Appendix II
Geoffrey William Pepperall Abraham, Captain, Glamorgan Yeomanry. Abraham was born at Christ Church Vicarage, Lichfield, Staffordshire on 6 September 1895, the son of the Right Reverend Charles Thomas Abraham, the Vicar of Bakewell and Bishop of Derby, and of Mary Theresa Abraham. He was educated at Cheltenham College, and was later in business with E and A Robinson, Redcliffe, Bristol. Abraham joined the Glamorgan Yeomanry as a trooper on 5 August 1914, and was commissioned within months, rapidly rising to captain. He served in Egypt from January 1916 with the Glamorgan Yeomanry and after its merger with the Pembroke Yeomanry joined the 24th Welsh. Abraham was lightly wounded on 31 September 1917 at the attack on Beersheba, but was more seriously wounded in the attack on Sheria on 6 November 1917, dying as a result in hospital at Port Said on 19 November 1917. He was 22 years old, and was buried at Port Said War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. Abraham is commemorated on the Bakewell War Memorial, Derbyshire.
Alexander Gifford Ludford Astley, Captain. Astley was born on 18 February 1882, the son of Reverend Benjamin Ludford Astley and Maria Astley, of Cadeby, Leicestershire. He married Maria Christobel Young (née Arbuthnot), of 8 Sloane Terrace Mansions, SW1, on 3 June 1914. He had been commissioned into the Royal Fusiliers and transferred to the 14th Hussars on 28 October 1908, being promoted Captain on 24 December 1912. Astley was the Adjutant to the Glamorgan Yeomanry during their summer camp of 1914, but at the outbreak of war rejoined his old regiment, the 14th Hussars. Astley served in Egypt with his regiment before it took part in the advance into Mesopotamia in 1917. He was killed in action near Larjj on 5 March 1917, aged thirty five. He is commemorated on the Basra Memorial.
Capel Lisle Aylett-Branfill, Captain, Glamorgan Yeomanry. Branfill was born at Morro Velho, Brazil on 24 August 1884, the son of Capel Aylett Branfill and Gwladys Gwendoline Branfill (née Miers), of The Plas, Crickhowell, Breconshire. He was educated at Harrow, where he became a member of its Officer Training Corps, and played in the cricket and football First XIs. Branfill was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry in 1907, and had been promoted Captain by the time the Glamorgan Yeomanry moved to Egypt in 1916. He became ill with pneumonia and died in Egypt on 11 May 1916. He was buried at Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. His Commanding Officer wrote: ‘His death is a great loss, as he was one of the best officers in the regiment. His loss will be much felt by the regiment. He was everybody’s friend and nobody’s enemy. He was beloved by his men.’ Branfill married Susannah Hamilton at Napleton Church, Worcester on 26 March 1913, and the couple had a young daughter, Gwendoline Hamilton Aylett, born 14 September 1914. Tragically Susannah and Gwendoline died on 24 January 1915.
Geoffrey Douglas Aylett-Branfill, Lieutenant. Branfill was born on 9 May 1895, the son of Capel Aylett Branfill and Gwladys Gwendoline Branfill (née Miers), of The Plas, Crickhowell, Breconshire. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry, and later transferred into the 10th Hussars. By the end of the war Branfill was attached to the 3rd Machine Gun Squadron. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his service, which were sent to him in Nyasaland, where he had taken up a post as superintendent of police. Branfill died at Pembroke in 1967, aged 72.
Arthur William Back, Lieutenant. Back was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry from the Inns of Court OTC on 20 November 1914. He embarked for Egypt with the Pembroke Yeomanry, and was then attached to the Somaliland Camel Corps. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime service.
Herbert Jodrell Barclay, Lieutenant. Barclay was born at Manorbier in 1881, the son of Henry Ferguson Barclay and Agnes Hermione Barclay (née Jennings). He qualified as a solicitor prior to the war and married Amy Beatrice Burnes Holland on 22 December 1913. Barclay was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry from the Inns of Court OTC on 20 November 1914. He served with the 2/1st Pembroke Yeomanry before being posted to the 2nd Welsh, and served with them during the final offensive in France, from October 1918, in the rank of captain. Barclay survived the war, being awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his service, which were sent to him at Albion Chase, Broad Street, Bristol. He was also awarded the Territorial Force War Medal. Barclay died at Weston-Super-Mare in 1968, aged 86.
Richard Charles Edward Barclay, Major. Barclay was born at Manorbier in 1879, the son of Henry Ferguson Barclay and Agnes Hermione Barclay (née Jennings). He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 3 October 1912. On 17 May 1917 Barclay moved to France with the Royal Field Artillery. He survived the war, and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at Croft House, Manorbier. He was also awarded the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal. Barclay married Nesta Lloyd of Glangwili in 1925, and died at Pembroke in 1957, aged 79.
Cyril Gwynne Sedley Barnes, MID, Captain. Barnes was born in 1883, the son of Robert and Alice Maria Barnes, of Harley Street, London. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 1 September 1910. At the outbreak of war he was working as a chauffeur at Cilgwyn, Myddfai, and was mobilised with the Yeomanry, embarking for Egypt in 1916. Barnes was promoted captain on 10 August 1916, and served with the 24th Welsh until the battalion returned home in 1919. He survived the war, and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at Abbey Wells, Woolton Hill, Newbury. Barnes married Ellen Seymour Methuen on 1 November 1924. He died at Chard on 2 December 1954, aged 71.
Alfred Stephen Barrett, Quartermaster, Captain. Barrett was born in 1868, and was an old soldier, having served with the 7th (Queen’s Own) Hussars in India. He married his wife Catherine Cole in India in 1895. By 1911 he was a sergeant major with the Glamorgan Yeomanry, and on 1 November 1913 was commissioned into the regiment. He served during the war as Quartermaster and captain with the Glamorgan Yeomanry, embarking for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916. Barrett survived the war, being awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services. He was also awarded the Territorial Force War Medal. He probably died at Tonbridge, Kent, in 1948.
John Walton Bishop, Major. Bishop was born in 1881 in Llandeilo, the son of Lewis and Ramona Bishop. He practised as a solicitor at Ammanford and at Burry Port. He was promoted captain on 26 November 1914, and embarked for Egypt with the yeomanry in 1916. He was promoted major on 24 February 1917, with precedence from 8 November 1916. Major John Walton Bishop TD, relinquished his commission on 13 May 1920, retaining the rank of major. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, as well as the Territorial Force War Medal, which were sent to him at Brynilltyd, Pembrey. He died in Carmarthen in 1962, aged 81.
Henry James Bladon, Second Lieutenant. Bladon was born on 29 April 1890, the son of James and Mary Jane Bladon of 8, Glenroy Street, Roath Park, Cardiff. He worked in London as a clerk, prior to attesting on 13 November 1915 into the 7th Welsh (T.F.), with the service number 11623. After almost two years on home service with the Territorial Force, where he was attached to the Glamorgan Yeomanry, Bladon joined the Inns of Court Yeomanry on 9 July 1917, and was discharged to a commission in the 4th Welsh (T.F.) on 25 June 1918. In the meantime, he had married Grace Lewis at St Martin’s Parish Church, Cardiff on 18 October 1917. Bladon was posted to France in the summer of 1918, and joined the 15th Welsh around the time of the launch of the great advance in August. He was mortally wounded during the Battle of Morval, and died of his wounds on 1 September 1918. Bladon was 28 years old, and is buried at Morval British Cemetery, France in grave B. 22. His medals, the British War and Victory Medals, and the Memorial Plaque and scroll, were sent to his widow, who had by then remarried a Lieutenant Oliver.
John Alexander Bonnyman MBE, Captain. Bonnyman was born in South Shields, Durham on 27 November 1887, the son of James Smith. He was educated at University College, and served an engineering apprenticeship with Smith’s Docks. In 1911 he was described as a mechanical engineer and ship repairer for the same company, and living in South Shields. By the outbreak of the war he had qualified as a draughtsman and marine surveyor, and was a university lecturer in Engineering. He was also assistant manager at Smiths Docks, of Teeside and Tyneside. He was now living in Llandaff, Cardiff, where the company had an office. Bonnyman travelled back from Cardiff to Newcastle to enlist as a private in the 9th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, on 5 September 1914. On 21 December 1914, he was discharged from the Fusiliers as ‘not likely to become an efficient soldier’, but had already received a commission into the 4th Welsh. He served in Gallipoli with the 4th Welsh, and in 1917 was posted to the 24th Welsh, joining them in Palestine on 30 June 1917, in time to take part in the Third Battle of Gaza. On 26 December 1917 Bonnyman was wounded during an attack on Hill 1910. He was recorded as having received gunshot wounds to face, and bomb wounds to head and face on 27 December. He was hospitalised and subsequently graded B1 on 21 March 1918. Because of his engineering background, he was then seconded to the RAF Engine Repair facility in Egypt as an acting captain on administrative duties. On 30 May 1919 he was transferred to the unemployed list. On 12 September, Bonnyman relinquished his R.A.F. commission on re appointment to the Territorial Force, and was permitted to retain the rank of lieutenant. He served with 3rd Northamptonshire Brigade, RFA as a lieutenant, with precedence from 1 July 1917, and was promoted to Captain with 74th Northampton Brigade, RFA on 28 July 1920. After demobilisation he returned to his old position with Smith’s Docks, and lived at 2 Belgrave Terrace, South Shields. Bonnyman eventually returned to South Wales, living at Wood Cottage, Sketty, Swansea. His business address was 104, Bute Street, Cardiff. In 1929 he patented a design for ‘an improved cargo hatch cover’. During his time at war, Bonnyman had been awarded the M.B.E., which was gazetted on 3 June 1919. He was also awarded the Territorial Force War Medal, as well as receiving the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime service. Bonnyman attained the age limit and relinquished his commission, retaining his rank, on 11 December 1937. He died in Cardiff in 1957.
James Bevan Bowen, OBE, Wing Commander. Bowen, known to his family and friends as ‘Van’ Bowen, was born on 20 March 1883 at Llwyngwair, near Newport, Pembrokeshire, and was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry in 1910, but as a trained wireless operator was accepted into the Royal Flying Corps in 1916, and became lieutenant colonel in 1917, wing commander in 1918, group captain in 1928, and air commodore in 1932, in which rank he retired in 1937. He was re-employed as a group captain at the outbreak of the Second World War. Bowen took an active role in Pembrokeshire life, being appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1907, a deputy lieutenant in 1932, vice-lieutenant in 1952 and some two years later became Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire, an appointment he held until he resigned in 1958. He was appointed OBE in 1919, and in 1937 advanced to CBE. He married twice; first on 30 January 1915, Noel, elder daughter of Leonard Marshall of Nepicar House, Wratham, Kent, by whom he had six children. She died in 1951. Seven years later he married Muriel Ethelwyn Thomson of Monkton Old Hall, Pembroke, where he died in August 1969, at age of 86. For his services during the Great War Bowen was awarded the British War and Victory Medals. He was also the holder of the Territorial Force War Medal.
