Monmouthshire, the son of JohnBrown and his wife, Ann (neeWatkins). His father was a shoemaker from London whilst hismother had been born inAbersychan in Monmouthshire.

Richard was baptised at St.Woolos Church, Newport, on31st December 1889.

At the census of 1891, Richardand his parents were living inBristol Street in Newport alongwith Richard’s brother, John, andhis sisters Harriet, Margaret, Roseand Jessie all of whom were olderthan him.

By the next census of 1901,Richard’s father had died and hismother had taken up theoccupation of laundress. Thehousehold, then living in HalsteadStreet, Newport, consisted, in


addition to Richard, of his sister,Jessie, and another sister, Frances,then eight years of age. The familyalso had a lodger, David Harding,who was employed in the localdocks as a wharf labourer.

Richard’s police recordsindicate that he had two spells ofservice with the GlamorganConstabulary. He appears to havejoined initially in 1910 as PC 82and served for just over a year.When the census of 1911 wastaken in April of that year, hewas billeted in the OgmoreArms in Gilfach Goch along witha number of other policemenfrom the Glamorgan Policein connection with theindustrial disputes thentaking place in theRhondda coalfield.

In any event, on 18thMay 1912Richard re-joined theGlamorgan

Constabulary and became PC 52and was later stationed at Barry.

In 1913 Richard married LilianBishop and they had two children,Ronald, who was born in 1914,and Doris who was born in 1916.

At some stage after thecommencement of the warRichard left the police and joinedthe army, enlisting in the RoyalWelsh Fusiliers and becoming, indue course, acting sergeant 49106in the 17th (2nd North Wales)Battalion of the Regiment. Itseems that Richard had had some

military experience with theSouth Wales Borderersbefore the War.

The 17th Battalionhad been raised inNorth Wales inFebruary 1915 and,subsequently, as part ofthe 38th (Welsh) Division

saw action at MametzWood on the Somme in July

1916, during the Third Battleof Ypres in 1917 and duringthe last battles of the war onthe Western Front in 1918.

In September 1918 theWelsh Division took part in asuccessful assault on the Canal

du Nord in NorthernFrance. It

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seems that it was during thefighting in that area that Richardwas killed in action on the 4th ofthe month.

He is buried in the Saillly-Saillisel British Cemetery which issituated 16km east of Albert and10km south of Bapaume.

Sailly-Saillisel was capturedfrom German forces by theFrench in October 1916 andremained in Allied hands untilMarch 1918 when it fell during theGerman Spring Offensive of thatyear. It was recaptured on 1stSeptember 1918 by British troopsincluding those from the 38th(Welsh) Division.

The cemetery has 771 burialsand commemorations of the FirstWorld War.

Richard is commemorated aswell on the Glamorgan Police WarMemorial.

15TH SEPTEMBER

PC 150 JOSEPH INMANSWANSEA BOROUGH POLICEPRIVATE 9871ST BATTALIONWELSH GUARDS

Joseph was from Hull where hewas born in 1890. He was the sonof Joseph Inman from Darton in

Yorkshire andhis wife,Elizabeth,from Beverley,also inYorkshire.

At thecensus of

1901 the family was living inCampbell Street, BeanfordTerrace, in Hull. Along with Josephand his parents, the householdincluded his younger sister, Elsie,and his younger brothers, Albertand Frank. Also there at the timewas his mother’s brother, George,who was a naval seaman.

By the census of 1911 it seemsRichard’s grave at the Sailly-SailliselBritish Cemetery

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that Joseph may have left homesince he is not included on it. Atthat time his father together withAlbert, Frank and two furthersons, George and Sidney, wereliving at 11 Airedale Terrace,Staniforth Place, Hessle Road inHull. Also living at the addresswere Beatrice Annie Joy, ahousekeeper, and her daughter,Millicent.

According to the censusrecords Joseph’s father wasemployed as a dredgerman by theNorth Eastern Railway Companywhich operated docks at Hull.Later, following Joseph’s deathduring the war, there wasreference, in a newspaper report,to him too having once beenemployed by the North EasternRailway Company in their goodsdepartment at Hull.

At some stage Joseph left thenorth east of England and movedto Swansea since newspaperreports in 1914 and 1915 refer tohim as a police officer with theSwansea Borough Police. Thefollowing in which Joseph ismentioned are of interest:

• The Herald of Wales on 23rdMay 1914 reported on a case

in which a man was chargedwith knowingly living off theimmoral earnings of a woman.She had given him money onseveral occasions but on oneevening she had refusedresulting in him hitting her inthe face and splitting her lip.The report went on to statethat:

“PC Inman gave evidence ofseeing complainant hand overmoney to the defendant. He hadseen her in company with othermen, and defendant was alwaysin the vicinity. Defendant didvery little work, and was anassociate of thieves.”

The defendant was convictedand the report stated that:

“The Chairman in sentencingdefendant to three months,warned him that next time hewould be whipped.”

• On 7th November 1914 thefollowing appeared in theHerald of Wales in relation to ahaulier who was summonedfor cruelty to a horse in NeathRoad on 20th October and forusing obscene language on thesame occasion:

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“PC Inman stated that he sawthe defendant driving the marenear the Vivian’s Bridge. He wascruelly beating the animal.There was a very large load onthe cart. Witness stopped thedefendant who used foullanguage.

Inspector Lindsay of the RSPCA,stated that the mare was not fitto pull such a load…There wereweals beneath the mare’sshoulder.

Defendant was fined 20s andcosts for the cruelty butdischarged him in the othercase.”

• The Herald of Wales of 30thJanuary 1915 gave an accountof an inquest hearing beforethe Borough Coroner held atthe Alexandra Chapel,Swansea. The body of a 54year old collier had been founddrowned in a local canal a fewdays earlier and his wife gaveevidence of a quarrel betweenthem shortly after Christmaswhen he had struck her to thehead necessitating the callingof a doctor. Her husband hadthen run away and had notbeen seen since. The inquestheard evidence from Joseph:

“PC Joseph Inman, of Landore,who found the body, said that at10.15 on Monday morning hereceived information and wentto the canal near the DillwynSpelter Works, Morriston. Herecovered the body, of whichonly the head was showingabove the water. It was taken toSwansea Mortuary. Herecognised the body by thedescription which had beencirculated, as he was beinglooked for. Nobody appeared tohave seen him alive afterDecember 30th.

The jury returned a verdict offound drowned.”

• There was also an occasionwhen Joseph was assaulted onduty, as the Herald of Walesreported on 13th February1915. In the case heard beforethe magistrates a collier wascharged with being drunk anddisorderly in LlangyfelachRoad, with breaking an oillamp valued at four shillings,the property of Messrs.Watson and Hayes, and alsowith assaulting Joseph whilst inthe execution of his duty. Thereport stated that Joseph gaveevidence that the collier:

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“…came up to him and,although he was in uniform,asked him if he was a German.Defendant then picked up alighted lamp which was roundsome repair works in the roadand threw it at witness, strikinghim on the arm.”

The defendant was fined £2with the alternative of onemonth’s imprisonment if hefailed to pay.