Arthur Patrick Bray, Lieutenant. Arthur was born in Harwich in 1882, the son of Arthur and Eliza Bray. He was commissioned into the 19th Welsh and served in France with them from 24 April 1917, but then returned home and was transferred to the 2/1st Pembroke Yeomanry. He survived the war, and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at 35 Tewkesbury Terrace, Bounds Green Road, New Southgate. He married twice after the war, firstly to Norah Davey, who died in 1933, and then to Margaret Gertrude Cockman. Arthur died at Watford on 10 November 1958, aged 76.
Edmund Brewer, Second Lieutenant. Brewer was the son of Henry Gould and Rhoda Brewer, of 10, Norman Street, Caerleon, Monmouth. He was mobilised with the Royal Gloucester Hussars in August 1914, and landed in Egypt on 15 November 1915 with the regiment, after marrying Gwendoline Ireland at Gloucester. Brewer was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 8 December 1916. He was then attached to the 12th Battalion, South Wales Borderers, and was promoted captain. He was wounded at Bourlon Wood, and died of wounds on 12 January 1918, aged 33. Brewer is buried at Achiet-le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension, France. For his services during the war, he was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals, which were sent to his widow at 17, Corporation Road, Newport, Monmouth.
Sir Gerald Trevor Bruce, DSO MID, Lieutenant Colonel. Bruce was born near Swansea in 1871, the son of Lewis Knight and Emelia Caroline Bruce (née Sullivan). He was a well renowned solicitor, and was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 20 August 1901. Gerald was promoted lieutenant on 4 October 1902, and major by 1908. Gerald embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916, and served with the 24th Welsh during the Palestinian campaign. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the North Staffordshire Regiment during the war, and was given command of a battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment. He survived the war, returning to South Wales, where he became a very well known barrister. Bruce was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to him at Lanelay, Pontyclun. He was also awarded the Territorial Force War Medal and the Distinguished Service Order, as well as being Mentioned in Despatches. Bruce died at Bridgend on 7 July 1953, aged 82.
John Clarence Napier Bruce, Second Lieutenant. Bruce was the son of Henry Campbell Bruce, Lord Aberdare, and Lady Constance Mary. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 21 September 1914. He was promoted Lieutenant on 30 December 1916 upon transferring to the Reserve Regiment of the Second Life Guards, and on 30 December 1916 transferred to the Guards Machine Gun Regiment. He later became an aide de camp on the army staff on 23 December 1917, and relinquished his commission on 14 June 1918. Bruce was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime service, which were sent to him at 1, Lowndes Square, S.W.1. He later became third Baron Aberdare, and died on 4 October 1957, aged 72.
John Geoffrey Bruce, Captain. Bruce was born at Pentyrch on 4 December 1897, the son of Gerald Trevor and Lilian Isabel Bruce (née Booker). He followed his father into the Glamorgan Yeomanry, being commissioned in 1914. Bruce served with the Yeomanry in Egypt and with the 24th Welsh in Palestine, before transferring to the Indian Army in 1917, where he was attached to the 6 Ghurkha Rifles. He was a member of the Mount Everest expeditions of 1922 and 1924. John married Marjorie Isabel Coney in 1932, before becoming an Instructor at the Staff College, Camberley. He then commanded the 2nd Battalion, 6th Ghurkha Rifles on the North West Frontier expedition, before returning to Britain. He served as a brigadier general on the General Staff during the Norwegian Expeditionary and France campaigns of 1940, and then commanded an infantry brigade in India before becoming Deputy Director of Military Operations, India, until 1942; major general in charge of the British Military Mission to China 1942; District Commander, India 1942-1944; Deputy Chief of General Staff, India 1944-1946; General Officer Commanding, Lahore District, India 1946-1948; retired 1948; Commandant, Civil Defence Staff College 1952-1956. He died at Bridport, Dorset in 1972, aged 74.
Honourable John Hamilton Bruce, Lieutenant. Bruce was born on 14 June 1868, the son of Henry Campbell Bruce, Second Baron Aberdare and Constance Mary Beckett. He served with the Glamorgan Yeomanry prior to the war. Bruce did not serve overseas, and his application for service medals was rejected. His address at the end of the war was Ross Bridge House, Cowrie. He died on 8 April 1964.
Sir Geoffrey Robert Sidney Byass, Captain. Byass was born at Craigafon, Port Talbot on 30 September 1895, the son of Sir Sidney Hutchinson Byass. He was educated at Winchester before going into his father’s steel and tinplate business. Byass was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry, becoming a lieutenant on 5 April 1915. He was then attached to the Royal Field Artillery, being promoted captain on 6 February 1917. Byass survived the war, and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Craig-y-Parcau, Bridgend. He returned to work in his father’s business, and on 20 September 1919 married Marian Bruce, the daughter of Sir Gerald Trevor Bruce, becoming the second and last baronet after the death of his father in 1929. He died at Tilford, Surrey on 4 November 1976, aged 81.
Frank Herbert Byfield, MID, Lieutenant. Byfield was born at Cirencester in 1875, the son of Henry and Victoria Byfield. By 1911 he was living at The Parsonage, Carmarthen, with his wife Alice Maria (née Western), giving his occupation as Cavalry of the Line. He was commissioned from the 1st Dragoon Guards into the Welsh Regiment on 25 March 1917, and served with the 24th Welsh for the remainder of the war, being promoted lieutenant on 25 September 1918. Byfield survived the war, and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his service, which were sent to him at Bennett’s House, Stawley, Wellington, Somerset. He was also Mentioned in Despatches during the war and died at Totnes, Devon in 1933, aged 58.
Herbert Reginald Chapman, Captain. Herbert was born in Cardiff in 1891, the son of William and Ellen Chapman. He had served with the 4th Welsh Brigade, Royal Field Artillery from 1901 onwards, before being commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry after the outbreak of war. On 21 December 1914 he was gazetted as Second Lieutenant into the 13th Welsh, and served in France with the battalion from 2 December 1915. He survived the war, being awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at Lynwood, Windsor Esplanade, Cardiff.
Hugh Archibald Christy, Captain. Christy was born at Highfield in Bramhall, Cheshire, the son of Stephen Christy JP, hat manufacturer, and Blanche (née Chichester). He was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 21 September 1914 and was promoted lieutenant on 20 October 1916, and Captain on 30 June 1917, serving with the 17th Welsh, before being attached to the Royal Naval Division. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime service, which were sent to him at Llangoed Hall, Radnorshire. He died on 4 April 1946, aged 68. His brother, Stephen Christy, was killed on the Marne in 1914.
David Louis Clemetson, Lieutenant. Clemetson was born in Jamaica, the son of David R. and Mary E. Clemetson, of Frontier, Port Maria, St Mary, Jamaica. On 25 September 1912 he arrived in Britain, where he had been sent for education at Clifton College by his parents. Clemetson originally enlisted into the Sportsmen’s Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, before being commissioned into the Welsh Regiment. He joined the 24th Welsh in France, and was killed near Gillemont Farm on 21 September 1918, aged 24. He is buried at Unicorn Cemetery, Vendhuile, France. Clemetson was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to his mother at Frontier, Port Maria.
Robert Henry Collis, CMG, DSO, MID, Lieutenant Colonel. Collis was born in Ireland on 13 January 1875, the son of Robert Henry and Mary Anna Collis (née Phillips). He was commissioned into the 3rd Battalion, Leicester Regiment on 3 May 1892. He had retired as a captain in the army by 1908, and was gazetted major in the Pembroke Yeomanry on 1 April 1908. He continued to serve with the Pembroke Yeomanry during the war, attached to the Army Remounts Depot. He was Mentioned in Despatches twice during the war, and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at Kirklington Hall, Bedale, Yorkshire. Collis died at Poona, India on 9 November 1930, aged 55.
Lord William Cope, Major. Cope was born in Roath, Cardiff on 18 August 1870, the son of Matthew Cope and Margaret Harrison. He was educated at Repton School before attending Clare College, Cambridge in 1888. Cope was awarded his BA in 1891 and in 1895 collected his MA. He was a noted rugby player who played for Cambridge University while a student, and in 1891 played in the Varsity Match against Oxford, gaining a Blue. From 1891 through to 1895 Cope turned out for Cardiff, and after leaving university represented Blackheath. He was also capped for the Barbarians and for Wales. After leaving Cambridge he entered the legal profession and was admitted to the Inner Temple, he was called to the Bar in 1894. On 5 September 1900 he married Helen Shuldham, and they had two children: Helen Margaret Latita and William Shuldham. With the outbreak of war in 1914, Cope joined the Glamorgan Yeomanry, rising to the rank of major. Upon returning to Britain in 1918, he ran for Parliament, standing for the seat of Llandaff and Barry. In 1923 he became a Junior Lord of the Treasury, a post he held until 1928. On leaving the Treasury he was given the role of Comptroller of the Royal Household, a role he undertook for just a year, when he left government in 1929. Created a baronet, he held several offices in his home county of Glamorgan. He was a Justice of the Peace, and a Deputy Lieutenant and in 1932 was made High Sheriff of Glamorgan. In 1933 he was invested as a King’s Council and was elevated to the peerage as Baron Cope of St Mellons in July 1945.He died on 15 July 1946.
Walter Frank Corbett, Major. Corbett was born in Richmond, Surrey in 1863, the son of Frank and Elizabeth Corbett. He transferred into the South Staffordshire Regiment from the South Wales Borderers on 28 February 1885. He was promoted into the Pembroke Yeomanry as a temporary major on 9 November 1914. Walter served as a staff officer in France for two years. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to him at Glandofan, Rhoshill, Pembrokeshire. He died at Radnor on 28 May 1936, aged 73.
Cecil Mein Probyn Coxwell-Rogers MC, Lieutenant. Coxwell-Rogers was born on 29 May 1893, the son of Francis and Marion Dighton. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 18 June 1915. On 25 September 1915 he took the name of Coxwell-Rogers by deed poll, due to the terms of the will of his good friend Richard Hugh Coxwell-Rogers, who was killed in Gallipoli on 21 August 1915. He embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry, and served with the 24th Welsh until being attached to the 74th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps. He died at Dowdeswell on 6 March 1953, aged 59.
Hamilton Walker Crawford, Lieutenant. Hamilton was born in Wrexham in 1882, the son of James Stewart Crawford and Elizabeth Crawford (née Bagnall). His mother was from Carmarthen, and the family had moved to The Arlais, Kidwelly, prior to the war. Hamilton was a qualified solicitor. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry, and served with the 2/1st Pembroke Yeomanry throughout the war. He married Martha Hector Eccles, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Herbert Eccles, of Broadway, Laugharne, on 4 June 1917. Hamilton was awarded just the British War Medal for his services during the war, which was sent to him at The Ridge, Longlands Bay, near Swansea. He died in 1943, aged 60.
Robert Bagnall Crawford, Lieutenant. Robert was born in Wolverhampton in 1888, the son of James Stewart Crawford and Elizabeth Crawford (née Bagnall). His mother was from Carmarthen, and the family had moved to The Arlais, Kidwelly, prior to the war. Robert was educated at Llandovery College, before becoming a qualified solicitor. He was commissioned into the Northumberland Fusiliers, and served in Salonika from 5 November 1916, before returning home. He was then posted as Captain with the 2/1st Pembroke Yeomanry, and served with them for the duration of the war. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which was sent to him at The Ridge, Bishopsmead, Bristol. He probably died in 1954, aged 66.
Francis Gwilym Crawshay, Captain. Crawshay was born at Treforest on 27 March 1875, the son of Francis Richard and Isabella Crawshay (née Vignoles). He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 29 October 1914. He served throughout the war with the Pembroke Yeomanry, being awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at Llanblethian, Cowbridge. He died at Weymouth in December 1971, aged 96.
Ernest Croucher MID, Captain. Croucher was born at Frensham, Surrey in 1877, the son of John and Elizabeth Croucher. On 17 March 1917 he was commissioned as quartermaster and lieutenant with the Pembroke Yeomanry, and posted to the 3/1st Battalion. He was promoted captain on 17 March 1919, and transferred to the 4th Welsh on 22 March 1920. His medal card shows that he served in France from 24 March 1917, probably while on temporary attachment to a battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment. He died in Devon in 1970.
Thomas Luke Curtis, Lieutenant. Curtis originally served with the Shropshire Yeomanry, and was commissioned on 8 December 1917. His name does not appear in any of the records of the 24th Welsh, but he was among the members of the Cadre of the battalion who returned to Wales in 1919.
Evan John Corne David MC TD, Captain. David was born on 22 June 1888, the son of Evan Edgar David and Mabel Gwladys David (née Nicholl-Corne), of Nash Manor, Cowbridge. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 1 March 1911. He was mobilised at the outbreak of war, promoted lieutenant on 26 August 1914 and embarked with the Yeomanry for Egypt. On 20 June 1916 he was promoted captain, and remained with the 24th Welsh for the duration of the war, being awarded the Military Cross on 16 December 1917, and taking temporary command of the battalion on 9 September 1918. David served with the Royal Field Artillery after the war, being awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at 81st Welsh Brigade, R.F.A. Headquarters, Swansea. David was also awarded the Territorial Force War Medal. He was promoted major on 22 July 1920, and served again during WW2. David relinquished his commission on 4 November 1942, having attained the upper age limit. He died on 23 March 1982, aged 93.
Daniel John Davies MC, Lieutenant. Davies was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry. He was attached to the 24th Welsh when he was awarded the Military Cross. (See the Honours and Awards Section).
David Morris Davies, MC, Lieutenant. Davies was possibly from Taff’s Well, Cardiff. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry from the Inns of Court OTC on 20 November 1914. He was later posted to the 17th Welsh in France, and was awarded the Military Cross for services during the fighting at Bourlon Wood. He was promoted temporary lieutenant on 20 October 1918.
John Bowen Davies, Captain. Davies was promoted to temporary lieutenant in the Pembroke Yeomanry on 9 November 1914. He was later promoted captain on 13 August 1918, while serving in France with a Labour Company of the Labour Corps. He was seconded for service as Court Martial Officer on 26 April 1918. Davies survived the war, earning the British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at Derlwyn, Llanpumsaint.
Delmé William Campbell Davies-Evans DSO TD, Lieutenant Colonel. Davies-Evans was born at Llanwenog, Cardiganshire on 25 April 1873, the son of Herbert Davies-Evans and Mary Eleanor Geraldine Lilla Jones. He was commissioned in to the 1st (Pembrokeshire) Volunteer Battalion, Welch Regiment on 14 November 1900, and on 29 May 1901 transferred to the Pembroke Imperial Yeomanry. On 29 April 1903 he married Gwladys Maud Kathleen Morris at Carmarthen. Davies-Evans was a banker and farmer, and lived with his wife at Penylan, Golden Grove, Carmarthenshire. He was promoted to major on 1 April 1910, and embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916. He was promoted to command the 5th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment as acting lieutenant colonel from 28 January 1917, and from 25 August 1918 commanded the 2/8th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. He returned to Britain on 14 April 1919. Davies-Evans was awarded the DSO and the Territorial Decoration (TD). On 3 July 1920 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, commanding the 4th Welsh. He stood as the Conservative candidate for Carmarthen in the 1931 elections, but lost. He died at Carmarthen in 1953, aged 80. His wife died in 1968.
Aleth Thomas Septimus Leguen de Lacroix, Second Lieutenant. De Lacroix was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry from the Royal Flying Corps on 29 January 1916. He rejoined the Royal Flying Corps, and was promoted flying officer (Observer) on 18 April 1917, with seniority from 5 March 1917, and lieutenant with the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 29 July 1917 while seconded to the RFC. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Cheddiston Grange, Halesworth, Suffolk. He remained in the Royal Air Force after the war, being promoted flight lieutenant on 1 July 1925. He married Mollie Constance Mullens in 1927, and died in Ipswich in 1967, aged 73.
Baron Alan Frederick James De Rutzen, Lieutenant. De Rutzen was born in 1876, the son of Sir Albert de Rutzen, a famous Metropolitan Magistrate at Bow Street. He was educated at Eton and became a member of the Stock Exchange. He married, in 1908, Eleanor Etna Audley, the only child of Captain Pelham Thursby Pelham, of Abermarlais Park, Carmarthenshire, and Ridgeway, Pembrokeshire. De Rutzen succeeded his uncle as Baron de Rutzen in 1915. At the outbreak of the war he joined the Pembroke Yeomanry, being gazetted in August 1914, and went with them to Egypt in March 1916. Whilst there he volunteered for the Imperial Camel Corps, with which he was serving at the time of his death. He fell leading a company of the Camel Corps against the Turks near Katia. The following extract, testifying to his great ability as an officer and leader of men, is from a letter of an officer of the Camel Corps to the Colonel of the Pembroke Yeomanry: “You will probably have heard, before this reaches you, that Baron de Rutzen was killed yesterday. He was in command of this company and the amount of confidence he put into his men helped considerably towards holding a very tight corner. A brave man and a real topper in the field and out of it. His men simply adored him, as did all his brother officers.” Baron De Rutzen had travelled extensively. He was greatly interested in horses, hunting and agriculture, and was a keen fisherman.
William Armine Edwards, Second Lieutenant. Edwards was born on 3 May 1892, the son of William Henry and Margaret Hannah Edwards (née Williams), of The Hill, Sketty. He was educated at Harrow, and became a well known cricketer, playing for Glamorgan County prior to the war. William married Aerona Sails in 1914. He was serving with the Glamorgan Yeomanry when war broke out, and was commissioned into the regiment on 20 December 1915, before embarking with the Yeomanry for Egypt in 1916. Edwards was mortally wounded while leading his platoon in the attack on the Beersheba position on 1 November 1917, and died a few hours later. He was 25 years old and is buried at Beersheba War Cemetery, Israel. For his services during the war Edwards was awarded the British War and Victory Medals and the Territorial Force War Medal, which were sent to his widow at Porteynon, Gower. His medals were sold at Christies in 1982.
Joseph Patrick Fehily, Captain. Fehily was the son of Patrick and Margaret Fehily, of Ballineen, Co. Cork. He was a surgeon prior to the war, and on 31 December 1915 was commissioned as a surgeon in the Royal Navy. On 4 December 1916 he was promoted temporary captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He landed in Egypt on 24 January 1917, and on 12 July 1917 was taken on strength by the 24th Welsh. Fehily survived the war, being awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his service, which were sent to him at Ballineen, Cork. He was in Hong Kong when its garrison surrendered to the Japanese in December 1941, but was released the following year. He returned to Hong Kong as Director of Medicine after the war, relinquishing his commission as lieutenant colonel, and was granted the honorary rank of colonel on 24 June 1946. His brother, Thomas Joseph Fehily, was killed at Merville on 13 April 1918, while Medical Officer with the 2nd Royal Fusiliers.
Oakden Fisher Croix de Guerre MID, Major. Fisher was born in 1885, the son of Henry Oakden and Helen Agnes Fisher of Ty Gwyn, Radyr, Cardiff. He was a solicitor at Heathfield, Sussex prior to being commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 21 October 1908. He was mobilised in August 1914, and sailed with the Yeomanry for Egypt in 1916, and was with the regiment when it merged with the Pembroke Yeomanry to form the 24th Welsh. Fisher survived the war, being wounded on 27 December 1917, and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at Ty Gwyn, Abergavenny. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government, and was Mentioned in Despatches, as well as being awarded the Territorial Force War Medal. He died at Pontypool on 3 August 1965, aged 79. His brother, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Bruges Fisher, was killed in France while in command of the 12th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment on 3 October 1916; and another brother, Lieutenant Colonel Herbert George Fisher DSO and Bar, and died on 29 July 1919 as a result of wounds received during the war.
Philip Fisher, Captain. Fisher was the son of Henry Oakden and Helen Agnes Fisher of Ty Gwyn, Radyr, Cardiff. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 1 January 1912, and was promoted lieutenant on 13 April 1915. Fisher sailed for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916, and was with the regiment when it merged with the Pembroke Yeomanry to form the 24th Welsh. He served with a battalion of the King’s Yorkshire Light Infantry towards the end of the war. Fisher was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his service during the war, which were sent to him at Ty Gwyn, Abergavenny, and was also awarded the Territorial Force War Medal for his service. He died at Crickhowell in 1968, aged 80.
William James Foster MC, Major. Foster was born on 5 April 1885, the son of William Foster, of 51, the Parade, Cardiff. He attended St Mary’s Hall School, Cardiff. Foster enlisted in the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 9 March 1909, at the age of twenty-nine, and attended camp in that year at Llandovery, then in 1910 at Porthcawl. In 1911 he was promoted lance corporal, and attended camp at Builth Wells. Forster was promoted Corporal in 1913 and attended camp at Llandeilo, he then attended camp at Porthcawl in May 1914, and was embodied for overseas service on 5 August 1915 in the machine gun section Glamorgan Yeomanry after having attended a machine gun course at Bisley in May 1915. On 30 May 1915, while a lance sergeant in the Glamorgan Yeomanry at Aylsham in Norfolk, he applied for a commission in the 16th Welsh, expressing a preference to join the machine gun section, his next of kin being given as Mr William Foster, 42, Park Place Cardiff. His application for a commission was accompanied by a certificate of moral character by Charles E. Dovey JP, Cardiff, in which he states ‘an exemplary young man’. Foster was subsequently commissioned second lieutenant in the 16th Welsh on 9 June 1915, and moved to France with them in December that year. He was wounded several times; on 14 May 1916, 14 September 1916, 31 July 1917 and 5 September 1918. His worst injury appears to have been a deep gunshot wound and shell fragment injury to the right thigh which became septic, at Ypres on 14 September 1916. Forster had been promoted to captain whilst commanding a Company on 7 August 1916, and joined the 15th Welsh as acting major early in 1917, when the 16th Welsh was broken up. William was awarded the Military Cross for his actions during the fighting at Pilckem Ridge (see Appendices: Awards to the Battalion). As well as his Military Cross, Foster was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals, which were sent to him at ‘Maindy House’, North Road, Cardiff. He served in the Second War with the Home Guard, having worked for some years as a valued member of the Regimental Benevolent Fund Committee. Foster died on 4 December 1965 in Cardiff.