Not long after the above case,Joseph left the police to enlist inthe army at Swansea on 12th April1915, joining the newly formedWelsh Guards as Private 987. Atthat time he was living at 1 WhiteStreet in Swansea whilst hisattestation papers show that hisnext of kin was his father whoseaddress was given as 8 GranvilleTerrace, Bean Street, Hessle Road,in Hull.

Joseph went to France withthe Battalion on 17th August1915. During his service on theWestern Front he suffered injuryon more than one occasion,

In October 1915, during thefierce fighting at the Battle ofLoos, he was wounded in the rightthigh which resulted in him being

evacuated to England where heremained until November 1916when he returned to his battalionin France.

He also suffered fromneurasthenia (shell shock) in 1917during the Third Battle of Ypres.His army record contains anaccount of what happened. Itseems that at 1.30pm on 1stSeptember at Langemarck he wastaking mail to the front line whena shell burst, blowing him up andrendering him unconscious. Onrecovering he found himself in ashell hole full of water butmanaged to crawl back toCompany Headquarters.

In March 1918 Joseph sufferedfrom gas poisoning and then on15th September he was killed inaction. At that time the 1stBattalion, Welsh Guards was atMoeuvres, near the Canal duNord in Northern France. TheBattalion’s war diary entry for15th September states:

“The Bn relieved the 2nd BnScots Guards in the front line inthe Moeuvres sector…..a shellhit a platoon of No 2 Coy duringthe relief and killed 1 corp and 4men and wounded 9 men.”

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It’s likely that Joseph was oneof those killed. He was 27 years ofage.

News of his death would havecome as a great blow to his family.But that was not all because lessthan a week later, on 21stSeptember, his brother Frank,aged 18, was also killed in actionin France whilst serving as Private122605 with the 33rd Battalion ofthe Machine Gun Corps.

Joseph is buried at LagnicourtHedge Cemetery. This is in thevillage of Lagnicourt-Marcel whichis situated north of the Bapaumeto Cambrai Road. The village wascaptured by German forces inMarch 1918 but re-captured bythe 2nd Guards Brigade on 3rdSeptember 1918.

The cemetery is small andcontains 63 Commonwealthcasualties of the First World War.

Frank is buried less than 22kmaway at the Villers Hill BritishCemetery. This is near the villageof Villers-Guislain 16km fromCambrai. It was the scene ofheavy fighting during 1917 and1918. The cemetery contains 732Commonwealth burials andcommemorations of the FirstWorld War.

Joseph is also commemoratedon the Swansea Borough PoliceWar Memorial at Swansea CentralPolice Station.

The South Wales Weekly Postreported on 5th October 1918 onthe proceedings of the Borough’sWatch Committee:

“In the case of ex PC JosephInman, killed in action whilstserving with the Welsh Guards,it was decided to grant thefather a refund of £2 3s 6d, paidby the deceased into theSuperannuation Fund.”

On 15th September 1919 theloss of the two brothers wasremembered in a notice whichappeared in the Hull Daily Mail:

“INMAN-In loving memory ofPte. Joseph Inman, 1st WelshGuards, killed in actionSeptember 15th, 1918; also Pte.Frank Inman, MGC, killed inaction September 21st, 1918,beloved sons of Joseph andElizabeth Inman,

No Mother kissed their browthat day,

No home voice said ‘Good-bye’;

They fell in battle’s dread affray,

But God himself was nigh.”

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Just under three months later,on 10th December 1919, the HullDaily Mail reported on the suddendeath of Joseph and Frank’s father:

“Two sudden deaths have beenreported to the Hull Coroner.One is of Joseph Inman (51), 16,Florence Terrace, Villa Place, adock labourer, who wasadmitted to the Infirmary inFebruary this year suffering from

appendicitis. Since his dischargehe had complained of pains inthe head, and had beenattended by Dr Moir. On SundayInman retired to bed in theusual way. His wife heard himbreathing heavily during thenight and spoke to him, butcould not get any answer. Dr.Moir was sent for. The manremained unconscious untilTuesday morning, when he died.”

Lagnicourt Hedge British Cemetery

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19TH SEPTEMBER

PC 692 FREDERICKGEORGE SMITHGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYPRIVATE S/2003812TH BATTALIONARGYLL AND SUTHERLANDHIGHLANDERS

Frederick was born in Llandaff inCardiff in 1890. He was the son ofJohn Sidney Smith, a brickworksmanager, who had been born inPontypridd, and his wife, ElizaAnn, who was from Cardiff.

At the time of the census of1891 the family was living inPlassey Street in Penarth. Also inthe household, in addition toFrederick and his parents, werehis older brothers, Arthur andThomas, and his older sisters,Charlotte, Gladys and Gertrude.Also present were Frederick’sgrandfather, William Smith, aretired contractor, hisgrandmother, Sarah Smith, andJane Griffiths who was a generaldomestic servant.

By the census of 1901 thefamily had moved to 145 WindsorRoad in Penarth. Arthur was nowemployed as a carpenters’apprentice, whilst Thomas was

described as a school teacher butas he was then 16 it’s likely thatthis was as what was known as a“pupil teacher”. Another daughterhad been added to the family inEvelyn, whilst grandmother Sarah,now widowed, was also therealong with Frederick’s maternalgrandfather, Thomas Shepherd, aretired saddler, and Frederick’scousin, Elizabeth Avery.

The family had moved theshort distance to number 125Windsor Road by the time of thecensus of 1911 and by thenFrederick’s father had died.Thomas was now a certificatedschool teacher, whilst Frederickwas a general labourer. His sisters,Gladys and Evelyn (or Eveline)were both employed as shorthandand typist clerks whilst Gertrudehelped in the home.

Frederick joined theGlamorgan Constabulary in 1911and was, in due course, stationedat Taibach. After thecommencement of the war heenlisted in the army at Port Talbotbecoming Private 68832 in theRoyal Army Medical Corps.

Subsequently Fredericktransferred to the 12th Battalionof the Argyll and Sutherland

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Highlanders. The Battalion hadbeen formed in Stirling inSeptember 1914 and, as part of77th Brigade of the 26th Division,went first to France in September1914 and then to Salonika inGreece in November 1915.

Frederick’s Battalion took partin an assault on Bulgarian positionsas part of the Battle of Doiran innorthern Greece on 18th and19th September 1918. Theintention was to force theBulgarians, who were allies of theGermans, from that part of

Greece. However, despite fiercefighting the attacks wereunsuccessful and the British had towithdraw.

It was on 19th September thatFrederick was killed in action. Heis buried at the Doiran MilitaryCemetery which is close to theMacedonia border and near theshore of Lake Doiran.

The cemetery was created in1916 and the graves containedwithin it are almost all of officersand men of the 22nd and 26th

Men of the 12th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Salonika 1916 (©IWM (Q31790))

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Divisions who fell during fightingin the area in 1917 and on 18thand 19th September 1918. Thereare 1338 Commonwealth burialsof the First World War in thecemetery.

The graves in the cemeteryare laid flat and on Frederick’s isthe inscription “Thy Will BeDone”. Commonwealth WarGraves Commission records statethat Frederick was “the son ofMrs E.A. Smith of 31 BeauchampStreet, Riverside, Cardiff and thelate J.S. Smith.”

Buried in the grave next toFrederick’s is Captain NormanAlfred Hughes, aged 30, of the11th Battalion of the WelshRegiment who was the son of theBishop of Llandaff.

Frederick is also rememberedon the Glamorgan Police WarMemorial.

20TH SEPTEMBER

PC 617 ERNESTTHOMAS JONESGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYPRIVATE 437238TH BATTALIONROYAL BERKSHIRE REGIMENT

Ernest wasoriginally fromBreconshirehaving beenborn atGlasbury nearHay-on-Wyein 1889. He

was the son of Thomas andMargaret Jones. His father wasfrom Radnorshire whilst hismother was born at Johnston inPembrokeshire. Ernest wasbaptised in St Peter’s Church inGlasbury on 22nd December1889.

At the time of the census of1891 the family was living in thenearby village of Aberllynfi (ThreeCocks). Ernest’s father’soccupation was given as gardener.Also in the household wereErnest’s older brother, WilliamRichard, and his older sister, LilianJane, together with a lodger,Henry Holloway, who was fromMonmouthshire and was also agardener.Doiran Military Cemetery

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The family was still living inAberllynfi in 1901. That year’scensus records that the householdconsisted of Ernest and hisparents, his younger brothers,Percy John, Johnstone and Victor,together with his younger sister,Bertha.

By 1911 the family had movedfrom rural Breconshire toindustrial Glamorgan since thatyear’s census shows them living atNew Quarry House inPenrhiwceiber.

Ernest’s father appears to havemade use of his knowledge ofworking on the land since hisoccupation now involved lookingafter pit horses as he is describedas a “colliery ostler underground”.

In addition to Ernest’s parentsthe household then consisted ofErnest who was also employed inthe coal mines as a coalminer/hewer, his brothers Percyand Johnstone, also coalminers/hewers, Victor, aged 13,employed underground as a“junior hewer” and Ernest’s sister,Bertha, at 15 years of age, athome helping her mother withdomestic matters. Also in thehousehold was a lodger, ErnestWarren, from Bristol who was ahaulier in the colliery.

Ernest joined the GlamorganConstabulary in 1914 and wasstationed at Aberdare.Subsequently, on 8th May 1915 heleft the police and enlisted in thearmy in Aberdare, initiallybecoming a private in the ArmyService Corps. At some stage hetransferred to the Royal BerkshireRegiment and served with its 8thBattalion.

The Battalion had seen serviceon the Western Front since 1915and by September 1918 it formedpart of the 53rd Brigade of the18th (Eastern) Division with whichit saw much action during theAdvance to Victory.

The Battalion took part in anattack on enemy positions nearRonssoy in France on 19thSeptember and during it sufferedcasualties. The Battalion’s wardiary refers to enemy artillerybeing “very active”, that there wasstrong machine gun fire and thatthe enemy opposition at one pointwas “very severe.”

It is recorded that Ernest waskilled in action on the 20th but asthe Battalion war diary makes nomention of action or casualties onthe 20th it may be that he was, infact, killed during the events of the19th.

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Ernest has no known graveand is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial. This issituated on the main roadbetween Arras and Cambrai andbears the names of over 9000soldiers from Great Britain,Ireland, and South Africa who diedbetween 8th August 1918 and theArmistice in November in thearea between the Somme andLoos and who have no knowngrave.

Ernest is also commemoratedon the Glamorgan Police WarMemorial.

At the time of his deathErnest’s parents were living at 20Pentwyn Avenue in Penrhiwceiberand a newspaper report of thedeath also referred to the fact thatErnest’s brother, Victor, had beenwounded on four occasions duringthe war.

The Vis-en-Artois Memorial with graves of the British Cemetery in the foreground

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27TH SEPTEMBER

PC 80 EDWIN SAMUEL BROWNCARDIFF CITY POLICELANCE CORPORAL 12054TH BATTALION, GUARDSMACHINE GUN REGIMENT

Edwin wasoriginally fromSomerset. Hewas born inTaunton in1891, the sonof AlfredBrown and his

wife, Mary Ann. His father hadalso been born in Taunton and hismother was from Somerton inSomerset.

At the census of 1901 Edwin,his father and mother and hisolder brother, William, were livingat 4 Princes Street in Taunton.Edwin’s father was employed as a“navvy” as were two other menwho lodged with the family, whilstWilliam, at 13 years of age, wasemployed as an errand boy.Edwin’s mother was described asbeing a laundress working fromthe home.

By the census of 1911 thefamily had moved the short

distance to live at number 1Princes Street. Edwin was then 19years of age and working as adomestic gardener. Sometimelater he moved to Cardiff andjoined the City’s Police Force.

On 29th April 1915 Edwinenlisted in the army at Cardiff andjoined the Welsh Guards asPrivate 1342. He went with themto France in August 1915 andwhilst serving with them he wastwice wounded in action.

The first occasion was duringthe Battle of Loos on 27thSeptember 1915 when the WelshGuards suffered many casualtiesincluding several police officersfrom South Wales. Edwin wastreated for a wound to his left armat the Number 6 General Hospitalat Rouen before being evacuatedto Britain. He received furthertreatment, including a period atthe Welsh Metropolitan WarHospital at Whitchurch in Cardiff,before returning to his battalionon the Western Front in February1916.

He was again wounded on22nd June 1916 when theBattalion was near Ypres when hereceived an injury to his left hand.He was evacuated to England on

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26th June on board the hospitalship, St. Denis and receivedtreatment at the 2nd EasternGeneral Hospital in Brighton.

Edwin subsequently qualifiedas a machine gunner andtransferred to the GuardsMachine Gun Battalion inFebruary 1917 returning to Francein November that year.

At the start of the war there

were relatively few machine gunsin use by infantry battalions of theBritish Army. However, theirimportance in modern warfaresoon became apparent andspecialist sections of machinegunners were formed includingcompanies of Machine GunGuards attached to the GuardsDivision after its formation in1915. The men and resourcesallocated to this form of fighting

The Canal du Nord on the day Edwin died, 27th September 1918 ( ©IWM (Q 9346)).

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grew as the war progressed and inFebruary 1918 the companieswere brought together as aseparate regiment when theGuards Machine Gun Regimentwas formed. In due course, Edwinserved with the 4th Battalion ofthe Regiment.

During September 1918 theGuards Division took part in theBattle of the Canal du Nord aspart of the series of Allied

offensives during the final hundreddays of the war. The constructionof the canal, near Cambrai inNorthern France, hadcommenced in 1913 and it wasonly partly completed by the timeof the Battle. Nevertheless, itformed a formidable defensiveobstacle. It was eventually takenand the Welsh Guards, amongstothers, distinguished themselvesduring the operations.

The Canal du Nord 9th July 2016

The Guards Machine GunRegiment provided covering fireduring the Battle and it was on27th September that Edwin waskilled in action.

After his death, Edwin’smother received letters ofcondolence from his Regiment.They are reproduced in the nextpages.