Edgar Richard Bastin French, Lieutenant. French was born at Northleach, Gloucestershire in 1891, the son of Samuel and Anne French, and had moved to Swansea prior to the war to work as a coachman. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 5 July 1917. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime service, which were sent to him at 34, Terrace Road, Swansea. French served again during the Second World War with the Duke of Wellingtons, after being commissioned on 25 November 1942. He died in Swansea in the summer of 1962, aged 72.
William Henry Gabbett, Captain. Gabbett was serving with the Pembroke Yeomanry at the outbreak of war. He was commissioned lieutenant on 26 August 1914 and remained on home service with the 2/1st Pembroke Yeomanry, being promoted captain before being forced to retire from the army due to ill health on 27 May 1916 at the age of 47. His home address was given as Mount Rivers, Newport, Limerick.
Frederick William Alfred Herbert Gillett, Major. Gillett was born on 21 March 1872, the son of Alfred and Ceciley Gillett. He was educated at Cambridge, and inherited the title of Lord of the Manor of Headington from his father in 1895, but soon sold it. His mother was from Haverfordwest and, with his ties to the county, Frederick was commissioned in the Pembroke Yeomanry. He was promoted temporary major in the Pembroke Yeomanry on 9 November 1914. On 29 November 1915 he was appointed a staff captain. He does not seem to have served overseas, and relinquished his commission on 10 June 1916. He embarked for Jamaica with his family on 26 November 1923, and nothing further is known of him.
Edgar Rees Griffiths, Lieutenant. Griffiths was the son of John and Martha Griffiths, of 139, Elkington Road, Burry Port. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 10 August 1915. He was promoted lieutenant on 23 August 1917, probably remaining on home service. He died in 1957, aged 66.
Vincent Griffiths MC, Lieutenant. Griffiths was born in 1892. He was raised by his uncle, Thomas Griffiths, in Burry Port, and was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 10 August 1915. He embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916, and was promoted lieutenant on 1 June 1916. He was wounded in Palestine on 31 September 1917, and promoted captain on 19 July 1918. He was awarded the Military Cross for his service at Épehy. (See the Honours and Awards appendix). He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime service, which were sent to him at Glanmor, Burry Port. He died at Llanelli in 1943, aged 51.
William Dillwyn Griffiths, Second Lieutenant. Griffiths was the son of William and Sarah Anne Griffiths, of West Cottage, Treforest. He was commissioned into the 4th Welsh in May 1918, and posted to the 24th Welsh. He was killed in action at Épehy on 18 September 1918, aged 24, and is buried in Ronssoy Communal Cemetery.
Sir John Charles Harford, Major. Harford resided at Falcondale, Lampeter. He was promoted captain on 6 December 1916, and granted the temporary rank of major, serving in France with a regular battalion from 13 June 1917. He relinquished his commission on 2 December 1918. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Falcondale. His son, John Henry Harford, was killed on the Somme in 1916. Harford died on 16 July 1934, aged 74.
William Thomas Harries, Lieutenant. Harries was commissioned from the Artists’ Rifles into the 3rd Welsh. He joined the 24th Welsh in France on 6 August 1918, and was wounded on 2 November 1918. He resigned his commission on 1 April 1920, retaining the rank of lieutenant. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at 46, Chestnut Avenue, Stockton Lane, Yorkshire.
John Julian Boyd Harvey, Lieutenant. Harvey was born in Carle Ignigue, Chile in 1892, the son of John Boyd Harvey and Jualieta Grenadino. He returned to England with his parents before the turn of the century and they moved back to the family home at Llangynwyd. Harvey was serving with the Glamorgan Yeomanry prior to the war but transferred to the Welsh Horse Yeomanry. He served in Gallipoli and Egypt before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps. He survived the war, being awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals, which were sent to him at 19 Bridgend Road, Llangynwyd.
Percival Hay MC, Lieutenant. Hay was the son of George and Lottie Hay, of Swansea. He was commissioned into the 1/6th Welsh from the Army Cyclist Corps on 27 August 1917. He served in Egypt with the 53rd (Welsh) Division, before being posted to the 24th Welsh. He was awarded the Military Cross and Bar, the bar being for his action at Épehy, while attached to the 24th Welsh. (See the Honours and Awards appendix). Hay was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime service, and also the Territorial Force War Medal, which were all sent to him at 41, Finsbury Terrace, Swansea. He died in Dorset on 16 June 1964, aged 69.
Ernest Helme DSO and Bar, Lieutenant Colonel. Helme was the son of Richard Mashiter, of Gower and Prince’s Gate, London, and of Louisa Helme. He was commissioned second lieutenant with the Glamorgan Yeomanry in 1904, serving as lieutenant at the outbreak of the Great War, and on 30 April 1915 was promoted to captain, embarking for Egypt with them in April 1916. Helme was attached to the II Anzac Corps in Egypt, before returning to France to take up a posting as second in command of the 15th Welsh on 8 May 1917. He survived a direct hit on his bunker during the Battle of Pilckem in August 1917, and went on to share the command of the battalion with Lieutenant Colonel Parkinson until the end of the war, earning himself two Mentions in Despatches and the Distinguished Service Order twice (see Appendices: Awards to the Battalion). For his services during the war, Helme was also awarded the British War and Victory Medals, and the Territorial Force War Medal, which were sent to him at ‘Llanganydd’, Reynoldston, Glamorgan. He died in Westminster, London in 1949.
John Arthur Higgon, Major. Higgon was born on 12 November 1873, the son of John Donald George Higgon of Scolton Manor. He married Lurline May Moses, daughter of Hon. Henry Moses, on 27 July 1900 in Hong Kong while serving with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and rose to the rank of captain in the service of them. He became a major with the Pembroke Yeomanry before the outbreak of war, and was posted to the Australian Imperial Force, which was stationed in Egypt, where it doubled in strength after the evacuation from Gallipoli. He joined the AIF at Alexandria, and then embarked on HMAT Transylvania, bound for Marseilles, arriving on 23 June 1916. Higgon then travelled to northern France, where he took command of A Company, 32nd Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, which was then based in the Fromelles sector. He was with his new unit for less than a month before it was sent into action at Fromelles on 19 July 1916. Higgon was killed while leading his men out of the trenches on 20 July 1916. He is reported to have been standing on the parapet, shouting, ‘Come on, boys!’, when a German bullet hit him between the eyes, and he fell dead, aged 42. His body was one of the few to be recovered from the battlefield at the time, and he is buried in Ration Farm Military Cemetery. His brother Archibald also fell.
Reginald Arthur Hoare, Captain. Hoare was born on 13 July 1878, the son of Charles Arthur Richard Hoare and Margaret Short. He married Una Mildred Williams, daughter of Thomas C. Williams, on 23 February 1909. Hoare was commissioned in the Pembroke Yeomanry prior to the war, and was restored to the establishment on 6 April 1916. He was promoted captain on 8 November 1916, and was posted to France on 22 April 1918, where he was attached to the 1st Battalion, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. The battalion was attached to 16 Brigade, 6th Division. Hoare joined the battalion at Ypres, and saw his first action during the desperate fighting around Messines. At the end of August the Division was ordered south, to take part in the offensive on the Aisne. On 13 September the Division took up positions near Holnon Wood, which they were tasked with attacking on 18 September. Hoare was killed in action here on 19 September 1918, aged 40. He is buried in Chappelle British Cemetery, Holnon.
Herbert Charles Richards Homfray, Lieutenant. Homfray was born on 22 July 1890. He was commissioned from Sherborne School’s Officer Training Corps into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 12 September 1914. He never served overseas and relinquished his commission on account of ill health on 11 March 1917, being granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant. He was Master of the Glamorgan Foxhounds, and died at Penllyn Castle, Cowbridge on 10 July 1960, aged 70. His son, Captain John Charles Richards Homfray, of the Welsh Guards, was killed in Normandy in 1944.
John Hamilton Howell, Captain. Howell was born in Solva, Pembrokeshire on 27 September 1879. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 29 March 1910, and promoted lieutenant on 10 August 1916, after being promoted temporary captain on 27 May 1916. He relinquished his temporary rank of lieutenant on alteration of his posting on 27 January 1917. He does not seem to have served overseas. Howell died in Pembrokeshire in 1970, aged 91.
Arthur William Hunt, Lieutenant. Hunt was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 1 September 1915. He was promoted lieutenant on 1 July 1917, and served with the 24th Welsh in Palestine from 12 December 1917. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to C. J. Hunt, Esq., 45/46 St Paul’s Churchyard, E.C.4.
James Laurie McKie Hutchinson, Captain. Hutchinson was born on 19 July 1879, the son of J. W. Hutchinson, of Laurieston Hall, Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway. He was educated at Harrow and was commissioned on 9 March 1898 into the 3rd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers (Militia). He joined the 2nd Dragoons in 1899 and served in South Africa from October 1900 to May 1902. He served with his regiment in France as Lieutenant from 14 November 1914 to 15 March 1915. In March 1916 he was appointed Adjutant of the Pembroke Yeomanry and served with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force until February 1917, when he was appointed to the Staff, firstly as Staff Captain G.H.Q. 3rd Echelon, and from October 1917, as D.A.A.G. G.H.Q. 3rd Echelon, E.E.F., until October 1918. He was mentioned in despatches on three occasions; 14 June 1918, 22 January and 5 June 1919 and was also awarded the OBE. His medals, The Order of the British Empire, Queen’s South Africa, with three clasps, King's South Africa, 1914 Star, British War and Victory Medals, were sold at auction in 2005. He died on 31 December 1923.
George Edward Jackson, Lieutenant. Jackson joined the 24th Welsh in France from the 3rd Welsh on 6 August 1918. He was wounded at Épehy on 19 August 1918 and was promoted lieutenant on 27 September 1919. He resigned his commission on 1 April 1920, retaining the rank of lieutenant. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at 90, Chapman Street, Grimsby.
Richard Fleetwood Jenkins MC, Lieutenant. Jenkins was born in Uzmaston, near Haverfordwest, in 1886, the son of Thomas and Sarah Jane Jenkins. He embarked with the Pembroke Yeomanry for Egypt in 1916, and was commissioned on 19 January 1917, before being posted to France, joining the 1/4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment. He was promoted lieutenant on 19 July 1918. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Cashfield, near Haverfordwest. Jenkins was awarded the Military Cross in France (see the Honours and Awards appendix). He died at Narberth in 1958, aged 71.