Edwin is buried at the SandersKeep Military Cemetery,Graincourt-Les-Havrincourt, a

village 10km south west ofCambrai. “Sanders Keep” was aGerman fortification near thevillage which was captured by theScots Guards on 27th September1918 and the Cemeterycommemorates some 150casualties of the War.

Edwin is also remembered ona war memorial at the Holy TrinityChurch in Taunton and on theCardiff City Police War Memorialin Cardiff Bay Police Station.

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Sanders Keep Military Cemetery

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Letter received by Edwin’s mother notifying her of his death

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In the Field

29-09-18.

Dear Mrs Brown

It is with the very deepest regret that Iwrite to inform you that your son LanceCorporal E. S. Brown No 1205 was killedduring the attack on the 27th inst. Thesection came under very heavy shell fireand he and one of my men were both killedinstantaneously by the same shell, sothat they were spared any suffering. Yourson was a very brave man, and had donevery good work all the time he has beenwith this section. His death is a verygreat loss to us, and his place will bedifficult to fill. An NCO of his abilityand experience will be hard to find. Nowords of mine I know can comfort you inyour great sorrow. God alone can do that.But you have the consolation of knowingthat he died doing his duty in a goodcause, as so many brave men have done,and we who knew them shall alwaysremember them with pride. On behalf ofall the NCO’s and men of the section Ibeg to offer you and all his family ourvery deepest and sincerest sympathy.

Yours sincerely,

Lieut LH Barnes,

Commanding No 1 Company

4th Battalion,

Guards Machine Gun Regiment

B-E-F

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Sept 29th 1918

Sergt A E Fox

No 1 Section

No 1 Company

4th Battalion

Machine Gun Guards

BEF France

Dear Mrs Brown

It is with sincere regret I now writethese few lines to inform you of thedeath of your gallant son, who was killedin action on the 27th inst about 1.30pm.He suffered no pain. I don’t know how tooffer my sympathy it is so great. For hewas such a good man, and very quiet. Heis mourned by all his section, and by allwho knew him. He was brave to the lastand very confident. My only wish is thatGod will give you strength to bear upagainst the great loss you have beencalled upon to bear. If there is anythingyou would like to know, I shall be onlytoo pleased to tell you. In concluding,the sympathy of his section goes withthis letter, so may God be with you andhelp you over this great bereavement. Sonow I will close. Believe me to be,

Yours sincerely

A.E. Fox. Sergt

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14TH OCTOBER

PC 144 WILLIAMJAMES RAPSEYSWANSEA BOROUGH POLICELANCE CORPORAL 7429MILITARY FOOT POLICE

William wasborn inSwansea in1893. Hisfather, alsocalled William,was fromBirmingham

whilst his mother, Frances, wasborn in Swansea.

By the time of the census of1901 William’s parents had movedto live at Mabel Street inMotherwell, Lanarkshire, inScotland. William’s father wasthen employed in the steelindustry. Also in the household, inaddition to William, were hisyounger sisters, Angela and Jane,and his younger brother, Sidney.

By 1911 and that year’s censusit seems that William had left thefamily home and was lodging as aboarder, along with a number ofothers, with a William and MariahLacey at 12 Washington Place inLandore in Swansea. William’s

occupation at that time was as adriller in a local engineeringworks.

In 1911 William’s parents wereliving at 89 Eaton Road inBrynhyfryd in Swansea along withanother sister of William’s,Beatrice Maud, then aged 15, andAngela, Jane, and Sidney. Inaddition, by that date William hadanother brother, Charles, whowas aged seven. The censusrecords that also in the householdwas Reuben Osborn Rapsey whowas stated to be the brother ofWilliam’s father. He was 19 yearsof age and employed as a goodsporter on the Rhondda andSwansea Bay Railway.

The records of the GreatWestern Railway Companyindicate that William, whose dateof birth is recorded as 3rd April1893, was employed as a cleanerat Landore Station from 10thDecember 1910 to 13th February1911 when he is recorded ashaving “left”. On 10th December1911 he is shown as beingemployed by the Company, againas a cleaner at Landore. It may,therefore, be that he had taken upthe employment shown in thecensus of 1911 in the interveningperiod.

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In 1914 William married MabelAlice Brown at Swansea and theirdaughter, Violet, was born thefollowing year.

At some stage William joinedthe Swansea Borough Police.There are references to him inlocal newspapers concerning casesin which he was involved.

On 4th December 1915, theSouth Wales Weekly Post containedthe following report:

“At Swansea on Friday JamesCollins (48), labourer, wascharged with drunkenness andbeing indecent in his behaviourin High Street, on Thursday. PC(144) Rapsey, gave evidence,and defendant said he had beentravelling from Ireland all nightand took a little too much. Hehad never been in this countrybefore, and was going to work atPembrey: he had been sent overby the Labour Exchange.Defendant was discharged, andtold to get out of the town asquickly as he could.”

The Herald of Wales of 8th July1916 reported on the sad case ofa mother who had committedsuicide by taking carbolic acid. Inevidence before the coroner’sInquest, her husband, who was

serving in the army, said that hiswife, who kept a boarding house,had been threatened by thieveswho had been to the housestealing clothes. He felt that thishad played on her mind. Therewere three young children living inthe family, another having died ashort time previously. William isreferred to in the report as havingrecovered a razor from thedeceased’s clothing and the reportconcludes by stating that “A verdictof ‘suicide whilst of unsound mind’was returned, the jury expressingsympathy with deceased’srelatives.”

During the war William left thepolice force and joined the army,serving in France from 12th April1917 with the Military Foot Police,as a Lance Corporal.

The Military Foot Police (MFP)had been formed as a permanentorganisation in 1885 and waslinked with the Military MountedPolice. Together they formed theCorps of Military Police. The rolesof the MFP included the detectionof crime amongst army personneland the arrest of offenders,controlling and dealing withstragglers and deserters duringthe confusion of battle, traffic

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control and dealing with prisonersof war.

The South Wales Weekly Postof 28th September 1918 publishedthe photograph of William whichaccompanies this biography andunder which was the caption:

“Lce-Cpl Rapsey, 182, GreyStreet, Landore, an ex-Swanseaconstable, who has won acertificate for bravery.”

Shortly afterwards, on 14thOctober 1918, William was killedin action. It is not known withwhich unit of the MFP he wasserving at the time of his death,but it is assumed that it was in thearea around Ypres in Flanderssince he is buried at the YpresReservoir Cemetery. There are2613 casualties of the First WorldWar buried or commemorated inthe Cemetery.

Ypres Reservoir Cemetery

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William was 25 years of agewhen he died and theCommonwealth War GravesCommission records that he wasthe “Son of Mr. and Mrs. Rapsey ofLandore; husband of Mabel AliceAustin (formerly Rapsey), of 1 EwartPlace, Brynhyfryd, Swansea”

William is also remembered onthe Swansea Borough Police WarMemorial in the Central PoliceStation, Swansea.

21ST OCTOBER

PC 46 ALBERTHOLLYMANCARDIFF CITY POLICEPRIVATE 1031ST BATTALIONWELSH GUARDS

Albert wasfrom Cardiff,where he wasborn in 1887,the son ofFrederick and EllenHollyman. He

was baptised in the city’s St. Johnthe Baptist Church on 19thOctober that year.

At the census of 1891 thefamily was living in Scott Street inCardiff in an area then known as“Temperance Town” situated nearthe Central Railway Station andwhich is now part of the CentralSquare re-development. Thehouses there had been built in thenineteenth century on landacquired by Edward Wood whowas a follower of the TemperanceMovement. As a consequencethere was a strict no alcoholpolicy imposed on residents andthere was a prohibition on anypremises being used for the sale

Jointly remembered: William’s gravewith commemorative crosses from South Wales Police and his nephew,Adrian Brown

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of alcohol. The condition of thearea declined in the period afterthe First World War and itsbuildings were all demolished bythe end of the 1930’s.

In 1891 the householdconsisted of Albert, his father, whowas from Somerset and worked asa joiner, his mother (wronglyreferred to as Emily in the census)who had been born in Cardiff,Albert’s older brothers George,Frederick, Ivor and Ernest and hisyounger sister, Nellie.

By the census of 1901 Albert’s

father had died and his motherhad re-married to CharlesPurnell, a stonemason fromBristol. Albert now lived with hismother and step father in CourtRoad in Canton in Cardiff, alongwith his step brother Herbert,who was employed as a bottlewasher, and his step sisters, Annieand Elsie, along with his brothers,Frederick, a warehouseman in asoda works, Ivor, a machinist, andErnest, a milk seller, his sisterNellie, and his youngest brother,William, who had been born in1893.

Temperance Town looking towards the railway station

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On 9th May 1906 at Cardiff,Albert enlisted in the army joiningthe Grenadier Guards as Private12702. At the time of hisattestation his occupation wasgiven as labourer. He served forthree years with the regiment’s3rd Battalion until May 1909 whenhe was transferred to the reserve.

In 1911 Albert was, accordingto that years’ census, living inCraddock Street in Canton withhis brother George, a generaldealer, and George’s wife, Esther.Also there were George andEsther’s sons, Frederick, Georgeand William and their daughter,Ivy. Albert was recorded as beingtheir lodger and was thenemployed as a coal trimmer.

Just before Christmas 1911, on23rd December, Albert marriedGladys Lewis at the RegisterOffice in Cardiff. They were tohave three children, Edna May,who was born on 11th April 1912,William Albert, born on 14thNovember 1913 and DouglasHaig, born on 9th January 1917.

Albert joined the Cardiff CityPolice on 12th March 1913 but onthe outbreak of war in August1914 he was recalled to thecolours as a reservist and initially

re-joined his old regiment, theGrenadier Guards. However, on27th February 1915 hetransferred to the newly formedWelsh Guards with whom hewent to France on 17th August1915 as Private 103.

He then served with theregiment on the Western Frontand would likely have taken partin the major battles in which itwas involved such as Loos in1915, the Somme in 1916, Ypresin 1917 and those during the finalyear of the war.

On 20th September 1918Albert went home on leave andreturned to his unit in France on4th October. On 10th October hewas admitted to hospital inEtaples where he died ofpneumonia at the 26th GeneralHospital on the 21st, less than amonth before the Armistice inNovember.

The Western Mail of 26thOctober carried the followingnotice of his death:

“HOLLYMAN-October 22nd(sic), 1918, at the 26th GeneralHospital, Etaples, France,Private A. Hollyman, belovedhusband of Gladys Hollyman, 63 Treharris Street, Roath,

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The Etaples Military Cemetery

Cardiff, formerly City policeconstable, C Division.”

In addition to his widow Albertalso left his three young children,Edna, William and Douglas.

Albert is buried at the EtaplesMilitary Cemetery which is about27km south of Boulogne. Duringthe First World War Etaples wasthe location for a hugeconcentration of military campsand hospitals. At its peak some100,000 troops were stationedthere. The Cemetery is the largestCommonwealth War Graves

Cemetery in France and contains10,771 burials from the FirstWorld War. It was opened by KingGeorge V and Field Marshal Haigin May 1922.

The inscription on Albert’sgrave reads:

“Long as life andmemory last yourwife and childrenremember thee”Albert is also remembered on

the Cardiff City Police WarMemorial.

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11TH NOVEMBER

PC 324 FRANK TROTTGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYLANCE SERGEANT 12451ST BATTALIONWELSH GUARDS

Frank died on 11thNovember1918, the dayof theArmisticebetween theAllies andGermany.

According to police records hewas born on 6th October 1887 inBristol.

At the census of 1911 Frankseems to have been living inTower Street in Pontypridd as aboarder with the family of Charlesand Blanche Hunt and their sixchildren.

Also in the household wasElizabeth Sherborne, who wasthen aged 60, and from Somerset.She was stated to be Blanche’smother. Later, when Frank joinedthe army, he gave details ofElizabeth, then living in ForestRoad, Treforest, near Pontypridd,as his next of kin and describedher as his aunt.

In 1911 Frank’s occupationwas that of a platelayer on therailways and that was hisemployment when he joined theGlamorgan Constabulary on 18thNovember 1912.

There are several newspaperreports which refer to Frankwhen he performed duty as apolice officer. One is of particularinterest since it shows how proudlocal people were of the efforts ofmen from their communities whohad fought during the early battlesof the war such as that at Mons.This report, from the GlamorganGazette of Friday, 16th October,1914, paints a vivid picture of thehomecoming of a woundedsoldier and Frank clearly played apart in the event:

“Despite the rain falling whenthe 8.30pm train steamed intoNantymoel Station, a crowd ofabout 7000 welcomed thereturn home of Gunner C.Thomas, who was wounded atMons. …. Gunner Thomas wasplaced in a brake with PrivateSyd Powell, and a procession wasformed headed by the BoyScouts, with their leader Mr.Wilcox and the chaplain, Rev.Archibald Davies. Then followed

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the Temperance Band, under theable conductorship of Mr. SamGillard. Then a crowd of somethousands, who cheered loudly.Rev. M. Mollins spoke, andthanked the band andAmbulance and Boy Scouts, andeveryone who had helped tomake the procession a success.Councillor Evan Griffiths alsospoke. Gunner Thomas replied,and was warmly cheered andcarried shoulder high from thebrake into the house, where hewas greeted by all his relativesand friends. Sergt. Lister andPC’s Turner, Trott and Hughesare to be complimented on theable way in which theycontrolled the crowd.”

Frank was serving as a policeofficer at Porthcawl when, on23rd April 1915, he resigned fromthe police and enlisted in the armyon the following day at Bridgend.

Like many Glamorganpolicemen, Frank joined the newlyformed Welsh Guards. He wasone of five Porthcawl policemento enlist at that time. PC DavidCharles Grant (see our bookletfor 1915) and PC William JonesThomas (whose biographyappears in our booklet for 1917)

died as a result of the war, whilstthe other two, PC’s Denis Hayesand William Richardson, survived.

Frank and other police officersfrom South Wales made animportant contribution to thechoir of the Welsh Guards as theWestern Mail reported on 23rdJuly 1915 under the heading“Singing Welsh Guards”:

“Owing to the unique characterof the occasion, the visit of aspecial contingent of WelshGuards to Cardiff tomorrow(Saturday) is being anticipatedwith an extraordinary amount ofpublic interest, not only in thecity but throughout Glamorgan,with which county the WelshGuards Regiment is so closelyassociated. As already statedthe contingent will include aglee party, consisting of the bestvocal talent in the regiment,who will give a programme ofmusical items at the Park Hall.”