Brettle Evans Jollands, Lieutenant. Jollands was brought up by his mother’s (Mary Ann Evans’) family in Haverfordwest after the death of his father William in 1905. He was commissioned from No. 2 Supernumerary Company, 1st Battalion, The Herefordshire Regiment, to be second lieutenant in the Pembroke Yeomanry on 5 July 1915. He embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916, and was granted the temporary rank of Lieutenant on 22 June 1916, after he was made Adjutant to the Pembroke Yeomanry. He was transferred to the 1st Lovats Scouts on 1 February 1917, and promoted lieutenant on 16 May 1919. He relinquished his commission on 11 February 1919, retaining the rank of lieutenant. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at 72, Fore Street, Hertford. He died in Hampshire in 1923, aged 51.
E.G. Jones, Lieutenant. Jones was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 26 May 1903. He was promoted Lieutenant on 7 February 1906.
Karl Meredith Jones, Lieutenant. Jones was born on 4 June 1892, the son of Arthur and Margaret Jones, of Oystermouth. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 15 April 1915, and embarked with the yeomanry for Egypt in 1916. He was promoted lieutenant on 1 June 1916 and served with the 24th Welsh before being attached to the staff on 21 October 1917. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, as well as the Territorial Force War Medal, which were sent to him at Rotherslade House, Mumbles. He served again during the Second World War, remaining in the Territorial Force after the war, and died in Swansea in 1981, aged 89.
Richard Charles Jones, Lieutenant. Jones was attached to the 24th Welsh from the 5th Welsh in Egypt. He was promoted lieutenant on 1 July 1917, but was forced to relinquish his commission due to ill health on 17 July 1917. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at 1, Land’s End, Holyhead.
William Reginald Karslake, Major. Karslake was born in 1867, the son of William and Annie Karslake, of Westcott, Surrey. He had served in France with the BEF in 1914, and was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry from the British Red Cross on 23 August 1915, and immediately promoted temporary captain, and later temporary major. He died on 29 December 1917, aged 50, and is buried in Paignton Cemetery. He was awarded the 1914 Star, British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his widow, Laura Maynard Karslake, at 11, Montpelier Square, S.W.7.
Sidney Hausell Kirby, Lieutenant. Kirby was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 15 April 1915. He embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916, and was promoted lieutenant on 1 June 1916. He was promoted captain in the 24th Welsh on 29 April 1917, and posted to 231 Brigade Stokes Mortar Battery on 15 May 1917. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, as well as the Territorial Force War Medal, which were sent to him at Trewelyn, Cardiff Road, Dinas Powis. He died in Bath in 1924, aged 38.
Edward Lambton, Captain. Lambton was born on 5 February 1877, the son of Lieutenant Colonel Francis William Lambton, of Brownslade, Pembrokeshire, late Scots Guards, and Lady Victoria Alexandrina Elizabeth, eldest daughter of John Frederick Campbell, second Earl of Cawdor. He was educated at Wellington College and Cooper’s Hill, prior to taking up a post as Director of Public Works for the Egyptian Government in Cairo. Edward trained with an Egyptian Cavalry regiment prior to the war, having been commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 16 August 1909, and returned to England, where he became a Captain with the Pembroke Yeomanry. He embarked with the yeomanry for Egypt in 1916. Edward became ill soon after arriving back in Cairo, and died there on 28 March 1916. He was 39 years old, and is buried at Cairo War Memorial Cemetery. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his brother George at Brownslade.
James Henry Lewis, MC, Second Lieutenant. Lewis resided at 1, Prendergast Hill, Haverfordwest. He was commissioned into the Welsh Regiment from the Pembroke Yeomanry, probably serving in Egypt before being posted to France, where he joined the 1/7th Battalion Cheshire Regiment, which left the 53rd (Welsh) Division on 31 May 1918 to embark for France. He was awarded the Military Cross in France. (See the Honours and Awards Appendix). He was also awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services.
John Frederick Allen Lewis MC, Captain. Lewis was born in 1891, the son of John and Gwendoline Lewis, of St David’s, Pembrokeshire. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry from the Inns of Court OTC on 20 November 1914. He was promoted to lieutenant on 26 July 1917, with precedence as from 12 August 1916. On 3 August 1917 he was appointed Adjutant of the 24th Welsh and promoted to temporary captain. On 16 August 1918 Lewis was attached to 230 Brigade HQ. He was awarded the Military Cross for his services in France. (see the Honours and Awards Appendix). He was also awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at The Rectory, South Normanton, Derbyshire.
Rupert Wyndham Lewis MID, Captain. Lewis was born in Devon in 1882, but was raised in Cardiff by his parents, Henry and Rose Lewis. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 12 September 1908, and promoted lieutenant on 8 October 1911. He later transferred to the Welsh Guards on 2 April 1915, at its formation, and was wounded at Loos. He was given the rank of temporary captain while commanding No. 4 Company on 21 July 1916, after the battalion had suffered heavy casualties on the Somme. He relinquished his temporary rank on 1 February 1917. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards HQ, Wellington Barracks, S.W.1. His horse riding skills and personality were legendary in the Welsh Guards:
‘The feature of our lot was Rupert [Lewis] who went slowly round on an old pony, knocking everything flat; but he was very clever to get round at all… Lewis’s glasses had got fogged and dirty, it was pitch dark, and he had fallen into a trench and bruised his head. He had been promptly jumped on by some cavalrymen who occupied the trench and thought he was a German. However, when he had recovered his wind and senses, he explained who he was and was allowed to go…. Rupert Lewis had a wonderful mackintosh cape, not issued by the Ordnance but bought somewhere in Cardiff, and with this thing covering two or three overcoats, his little figure bent nearly double under the weight, gum-boots reaching up to his waist, a shapeless cap, large, black-rimmed glasses, and large fingerless gloves, he looked like a little old witch. His physique was against him, but he resisted the conditions gallantly…’
He died in 1951, aged 69.
Sir Wilfred Hubert Poyer Lewis OBE MID, Captain. Lewis was born in London on 9 February 1881, the son of Arthur Griffith Poyer, barrister-at-law, of Henllan, near Narberth, Pembrokeshire, and of Annie Wilhelmine Lewis. He was the grandson of Richard Lewis, Bishop of Llandaff. He was educated at Eton and University College, Oxford , where he graduated in History in 1903. He was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1908 and served in the South Wales Circuit until 1914. He was promoted temporary lieutenant in the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 24 September 1914, having originally been commissioned into the Eton Rifle College Volunteers, and promoted captain on 1 June 1916. During the war he was twice mentioned in despatches and awarded the OBE while serving as a staff officer in France, relinquishing his appointment as ADC on 26 January 1919 (see the Honours and Awards Appendix). After the war he settled in London, where he became a successful barrister, specialising in ecclesiastical law and was chancellor of the dioceses of Llandaff, 1914-35, Monmouth, 1921-35, Manchester and Blackburn, 1929-35, and Worcester, 1930- 35. In 1930, he became a junior counsel to the Treasury, and was in July 1935 appointed judge in the King’s Bench division and knighted. On his first circuit in Wales he heard the case of the burning of the aerodrome in Llŷn at Caernarfon, when the jury failed to agree on a verdict. He served as J.P., chairman of Quarter Sessions, and Deputy Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at 3, Hare Court, Temple, E.C. He died on 15 March 1950, aged 69.
Albert Lidstone, Second Lieutenant. Lidstone was born in Swansea in 1886, the son of Alfred and Annie Lidstone. He was a clerk at a provisions merchant in Brixton prior to the war, and married Edith Alice Jenkins there on 6 September 1913. Lidstone originally served with the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, with the service number R/25454. He was commissioned into the Welsh Regiment in March 1918, and joined the 24th Welsh in France on 6 August 1918. Lidstone was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to him at 10, Winterwell Road, Brixton Hill, S.W.2. He died in Essex in 1933, aged 46.
Sir Charles Leyshon Dillwyn Venables Llewellyn, Lieutenant Colonel. Llewellyn was born on 29 June 1870, the son of John Talbot Dillwyn, 1st Baronet, and Caroline Julia Llewellyn (née Hicks-Beach). His father was High Sheriff of Glamorgan, Mayor of Swansea and MP for Swansea. He was elected Conservative MP for Radnorshire in January 1910 during the hung parliament of that year, but lost the seat in the election in December. He was Lieutenant Colonel commanding the Glamorgan Yeomanry at the outbreak of war, but instead served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the Labour Corps. He retired on completion of the tenure of his command on 2 April 1919, retaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Llysdinam, Newbridge-on-Wye, Radnorshire. He inherited the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1927. He was Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire from 1929 to 1949 and High Sheriff of Radnorshire in 1924. He died on 24 June 1951, aged 80.
Griffith Robert Poyntz Llewellyn, Captain. Llewellyn was born on 26 February 1886, the son of Robert William and Harriet Llewellyn, of Baglan Hall. He was educated at Oxford University. He married Emily Constance Elwes on 29 April 1911. He embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry but transferred to the Light Car Patrols, an early forerunner of the Long Range Desert Group. He later transferred to the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and served during the Second World War. Llewellyn died in 1972.
Edmond Long-Price, Lieutenant. Long-Price was born on 31 March 1874, the son of David and Susannah Long-Price, of Talley, Carmarthenshire. He was commissioned into the 1st (Pembrokeshire) Volunteer Battalion, Welch Regiment on 26 September 1903. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant in the Pembroke Yeomanry on 9 November 1914, and full lieutenant on 13 February 1917. He was transferred to the Labour Corps, with the rank of temporary captain, on 16 March 1917, presumably after the formation of the 24th Welsh. He died on 30 May 1962, aged 88 and is buried in Talley.
Herbert Overton Long-Price, Captain. Long-Price was born in Talley, Carmarthenshire, on 13 September 1875. He served in the Boer War with the 35th and 39th Imperial Yeomanry and later retired from the army with the rank of lieutenant. He was reappointed lieutenant with the Pembroke Yeomanry on 27 September 1914, and was posted to France in March 1917 to command the 8th North Hampshire Labour Company. However, his active service at the front was short lived, and he re-embarked for England on 25 April, suffering from debility, exhaustion and neurasthenia. With his medical problems persisting, he remained in England for the remainder of the war, attaining the rank of captain on 27 December 1917. He is listed in the nominal roll of the officers of 24th Welsh, which notes that he was ‘Ordered Out’ on 24 October 1918. Long-Price was permitted to resign his commission and retain the rank of captain in May 1919. He died on 14 May 1927. For his service during the Great War, in addition to his Queen’s South Africa Medal, which he had won during the Boer War, he was awarded the British War and Victory Medals, which were sent to him at Bosemeade, Ulting, Maldon, Essex.
Edward Ralph Marten, Lieutenant. Marten was promoted temporary lieutenant in the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 12 September 1914, gaining the full rank on 22 June 1917, with seniority as from 1 June 1916. On 20 September 1917 he was promoted temporary captain with the 3rd Battalion, Tank Corps, and posted to the Tank Corps School as an instructor on 24 October 1917. On 18 September 1918 he was appointed acting major while acting as Chief Instructor with the Tank Corps. He relinquished the rank of major after ceasing to be Chief Instructor on 12 December 1919, and was restored to the Territorial Force on 12 November 1920. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Henstaff Court, Pontyclun, Glamorgan. He died in Dorset in 1949, aged 66.