There then followed a list of24 former policemen from theGlamorgan, Cardiff, Swansea,Monmouthshire and Newportforces. Included in the Glamorgancontingent was Frank along withothers who were to die in thewar: Augustus Harris (Barry

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Dock), William Jones Thomas,David Charles Grant, and WilliamEast (Llanbradach). The reportalso stated that by then 62 formerGlamorgan policemen had joinedthe Welsh Guards.

Frank went to France with hisregiment on 17th August 1915and it’s likely that he took partwith it in its baptism of fire duringthe Battle of Loos later that year.

The History of the WelshGuards in the First World War andthe Battalion’s war diary makereference to Frank since he waswith others, including formerGlamorgan policemen, Private 758Anthony Augustus West andPrivate 1189 William Jones,chosen to represent the regimentat a major parade in Paris on 14thJuly 1916. As the History put it“they all got a few days holiday andamusement.”

On 10th September 1916Frank was wounded in actionwhen he received gunshotwounds to the chest. At this timethe Welsh Guards were engagedin heavy fighting in attempting tocapture the village of Ginchyduring the Battle of the Somme. Itsuffered many casualties includingformer Glamorgan policemen

Edward John Edwards, HenryMorgan Jones, William Jones(mentioned above), and ArthurRichmond Perkins, formerSwansea Borough policemanAubrey Alfred Smale, and formerMerthyr Borough policeman,Reginald Lovis, all of whom died.

Frank was admitted to the10th General Hospital at Rouenon 12th September and, due tothe seriousness of his injuries, wastransferred to Britain on boardthe hospital ship Lanfranc on the16th. A contemporary newspaperreport stated that he had sufferedbullet wounds to his lungs.

The Lanfranc, an ocean linerthat had been requisitioned as ahospital ship, was itself to becomea casualty the following yearwhen, on the evening of 17thApril 1917, it was sunk by aGerman submarine whilsttransporting wounded soldiersfrom Le Havre to Southampton.Twenty two British soldiers losttheir lives together with 18German prisoners of war.

It seems that Frank spentsome time in hospital before beingposted to the 2nd (Reserve)Battalion of the Welsh Guards asan acting Lance Sergeant on 27th

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June 1917 when it was based atTadworth in Surrey. The 2ndBattalion did not see active servicesince its’ role was to providedrafts of trained men for the 1stBattalion.

Frank did not return to activeservice and was discharged fromthe army on 4th June 1918 whenhe was transferred to the Reserve.

Police records show that hehad actually re-joined theGlamorgan Constabulary on 1stJune 1918 and resumed his policeduties. Again there are referencesto him in the reports of theGlamorgan Gazette:

• In its edition for 23rd August itreported that “a middle aged

man of military bearing wearingspectacles, described as a collier,from Porthcawl, was chargedwith using abusive language inJohn street, Porthcawl.” Itseems that there had been analtercation between this manand another who he describedas “a pacifist and conscientiousobjector”. Frank gave evidenceas to the incident and thelanguage used which thedefendant denied. Themagistrates found the caseproved and fined thedefendant 15s.

• Its report on 6th Septemberreflected the stringent natureof wartime regulations under

The hospital ship Lanfranc

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the Defence of the Realm Actin that two women, inseparate cases, weresummoned before themagistrates for failing toobscure a light which wasvisible from the sea. The firstwoman, having had the matterdrawn to her attention byFrank, had replied that “hervisitors must have lighted thelight and forgotten to pull downthe blind.” She pleaded guiltyand was fined £1. In the othercase the defendant claimedthat she was not at theproperty concerned. Frankgave evidence that there was“a brilliant light” shiningthrough the window. She, too,was fined £1.

On 21st October 1918, Frankmarried Annie Mary David at theparish church of St. John theBaptist, Newton Nottage, nearPorthcawl. Annie, aged 26, wasthe daughter of William David, alabourer, and was from Nottage.Frank, by then 31 years of age,gave his address as the PoliceStation, Porthcawl. Of interest isthe fact that his father’s name isrecorded as Frank Trott and thathe, too, was a policeman although

nothing further is known abouthim.

Tragically, the marriage wasonly to last for a very short timesince, within less than a month,Frank died on 11th November1918 of pneumonia. However, it’sclear that, although he had by thenbeen discharged from the army,his death was connected to thewounds he had received on activeservice since his death is recordedby the Commonwealth WarGraves Commission and theircustomary headstone stands in thegraveyard of the church inNewton Nottage where he wasmarried and where he was buriedon 14th November.

Frank’s funeral was the subjectof a report in a local newspaperwhich is reproduced in full:

“The mortal remains of the lateP.C. Trott were interred, with fullmilitary honours in NewtonChurchyard on Thursday last.Long before the time of startinghundreds of people hadassembled outside the PoliceStation. The Rev. W.J. Phillips(Newton) feelingly conducted aservice at the Police Station, andalso gave out the hymn, ‘Jesu,lover of my soul’, which the

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St. John’s Church with Frank’s Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstoneprominent in the foreground.

excellent Kenfig Hill Bandplayed.

The cortege, headed by thefiring party of the local VTC’s,under the charge of Sergt-majorFarrow, followed by the bandand a party of 35 of theGlamorgan Constabulary, underthe command of Col. Lindsay,wounded soldiers, dischargedsailors and soldiers and the BoyScouts, under the charge ofScoutmaster D. Hutchinson,

then wended its way to NewtonChurchyard, when the strains ofthe ‘Dead March in Saul’ wereplayed. The superintendents andinspectors of the police, whichincluded Supts. Jones (Canton),Morris (Barry), and InspectorsDavies (Bridgend), Davies(Porth), and Davies (Penarth),walked by the side of the hearse.Blinds were drawn along theroute, which showed the highesteem in which the late P.C.Trott was held.

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IN THE CHURCH-Upon arrivingat the church the body was metby the Rev. T. Holmes Morgan,who effectively conducted theservice in the church.

AT THE GRAVESIDE-At thegraveside the Rector read thecommitment sentences withdeep emotion, after which thefiring party fired three volleysover the grave, and the ‘LastPost’ was sounded. Col. Lindsayalso ordered the police to givethe last salute to their comrade.

THE MOURNERS-The principalmourners were the widow andMr. D. Lewis, Rose and CrownInn, Nottage.

FLORAL TRIBUTES-Beautifulfloral tributes were sent by thewidow, Mr. D. Lewis (Rose andCrown Inn), P.C. Vallence andfamily, Sergt. Jenkins and family,and P.C. McLaughlin, and thePorthcawl Discharged Sailorsand Soldiers Federation.”

For some unknown reasonFrank’s death is not recorded onthe Glamorgan Police WarMemorial or on its Roll of Honour.His name does, however, appearon the Porthcawl War Memorial.

Of all the deaths which wehave recorded in our annualcommemoration booklets, Frank’sseems particularly poignant. Hetook part in fierce fighting, wasseriously wounded and died just afew weeks after being married.The fact that his death occurredon the very day that the guns fellsilent on the Western Front addsto the sadness. However, as weshall see in the next sections ofthis booklet the Armistice did notbring an end to the suffering ofothers.

Frank’s grave in the graveyard of St.John’s Church, Newton Nottagetogether with a commemorative crossfrom South Wales Police

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6TH JANUARY

PC HENRY JAMES PORTERCARDIFF CITY POLICEGUNNER 16147ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY

Henry wasborn in 1892at Goathurst,a village nearBridgewater inSomerset. Hewas the son ofEsau and Eliza

Porter both of whom were fromSomerset. Henry was baptised inthe village on 19th June 1892.

At the census of 1901, thefamily was living in Goathurst and,included, along with Henry,(described as “Harry”), and hisparents, Henry’s older brothersThomas, John and Fred and hisolder sister, Alice, a domestichousemaid, and younger sister,Dorothy. Henry’s father was afarm labourer as was John, whilstThomas and Fred were alsoemployed in farming as a carterand horseman respectively.

By the census of 1911 thefamily was still living in Goathurstwhere Henry’s father continued

to be employed as a farm labourerwhich was also Henry’soccupation by that time.

At some stage Henry left thefarmland of Somerset and movedto Cardiff where he marriedMargaret Manx Pope. A son,Arthur James Evan, was born in1916.

In April 1913 Henry became apolice officer with the Cardiff CityPolice and was stationed at RoathPolice Station before he enlisted inthe army at Cardiff in February1916. He appears to have beenmobilised in May the followingyear and it was whilst he was onactive service in France in April1918 with the Royal GarrisonArtillery that he suffered agunshot wound to his thigh.

Henry spent some time inhospital in Britain and sadly died atthe St Mark’s Hospital in Brighton,part of the 2nd Eastern GeneralHospital, on 6th January 1919after contracting pneumonia.

A contemporary newspaperreport carried the followingdetails of his death:

“Bombardier Henry James Porter,Royal Garrison Artillery, formerlya member of the Cardiff City

1919 ROLL OF HONOUR

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Police, youngest son of Mr andMrs Porter, of Bridgewater,Somerset, died at St Mark’sHospital, Brighton from septicpoisoning following an operationafter double pneumonia. Hejoined up in May 1917, and hewas wounded in the greatoffensive in March 1918. Heleaves a widow and son. Muchsympathy is felt with his agedparents, this being their thirdson to fall, two having been

killed in action on September3rd, 1916. The two survivingsons are members of the CardiffCity Police.”

Henry is buried at the CathaysCemetery in Cardiff. HisCommonwealth War GravesCommission headstone bears theinscription “Thy will be done” andthere is also a stone to mark thepassing of his widow, Margaret, on7th April 1987, aged 95. Henry isalso remembered on the CardiffCity Police War Memorial at theCardiff Bay Police Station.

As mentioned in thenewspaper report, two of Henry’sbrothers were both killed on thesame day, 3rd September 1916. Itappears from the records of theCommonwealth War GravesCommission that their details areas follows:

• Private 16632 T.W. Porter, 7thBattalion, Somerset LightInfantry, who was 37 years ofage. He was stated to be thehusband of Ada Mary Porter,of Rhode Lane, Durleigh,Bridgewater, Somerset. He isburied at Bernafay WoodBritish Cemetrery, Montaubanon the Somme.

Henry’s grave in Cathays Cemetery,Cardiff

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• Lance Corporal 16634 CharlesHenry Porter, 7th Battalion,Somerset Light Infantry, whowas 39 years of age. He wasstated to be the son of Esauand Elizabeth Porter, andhusband of Eva Sophia Porter,of Cranbrook, BritishColumbia. He iscommemorated on theThiepval Memorial to theMissing of the Somme.

10TH MARCH

PC 679 HENRYGEORGE EVANSGLAMORGAN CONSTABULARYSERGEANT 26474ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY

Henry was one of many who diedafter the end of the war. It’snatural that we concentrate to alarge extent on those who losttheir lives in battles or as a

The Cross of Sacrifice, Cathays Cemetery, Cardiff

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consequence of wounds sustainedin them. However, we should alsoensure that men like Henry arenot forgotten.

He was born in Ashtead, avillage in Surrey which liesbetween Leatherhead and Epsom.Whilst there are discrepancies inthe records as to his year of birthwith some giving it as 1889 andothers as 1891 it’s clear from birthrecords that the latter is correct.The record of his baptism whichtook place at St. Giles Church inAshtead on 28th April 1891, giveshis date of birth as 18th March1891.

His father was GeorgeThomas Evans, who was apoliceman in 1891 according tothat year’s census. He had beenborn in Lambeth in London.Henry’s mother was Frances andshe was originally from Gosport inHampshire. Also in the householdat that time, in addition to Henry,were his older sister, Rosena, andhis older brother, Charles.

By the time of the census of1901 the family had moved fromAshtead to Warwick Street,Hanover Square in London.Henry’s father was then describedas working as a cook in a hotel.

Sometime afterwards Henrybecame a steward as that is theoccupation given on his attestationpapers when, on 23rd March1907 at Hounslow in London, heenlisted in the regular army. Itseems that he had previously beenin the 1st City of LondonVolunteers of the Royal GarrisonArtillery and also in a reserve unit,5th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.

Following enlistment Henryserved as a gunner in the 35thHeavy Battery of the RoyalGarrison Artillery and at the timeof the census of 1911 he wasbased at Fort Nelson at Farehamin Hampshire. This was one ofseveral nineteenth century fortsbuilt on a hill overlookingPortsmouth as part of thedefences for the important navalbase.

By December 1912 Henry haddecided to leave the regular armyand applied for his dischargewhich was granted. He was thentransferred to the army reserveand joined the GlamorganConstabulary in 1913.

It was not long, however,before he had to return to armylife. He was stationed as aconstable at Tonypandy when

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Britain declared war on Germanyon 4th August 1914. Henry wasimmediately recalled to theColours as a reservist and wasmobilised at Gosport on 5thAugust.

He re-joined his old unit, 35thHeavy Battery, and went withthem to France in August.

The role of the heavy batterieswas mainly to destroy the artillerybatteries of the enemy but theywere also used to attack roads,railways, storage dumps andimportant targets behind theenemy’s lines. They were

equipped with large 60lb gunswhich in the early part of the warwere horse drawn.

The 35th provided heavyartillery support for the 2ndDivision of the BritishExpeditionary Force in France andas such was involved in the earlybattles of the war at Mons (andthe retreat from it), the Marneand the First Battle of Ypres.

Henry suffered with healthproblems and returned to Britainin January 1915 and did not goback to France until March 1916when he was posted to 120th

60lb gun of the Royal Garrison Artillery, Somme, 1916 (IWM © Q917)

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Heavy Battery. He then hadfurther illnesses and spent periodsin hospital in France and in Britain.

In September 1917 he wasposted to Number 3 RoyalArtillery Training Depot in India,but prior to leaving he marriedIsabella Frances Villaum(sometimes spelt Villaume) at theParish Church of South Bersted inSussex on 16th July 1917. She wasa widow, aged 31, who had beenborn in Stockwell in London.