Charles David Mathias, Lieutenant. Mathias was born at Neyland in 1877, the son of Charles and Maria Mathias. He ran his own medical practice at Tenby prior to the war and was originally commissioned as Medical Officer into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 29 May 1907 (Royal Army Medical Corps attached). He was promoted lieutenant on 5 August 1914, and embarked with the Yeomanry for Egypt in 1916. He continued to serve as MO with the 24th Welsh during the early stages of the Palestinian campaign, but was invalided home, and on 13 July 1917 he was struck off the strength of the 24th Welsh. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services. He returned home to 2, Rock Houses, Tenby after the war. He remained on the General List, and was promoted major on 1 March 1924, with precedence as from 29 May 1919. Mathias retired from the Territorial Army, having attained the age limit on 9 October 1926. He died in Tenby in 1954, aged 78.
Richard Henry Probyn Miers MID, Captain. Miers was born at Swansea on 12 June 1873, the son of Henry and Lydia Miers. He was raised in Tenby; he married Vera Enid Brydges Todd at Kensington on 2 June 1906. Miers had been commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 24 February 1912. He embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916. Miers was promoted temporary major on 3 March 1916, and relinquished the rank on 22 June 1917, becoming a captain in the 24th Welsh. He was Mentioned in Despatches on 28 August 1917, having transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, and returned home to join the 31st Training Squadron, RFC. Miers was killed in an accident while flying in DH 6 A9744 on 12 December 1917. He was 38 years old, and is buried at Wyton (St Margaret and All Saints) Churchyard. Miers was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to his widow at 14, Ebbisham Road, Dorking Road, Epsom.
Edward Darley Miller CMG DSO CBE MID, Lieutenant Colonel. Miller was born on 11 February 1865, the son of Edward and Fanny Miller, of Hartsfield, Betchworth. He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was gazetted to the 17th Lancers in October 1886, becoming captain on 26 October 1892, in which year he retired, and entered the Reserve of Officers. He served in the South African War as captain in the Lancashire Hussars, Imperial Yeomanry, and as brigade major, Imperial Yeomanry. He was mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette, 10 September 1901); received the Queen’s Medal with three clasps, and was created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (London Gazette, 27 September 1901): ‘Edward Darley Miller, Captain, Brigade Major, Imperial Yeomanry. In recognition of services during the operations in South Africa.’ He was honorary lieutenant colonel, Pembrokeshire Yeomanry. He served throughout the Great War, being mentioned in Despatches for services in France in 1914, and was created a CBE in 1919, having commanded the 2/1st Pembroke Yeomanry. He married Irene Langtry, daughter of Colonel Langtry of the 8th Hussars, on 25 April 1899, and they had two sons, Gordon and Desmond, born 1900 and 1903 respectively. He was a famous polo player, and was Captain of his Rugby XV for 25 years. He also played in the winning team of the 17th Lancers in Inter-Regimental Polo Tournaments in India, 1888 and 1889, and was in the winning team of the Championship Cup at Hurlingham on five occasions. He formerly managed at different times the Hurlingham, Ranelagh, Roehampton, Rugby, Ostend, Cannes and Le Touquet Polo Clubs. He wrote a book called, Modern Polo and Horse Management in the Field. For his services during the Boer and Great Wars he was awarded the CBE, DSO, QSA with three clasps, 1914 Star and Bar, British War and Victory Medals, which were sent to him at The Farm, Spring Hill, Rugby. He died in 1930, and is buried in Clifton Road Cemetery, Rugby, Warwickshire. His widow survived him by thirty nine years.
Joseph Gwyn Moore-Gwyn TD, Major. Moore-Gwyn was born on 15 May 1879. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 21 November 1903. He embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916, and on 26 July 1916 he was promoted temporary lieutenant colonel, in command of the 5th Battalion, Worcester Regiment. He relinquished his commission due to ill health on 14 February 1919, retaining the rank of major, and was awarded the Territorial Decoration on 11 November 1918. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, as well as the Territorial Force War Medal, which were sent to him at Gunfort, Tenby. He had played cricket for Glamorgan for one season, he died on 17 February 1937, aged 57.
Reverend Abraham Rees Morgan MC, Army Chaplains Department. Morgan was born in Llangyfelach in 1886, the son of William and Mary Morgan. He studied for the Ministry at Bangor University. He was gazetted as Chaplain 4th Class in the Army Chaplain’s Department on 7 March 1916. He joined the Yeomanry in Egypt in January 1917, becoming Chaplain to the 24th Welsh upon its formation. He was awarded the Military Cross during the war (see the Honours and Awards Appendix). He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at 50, Cambria Street, Holyhead.
Abraham Rees Morgan, Captain. He was promoted captain in the Pembroke Yeomanry on 19 September 1918. Nothing further is currently known of him.
David Lloyd Popkin Morgan MC, Captain. Morgan was born in 1887, the son of David Henry and Jane Sybil Morgan, of 11, Langland Road, Mumbles. He was educated at Llandovery College from 1900 until 1903, and was a popular sportsman in the Swansea area, and well known at Mumbles as a keen yachtsman. Morgan was a metallurgist and assayer by profession and had worked as such in Peru. He was commissioned on 1 October 1915 into the Pembroke Yeomanry and embarked for Egypt with them in 1916. Morgan was awarded the Military Cross in November 1917, for his part in the attack on Beersheba. In February 1918 his Company was given the honour of guarding the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. Sadly, Morgan was killed soon after, when his Battalion was ordered into a night attack on a hill at Selwad. The action took place in thick fog, and it was here that he was killed in action when his platoon came under heavy fire on 9 March 1918. He was 30 years old, and is buried at Jerusalem War Cemetery, Israel. Morgan was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to his father at 98, Bryn Road, Swansea.
Frank Stanley Morgan, Captain. Morgan was born in Oystermouth on 10 January 1893. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 1 March 1914. He transferred to the Imperial Camel Corps. He served with the HQ of the Imperial Camel Corps and later rose to the rank of Colonel with the Royal Signals Corps. Morgan died in Swansea in 1992, aged 99.
Frank Hall Morris, Captain. Morris was born in Bridgend on 16 July 1869, the son of Lewis and Emily Morris, of Neath. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 29 October 1914, and promoted lieutenant on 22 June 1917, with seniority from 1 June 1916. On 12 December 1917 he was promoted captain, while seconded to another unit. He played cricket for Glamorgan prior to the war, as well as for Malvern College, Swansea and Tenby. He died at Tonbridge on 21 October 1954, aged 85.
James Morris, Lieutenant. Morris was the son of David John Morris and Anne Morris, of Sea View, Birchgrove, Swansea. He was commissioned from the 3/1st Glamorgan Yeomanry into the Denbigh Yeomanry in Egypt, serving in the 74th (Yeomanry) Division. He was killed in action on 27 December 1917, aged 25, and is buried in Jerusalem War Cemetery. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his mother at Sea View, Birchgrove, Swansea.
John Illtyd Dillwyn Nicholl, Major. Nicholl was born at Merthyr Mawr on 1 May 1861, the son of J.C. Nicholl. He had played cricket for Marylebone Cricket Club and for Glamorgan prior to the war. His son, Second Lieutenant John William Harford Nicholl was killed with the 2nd Welsh in 1914. He became High Sheriff of Glamorgan and died on 20 September 1935.
Rev. H. S. Nicholl, Chaplain 4th Class, Army Chaplains Department. Reverend Nicholl was commissioned as Chaplain to the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 5 March 1911, and was still the Regimental Chaplain at the outbreak of war. Nothing further is presently known of him.
Gilbert Stradling Nicholl-Carne, JP, Captain. Nicholl-Carne was born on 1 March 1882, the son of John and Alice Nicholl-Carne, of St Donats, Glamorgan. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 1 February 1908, and promoted lieutenant on 8 March 1910. He embarked with the Yeomanry for Egypt in 1916, and transferred to the Army Service Corps, in the rank of lieutenant on 11 June 1916. He relinquished his commission on account of ill health on 28 May 1919, and was granted the rank of captain. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Llanmaes House, Llantwit Major, Glamorgan.
John William Nicholls, Lieutenant. Nicholls was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 27 October 1915. He embarked for Egypt with the yeomanry in 1916, and was taken on strength of the 24th Welsh when it was formed in 1917. He was promoted lieutenant on 1 July 1917. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at the National and Provincial Bank of England, Milsom Street, Bath.
Oswald Olive, Second Lieutenant. Olive was born at Carmarthen in 1885, the son of John Samuel Olive and Saffina Olive, of the Boar’s Head Hotel. He served with the City of London Yeomanry, and was commissioned into the Welsh Regiment from an Officer Cadet Unit on 1 August 1917. He joined the 24th Welsh in November 1917 and was promoted Lieutenant on 1 February 1919, while the battalion was still in France. Olive was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to him at 70, Waldeman Avenue, Colehill Lane, Fulham, SW6. He died at Cardigan in 1949, aged 63. His brother, George, was commissioned into the Welsh Horse.
Alexander Stuart Ouzman, Second Lieutenant. Ouzman was born at Lambeth in 1881, the son of William and Emily Ouzman. He had served in France since 14 November 1915, and was commissioned from the Public Schools Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, into the Welsh Regiment on 26 February 1918. He joined the 24th Welsh on 6 August 1918. Ouzman relinquished his commission on completion of service on 10 November 1920, retaining the rank of second lieutenant. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to him at 51, Deronda Road, Herne Hill, London SE4. He died at Portsmouth in 1949, aged 68.
Sackville Herbert Edward Gregg Owen, Lieutenant. Owen was born at Slebech in 1880 and was a Solicitor. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 26 August 1914. Owen embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry and was seconded from the Yeomanry for service with the Imperial Camel Corps on 12 August 1916. He relinquished his commission due to wounds on 4 April 1918 and was granted the rank of Honorary Lieutenant and returned home to Hill House, Narberth, becoming High Sheriff for Pembrokeshire. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at Picton Castle. Owen unveiled the Tenby War Memorial in 1921. He married Dorothy Constance St. Foyre Fair in 1925 and died on 7 January 1960.
Llewellyn Partridge DSO MID, Major. Partridge was born at Winshill, Derbyshire in 1878, the son of Henry and Laura Partridge. He had served during the Boer War as a lieutenant with the 12th Lancers, having originally been commissioned into the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. Llewellyn married Mary Ciceley Onslow Cuthbert in 1903. He resigned from the 3rd Dragoon Guards on 26 February 1908, and joined the Pembroke Yeomanry as a captain. Llewellyn was promoted major on 26 November 1914. He embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and French Croix de Guerre, and the Order of the Nile 4th Class just before the 24th Welsh was formed. He served for the rest of the war with the battalion, being promoted temporary lieutenant colonel on 8 September 1917. Llewellyn survived the war and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services, which were sent to him at Pant-y-Beiliau, Gilwern, Monmouthshire. After the war Llewellyn became an Aide de Camp to three kings: George V, Edward VIII and George VI. He died at Stroud in 1945, aged 67.