Correspondence on Henry’sarmy service record file indicatesthat she was a midwife and healthvisitor. The record also states thatHenry’s step daughter by themarriage was Julia Cecilia who hadbeen born on 13th July 1910.

Henry’s qualities wererecognised during his service as hewas promoted to Lance Corporal,Corporal and Sergeant.

On 1st March 1919 Henry wasadmitted to the University WarHospital In Southampton wherehe died of pneumonia on 10thMarch.

Henry is buried at MelcomeRegis Cemetery in Weymouth.The inscription on the headstonestates that it is:

“From his lovingwife and motherThy Will be Done”There are 142 First World War

burials in the cemetery, 83 ofwhich are of members of theAustralian Forces who had adepot in Weymouth during theWar.

Henry is also remembered onthe Glamorgan Police WarMemorial.

Henry’s grave with South Wales Policecommemorative cross

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10TH MAY

PC 121 PATRICK SHEASWANSEA BOROUGH POLICEPRIVATE 17833RD BATTALION, IRISH GUARDS

Patrick was an Irishman who wasborn in March 1881 in the parishof Churchill, Tralee, in CountyKerry.

He enlisted in the British Armyon 15th September 1903 atTralee, joining the Irish Guards.His previous employment was as agroom.

He served in the army untilSeptember 1906 and then in 1908he joined the Swansea BoroughPolice as Constable 121.

At the time of the census of1911 Patrick was based at theCentral Police Station in OrchardStreet in Swansea. Others there atthe time included PC FrankCoffey who was to die in theMiddle East in 1917 and PC JackRandall Birch who was to be killedin action in France in 1916.

On 30th April 1913, Patrick,then aged 32, and stationed atLandore Police Station in Swansea,married Lillie Holmes, aged 25, atSt. Joseph’s Roman CatholicChurch in Swansea. Lillie was then

living at The Close, Kington, (inHerefordshire) and was themanageress of a restaurant. Fromthe marriage certificate it appearsthat Patrick’s father was alsocalled Patrick and was a farmlabourer whilst Lillie’s father,William Henry Holmes, was amaster painter and decorator.

On one occasion during hispolice service, Patrick’s previousexperience of working withhorses no doubt stood him ingood stead. The Cambria DailyLeader reported on 11th July1914:

“Prompt Policeman-On Thursdayafternoon, a horse and cartbelonging to Mr. J. D. Jones,builder and contractor, Swanseawas proceeding along Skettyroad, when a tramcar collidedwith the cart. The startled horsebolted, but PC (121) Sheacaught the bridle and succeededin pulling the animal up.”

When Britain declared war onGermany on 4th August 1914Patrick was recalled to theColours as a reservist and re-joined the Irish Guards. He landedin France on 13th August and wasinvolved in the early fighting as theSouth Wales Weekly Post reportedon 26th September 1914:

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“There are several members ofthe Swansea Borough PoliceForce fighting for their country,and they have all been in thefighting line with the IrishGuards, the South WalesBorderers, the Dorsets, and theKing’s Own Rifles. No news hasbeen received in Swansea as toPC’s Rouse, O’Shea, and J. Price,who all fought at Mons at thesame time as poor Appleton.”

“Appleton” was PC 190 AlbertAppleton of the DorsetshireRegiment who was killed in actionon 24th August 1914 (see theSouth Wales Police booklet for1914).

Then on 21st November 1914,the same newspaper broughtnews of the wounding of Patrickin action:

“News has been received inSwansea by his comrades thatPC Patrick Shea is now lying at abase hospital in France sufferingfrom a shrapnel wound. Thosewho know the officer say hewould make light of his injuries,and this is the substance of hisletters home. PC Shea is apopular member of the SwanseaBorough Police Force, and wasone of the first to leave for thefront.”

From Patrick’s army records itappears that he was wounded inaction near Ypres on 29thOctober 1914 and was admittedto Number 13 General Hospital atBoulogne. It seems that aftertreatment he returned to servicebut was eventually posted to the3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the IrishGuards.

In November 1918 Patrickbecame sick with what turned outto be tuberculosis and wasadmitted to the War Hospital inBath in December 1918. As aresult of subsequent examinationshis condition was recognised asserious and he was medicallydischarged from the army on 18thJanuary 1919.

On 6th May 1919 Patrick wasawarded a Silver War Badge inrecognition of the fact that he hadbeen discharged from activeservice on medical grounds.

Sadly just a few days later onSaturday 10th May 1919, Patrickdied at his home in Terrace Road,Swansea. The South Wales WeeklyPost of 17th May reported:

“SWANSEA CONSTABLE’SDEATH-The death took place onSaturday evening of PC PatrickShea, at his home, Terrace road,

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Swansea from consumption ofthe throat. The deceased, whowas aged 37, was a native ofCounty Kerry, and before joiningthe Swansea Borough PoliceForce in March 1908, served inthe Irish Guards, beingdischarged in September 1906.He was recalled to the colourson August 4th, 1914, andreceived serious wounds inFrance. He was discharged afew months ago, but had notresumed policeman’s dutiessince his discharge owing tofailing health.”

Patrick’s death was registeredby his brother, John, who lived inField Terrace, Taibach, PortTalbot. Patrick’s army servicerecord indicates that he had three

other brothers, Thomas, Michaeland Edward and two sisters,Lizzie and Mary.

Patrick’s name appears on theSwansea Borough Police WarMemorial in the present SwanseaCentral Police Station. However,there is no record of his deathwith the Commonwealth WarGraves Commission or in “Soldiers Died in the Great War”even though he appears to havedied of illness contracted duringhis war service.

Until recently it was notknown where Patrick was buriedbut research has revealed that hisgrave is at Danygraig Cemetery inSwansea. Also buried there is hiswife’s mother, Emmeline Holmes.

Patrick’s grave at Danygraig CemeteryCross of Sacrifice at Danygraig Cemetery


We continue to remember. South Wales Police Remembrance Service 11th November 2016: Mr. Richard Thomas remembers his grandfather,

Police Sergeant 200 Richard “Dick” Thomas of the Glamorgan Constabulary, killed in action at Mametz Wood on 7th July 1916

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South Wales Police iscurrently gathering

information about themany police officers fromour predecessor forces of

Glamorgan, Swansea,Merthyr Tydfil, Neath andCardiff who served in the

armed forces during theFirst World War.

We want to ensure weuncover as much

information as possibleabout our proud

history, and the many men who served both

the force and their countryto ensure they

are never forgotten.

All the stories andinformation collected,

including photographs,letters and newspapercoverage from that timewill be shared online andon Facebook.

To make a contribution please email:[email protected]

FIRST WORLD WARPROJECT GROUPGareth Madge (Chair),Danny Richards, RobinMellor, Peter Wright, Paul Wood, MelanieThalayasingam, CoralCole, Alan Fry togetherwith Philip Davies of theWestern Front Association.

THE

GREAT WARCENTENARY1914-1918 2014-2018

HEDDLU DE CYMRU • SOUTH WALES POLICE

L E A R N • E N G A G E • R E M E M B E R

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