Charles Pearce, Second Lieutenant. Pearce was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry from the Bristol University OTC on 8 March 1915. On 22 June 1917 he was promoted Lieutenant, with precedence from 1 June 1916. He seems to have remained on home service with the Labour Corps, and relinquished the acting rank of captain when ceasing to be employed by the Corps on 2 May 1919. He was restored to the establishment on 3 May 1919 and on 16 July 1919 he was promoted captain in the Territorial Force.
Charles Lewis William Penn, Captain. Penn was born on 30 September 1887, the son of Richard Poyer Lewis Penn and Edith Mary Penn (née Allen), of Camrose, Pembrokeshire. He married Mary Georgina Hoare at St Andrew’s, Well Street, London on 9 March 1915. He was serving with the Pembroke Yeomanry at the outbreak of war, and on 4 April 1917 he was promoted lieutenant, with precedence from 28 March 1916. He was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps on 13 August 1918 as captain, with seniority from 23 January 1918. He was restored to the establishment on 21 January 1919 after ceasing to be employed by the Machine Gun Corps. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services. Penn died on 14 July 1962, aged 74.
Sir Ivor Philipps, Major General. Philipps was born on 9 September 1861 at the vicarage in Warminster, the second of six sons of James Erasmus Philipps, twelfth baronet, vicar of Warminster, and his wife, Mary Margaret, eldest daughter of Samuel Best, rector of Abbots Ann, Hampshire. His family was one of the great landowning families of west Wales, with an ancestral seat at Picton Castle in Pembrokeshire John W. Philipps, first Viscount St Davids, was Ivor’s elder brother. Philipps was educated at Felsted School and served in the Wiltshire militia from 1881 until 1883, when he was commissioned into the Manchester Regiment. He served in India, joining the Bengal Staff Corps of the Indian army in 1884 and two years later joined the 1st Battalion, the 5th Gurkha Regiment. He was promoted captain in 1894 and major in 1901, and was attached to the Burma military police in the years immediately following the absorption of Burma into India in 1886, seeing active service on the north-west frontier. He was appointed to the staff of the commander-in-chief, India, in 1900 and was awarded the DSO later that year. On retiring from the regular army in 1903 he joined the Pembroke Yeomanry, which he commanded from 1908 to 1912. On 9 September 1891 he married Marian Isobel Mirrlees, of Redlands, Glasgow. Philipps became Liberal MP for Southampton in 1906 and held the seat until 1922. On the outbreak of war in 1914 he was called to the War Office for staff duties and in November was given command of a brigade of the newly formed Welsh Division. He later became major general in command of the 38th (Welsh) Division, taking it to France. He was removed from his post after the first attack on Mametz Wood failed. In 1917 he was appointed KCB for services during the war. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Cosheston Hall, Pembroke. He settled back into life at Cosheston Hall, Pembroke after the war, and busied himself with the restoration of Pembroke Castle, until his death in the Empire Nursing Home, Vincent Square, Westminster, on 15 August 1940, aged 78.
Walter Alfred Phillips MID, Lieutenant. Phillips was born on 18 August 1888, the son of Richard and Emma Phillips, of Cardiff. He embarked with the Glamorgan Yeomanry for Egypt in 1916 as a second lieutenant. He was promoted lieutenant on 1 July 1917 while attached to the 24th Welsh. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at 164, Llandaff Road, Cardiff. He died in Cardiff in 1972, aged 83.
Albert Legh Pope MID, Captain. Pope was born in 1891, the son of Arthur and Isobel Legh Pope, of Caerleon. He was commissioned from the Monmouthshire Regiment into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 15 November 1915, and joined the regiment in Egypt in December 1916. On 13 September 1918 he was promoted to acting captain, while commanding a Trench Mortar Battery, and relinquished the rank on 11 April 1919, reverting to lieutenant. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at New Road, Slades, St Austell, Cornwall. He died in 1950, aged 59. His brother, Ernest Legh Pope, was awarded the Military Cross while attached to the 7th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers:
‘On 27th September, 1918, near Bourlon Wood, he reorganised the men around him in conjunction with Lt. Driscoll, M.C., and under guidance of the C.O. led his command into action in a very gallant manner, thereby materially assisting the troops engaged in gaining their objective. The work done by him was most creditable.’
James Henry Richard Downes-Powell, Lieutenant Colonel. Downes-Powell was born in Oystermouth in 1874, the son of James and Margaret Powell. He married Evangeline Rhoda Bevan in 1908, whilst living in London. He was promoted lieutenant in the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 17 September 1914, having served in the Imperial Yeomanry, and was seconded to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers on 1 July 1915. On 8 May 1916 he was transferred to France, and was promoted acting major on 3 October 1916 while second in command of a battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, before becoming temporary lieutenant colonel while commanding a battalion. He later worked as a staff officer for the Ministry of Labour, being attached and promoted temporary lieutenant colonel on 17 September 1918. He relinquished his commission due to ill health contracted on active service on 17 July 1919, retaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at 27, Principality Buildings, Queen Street, Cardiff. He died in Cheltenham on 10 February 1958, aged 84.
Hubert Cecil Prichard CBE MID, Major. Prichard was born in Stapleton, Gloucestershire on 6 February 1865, the son of Charles John Collins Prichard and Mary Anna Prichard (née Thomas). He was educated at Clifton College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge, before being commissioned into the 3rd Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment in 1888. By 1896 he had been promoted captain, and retired from the army the following year, moving to Colwinstone, Glamorgan, to succeed his mother at Pwllywrach Manor in 1903. He became a captain in the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 25 September 1901. He became a J.P. for Glamorgan, and played cricket for Gloucestershire and Glamorgan. He married Nora Diana Piers on 16 October 1910. He was promoted temporary major in the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 10 September 1914, and seems to have remained on home service during the war as commandant of a Prisoner of War Camp. He was created CBE in 1919 and was mentioned in despatches twice for valuable services. He died on 12 November 1942, at Pwllywrach, Cowbridge, aged 77.
Richard Gerald Mansell Prichard, Major. Prichard was born in 1878, the third son of Richard Knight and Bridget Prichard (née Cooper), of Bryntirion, Bridgend. He was educated at Sherborne School (Wilson’s House) and Camborne Mining College, and took a position in the south Wales coal field. At the outbreak of war he held an appointment at the Home Office as inspector of mines. A keen sportsman, he had served with the Glamorgan Yeomanry in the South African War, in which he earned the Queen’s Medal with three clasps and was mentioned in dispatches. Prichard served again with the Glamorgan Yeomanry during the Great War, before volunteering for service with the Indian Cavalry, and saw considerable fighting in France, being once wounded, before the regiment was transferred to Palestine. He was killed in action in Palestine on 7 June 1918 and is buried at Jerusalem War Cemetery, Israel. Prichard left a widow and three young children. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his widow, Evelyne Bertha Prichard, at Braemount, Drake’s Avenue, Exmouth.
David Garrick Protheroe, Major. Protheroe was born in Woolwich in 1868, the son of Edward Schaw and Ellen Augusta Celina Protheroe. By 1891 the family had returned to Ellen’s native Llanboidy, and Protheroe was raised there. He was commissioned into the 4th Brigade, Welsh Division, Militia on 22 September 1888. He was promoted temporary major in the Pembroke Yeomanry on 9 November 1914. On 26 July 1917 he was promoted major, with precedence from 9 November 1914. He seems to have remained on home service throughout the war. He died in Carmarthenshire in 1954, aged 86. His brother, Godfrey Evan Schaw Protheroe-Beynon, also served with the Pembroke Yeomanry.
Godfrey Evan Schaw Protheroe-Beynon, Major. Protheroe Beynon was born at Harwich in 1872, the son of Edward Schaw and Ellen Augusta Cecilia Protheroe (née Beynon). During 1906 he inherited Trewern Mansion at Llanddewi Velfrey, and the following year was appointed High Sheriff of Carmarthenshire, assuming the name of Protheroe-Beynon. He was serving as captain with the Pembroke Yeomanry during 1908, when the Territorial Force was created, and was promoted to temporary major on 9 November 1914. Protheroe Beynon must have remained on home service during the war, as no medal card can be found for him. He died at Trewern in 1958, aged 86. His brother David Garrick Protheroe, also served with the Pembroke Yeomanry.
Herbert Swain Pryse, Second Lieutenant. Pryse was born in Cardiff in 1889, the son of David and Annie Pryse. He had originally served in the ranks of the Welsh Regiment, landing in France on 18 December 1915. He served with the Cheshire Regiment as a sergeant before being commissioned into the Welsh Regiment on 27 March 1917. Pryse served with the 1/5th Welsh in Palestine before being transferred to the 24th Welsh on 3 February 1918, and served with the battalion in France. He was promoted lieutenant on 1 September 1918, and remained in the army as a captain after the armistice, joining the 4th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. Pryse was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to him at 37, Milton Avenue, Wellsway, Bath. He resigned his commission on 10 September 1924, retaining the rank of lieutenant. Pryse died at Bath in 1964, aged 74.
Reverend Hugh Rees MC, Captain. Rees was born at Tregaron in 1877, the son of William and Rachel Rees. He was educated at Lampeter College, before becoming a vicar at Kidwelly prior to the war. He married Florence Emily Stephens in 1908. He volunteered to serve as a Chaplain with the Army Chaplains’ Department at the outbreak of war, and was posted to Egypt in 1917, joining the 24th Welsh. Rees was awarded the Military Cross for his services in Palestine. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to him at The Rectory, Loughor, Glamorgan. He died at Loughor in 1946, aged 69.
John Oswald Rees, Second Lieutenant. Rees was born in 1889, the son of John and Rachel Rees, of 32, Long Oaks Avenue, Swansea. He was commissioned from the Army Cycling Corps into the South Wales Borderers on 16 August 1917, and was attached to the 24th Welsh from the garrison at Zeitoun on 26 August 1917. Rees was wounded during the Third Battle of Gaza, and died of his wounds on 8 November 1917, aged 28. He is buried at Kantara War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. For his services during the war, he was awarded the British War and Victory Medals, which were sent to his mother at 32, Long Oaks Avenue, Uplands, Swansea.
John Llewelyn Richards MID, Lieutenant. Richards was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 1 June 1916. He embarked with the Yeomanry for Egypt, and served with the 24th Welsh after its formation. On 26 July 1917 he was promoted Lieutenant, with precedence from 3 December 1916. He was Mentioned in Despatches on 14 June 1918. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his executor.
John Thomas Richards, Second Lieutenant. Richards was the only son of Lewis and Mary Ann Richards, of Penywain, Bedwas, Monmouthshire. He was commissioned from the Royal Fusiliers into the 3rd Welsh on 2 April 1917, and attached to the 24th Welsh in Palestine. He was killed at Beersheba on 6 November 1917, aged 20, and is buried in Beersheba War Cemetery. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his mother at Penywain Farm, Bedwas.
George Powell Roch, Captain. Roch was born in Llanboidy, the son of William Francis and Emily Catherine Roch. He married Muriel Thomson, of Bath, in 1899, and was J.P. and D.L. for the County of Carmarthenshire. He had served as a captain in the Royal Garrison Artillery Militia, and on 12 January 1915 was gazetted as a captain in the Pembroke Yeomanry. He was then attached to the 1st Battalion, Kings Shropshire Light Infantry, part of 16 Brigade, 6th Division. He was promoted captain on 26 July 1917, with precedence from 12 January 1915. He was killed during the Second Battle of Kemmel on 21 May 1918, aged 43. He is buried at Nine Elms British Cemetery, Belgium. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his widow, Muriel Roch, at 33, Draycote Place, SW3. His brother, William Protheroe Roch, served as a captain in the Welsh Horse, and was killed in the Jordan Valley on 11 March 1918.
John Victor Tweed Roderick, Lieutenant. Roderick was the fourth son of William and Ella Augusta Buckley Roderick, of Goodig, Pembrey. He was educated at Rugby School prior to being commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 5 July 1915. He served in Ireland before being posted to Egypt, joining the 1/1st Pembroke Yeomanry on the Suez Canal. In March 1917 he transferred to the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards, joining the battalion in the Cambrai sector in France, and was promoted lieutenant on 1 July 1917. He was killed in action on 27 August 1918, aged 21, while leading an attack against the village of Moyenneville, and is buried in Bac-du-Sud British Cemetery, Baillieulval, He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his mother at 45, Brunswick Gardens, Kensington, W8. Two of his brother also fell: Captain Hume Buckley Roderick was killed with the Welsh Guards in France on 1 December 1917; and Lieutenant Allan Whitlock Nicholl Roderick was killed in Gallipoli with the 4th Welsh on 10 August 1915.
Lancelot Duke Conway Rose, Lieutenant. Rose was born in Clevedon, Somerset in 1899, the son of Alfred and Sarah Rose. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry from the Inns of Court OTC on 3 April 1915. He embarked for Egypt with the Yeomanry in 1916, and was taken on strength of the 24th Welsh upon its formation in 1917. He was promoted lieutenant on 1 July 1917. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at 32, Windsor Terrace, Uplands, Swansea. He married Daphne Rosemary Williams, of Llandeilo, in 1919. He died in Sussex in 1957, aged 68.
Arthur Rosser, Second Lieutenant. Rosser was the only son of William and Esther Rosser, of Penrhyn, Eaton Grove, Swansea. He was educated at Swansea Grammar School, before joining the Pembroke Yeomanry as a private. He was commissioned from there into the Welsh Regiment in January 1915, and was posted to the 14th Welsh. He was killed during the assault on Mametz Wood on 10 July 1916, aged 19, and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France. His Commanding Officer wrote: ‘Throughout the day he behaved in a most excellent manner, and had he lived would doubtless have received recognition from his King for his bravery. Boy, as he was, he was a man’s man, and as such a leader.’ He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his father at Penrhyn, Eaton Grove, Swansea.
George Matthew Rumball MC, Captain (Quartermaster). Rumball was born on 28 May 1867, the son of William and Catherine Rumball, of Westminster. He married Clara Blake on 17 May 1896. He enlisted on 9 February 1889 into the 1st King’s Dragoon Guards, and saw service in India and the Boer War, gaining the Queen’s South Africa Medal and three clasps, the King’s South Africa Medal, and the Long Service Good Conduct Medal prior to the outbreak of the Great War. He was serving as regimental sergeant major with the Dragoon Guards, based at Pembroke Dock, when he was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 21 May 1915, and was allotted the post of Quartermaster. He embarked with the Yeomanry for Egypt, and gained the award of the Military Cross in Palestine. He was promoted temporary captain on 21 May 1918. He resigned his commission on 1 April 1921, retaining the rank of captain. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his service during the war, which were sent to him at The Saracen’s Head Hotel, Diss, Norfolk. He died at Wandsworth in 1937, aged 69.
Sir Owen Henry Philipps Scourfield, TD, Colonel. Scourfield was born in Camrose, Pembrokeshire on 10 October 1847, the son of Sir John Henry Philipps Scourfield, and Augusta Lort Philipps. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 2 August 1890, rising to become honorary colonel, Commanding the Pembroke Yeomanry. He married Gertrude Katherine Allen in 1877. He was still in honorary command of the battalion at the outbreak of war, but due to his advanced age command had passed to Lieutenant Colonel Spence-Jones. He died in Burton, Pembrokeshire in 1921, aged 73.
Richard William Serle, Lieutenant. Serle was born in 1891, the son of William Charles Serle and Emily Mary Serle, of Swansea. He was commissioned into the Welsh Regiment on 28 March 1917. He joined the 24th Welsh in Palestine on 7 September 1917, and was promoted lieutenant on 28 September 1918. He relinquished his commission on 30 September 1921. Serle died at Swansea in 1937, aged 45. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services.
George Alfred Sheridan-Shedden MC, Lieutenant. Sheridan-Shedden was born in Cardiff in 1886, the son of John and Zoe Shedden (née Sheridan). He was commissioned from the Inns of Court OTC into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 3 April 1915. He embarked with the Yeomanry for Egypt in 1916. He later served with the 74th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps in Palestine, and in France, and was awarded the Military Cross at Épehy (see the Honours and Awards Appendix). He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services. He died in Bristol in 1961, aged 75.
Robert John Richard Cobden Simons, Lieutenant Colonel. Simons was born in Merthyr Tydfil on 2 April 1865, the son of William Vazie Simons and Clara Maria Simons. He was a doctor and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. On 10 June 1896 he was gazetted as Surgeon Lieutenant into the 2nd Glamorganshire Artillery. He married Helen Thomas in 1897. On 9 January 1915 he was appointed Temporary Lieutenant Colonel after being given command of one of the Welsh Field Ambulances of the 38th (Welsh) Division and served with it in France from 1 December 1915. He relinquished his commission due to ill health on 18 January 1917 and was granted the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Colonel. He died in Bath on 15 February 1925 aged fifty nine. For his services during the war he was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals.
Douglas Roy Smith, Lieutenant. Smith was born in Maindee on 18 July 1893, the son of Sidney and Elizabeth Smith. He enlisted on 29 September 1910 in the Royal Gloucester Hussars, and had attended annual camp every year from then until the outbreak of war, when he was discharged as medically unfit. He then gained a commission into the Glamorgan Yeomanry, joining the yeomanry in Egypt in December 1916. He was promoted lieutenant on 22 June 1917, with seniority from 20 October 1916. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Sunningdale, Caerleon, Monmouthshire. He died in Gloucester in 1969, aged 75.
William Arthur Smith, Second Lieutenant. Lieutenant Smith is mentioned in the war diary as being wounded on 31 September 1917. He cannot be identified.
Cecil John Herbert Spence-Jones CMG DSO MID, Lieutenant Colonel. Spence-Jones was born in 1873, the son of Reverend Henry Donald Maurice and Louise M. Spence. In 1908 he married Aline Margaret Colby, of Ffynone Hall, Boncath, Pembrokeshire. On 8 March 1905 he was promoted major in the Pembroke Yeomanry. On 21 October 1914 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, in command of the 1/1st Pembroke Yeomanry. He took the battalion to Egypt in 1916, and assumed command of the 24th Welsh upon its formation the following year. He commanded the battalion throughout the war, with spells in temporary command of 230 Brigade interspersed. He retired from the Pembroke Yeomanry with the rank of colonel on 21 October 1918. During the war he was made CMG and was awarded the DSO, as well as being mentioned in despatches several times (see the Honours and Awards Appendix). He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals, as well as the Territorial Force War Medal, for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Ffynone, Boncath, Pembrokeshire. He later resided at Donnington Hall, Ledbury, and was High Sheriff of Herefordshire.
Courtenay Charles Strick, Captain. Strick was born on 24 May 1886, the son of Thomas and Mary Strick. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 30 September 1914. On 17 May 1915 he assumed the rank of temporary lieutenant while commanding the South Wales Mounted Brigade Signal Troop, and was promoted lieutenant on 22 June 1917, with seniority from 1 June 1916. On 19 November 1917 he was promoted a captain. He served in France with a signals company, and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Newton, Mumbles, Swansea. He died on 5 November 1958 at Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire, aged 72.
Richard Henry Bowlas Summers, Major. Summers was born on 30 July 1860, the son of James Bowlas and Emma Mary Ann Summers (née Penn), of Walwyn’s Castle, Pembrokeshire. He was a well known sportsman, and had played cricket and rugby for Cheltenham College, and rugby for Haverfordwest and for Wales. He played full back in the first ever Welsh international team, which played England in 1881. He was commissioned into the Royal Pembroke Artillery Militia on 29 October 1879, but resigned his commission on 18 April 1885 after six years service. He was promoted temporary major in the Pembroke Yeomanry on 9 November 1914, and was promoted major on 5 December 1916. He served in France from 10 January 1917, attached to the 49th Division Artillery, before being transferred to the 56th Division Artillery. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Summerville, Haverfordwest. He died in Haverfordwest on 22 December 1941, aged 81.
Wilfred Temple, Second Lieutenant. Temple was born at Cockermouth in 1892, the son of John and Mary Hannah Temple. He was commissioned into the Welsh Regiment on 27 March 1918. He joined the 24th Welsh in France on 6 August 1918, but was later attached to the Sherwood Foresters. Temple was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his services during the war, which were sent to his wife Hilda at Shakespeare House, Fitz Road, Cockermouth, in 1941. He died in Cumbria in 1958, aged 66.
Arthur Tudor Thomas, Captain. Thomas was born in Taffswell in 1883, the son of William and Ann Thomas. He married Florence Mary Stark in 1909. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 2 February 1916. He joined the 24th RWF in France in 1918, and was wounded after the 74th Division had moved back to Flanders from the Somme. He died of his wounds on 29 September 1918 aged 34, and is buried in Pont-d’Achelles Military Cemetery, Nieppe. He was promoted captain whilst commanding a company on 3 July 1918. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his widow, Florence Mary Thomas, at 15, Mafeking Road, Cardiff.
Charles William Trevor Trask, Second Lieutenant. Trask was born on 9 April 1899, the son of Colonel Charles James, and Evelyn Trask of Broadshard, Norton sub Hamdon, Somerset. Educated at Connaught House, Weymouth and Sherborne School, he was in the OTC at Sherborne from May 1913 until he left in March 1916. Trask attested for the Inns of Court OTC 26 December 1916, and was posted to the Reserve. He was mobilized on 12 March 1917 and joined 12 Officer Cadet Battalion, being commissioned into the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion Somerset Light Infantry on 27 November 1917. Trask then sailed for Egypt, joining the 24th Welsh on 3 March 1918. He landed with the battalion in France on 7 May 1918, and on 29 June returned to England for leave. Trask rejoined the battalion on 12 July 1918, and was killed in action 18 August 1918, aged 19. He is buried at St Venant-
Robecq Road British Cemetery, Robecq, France. For his services during the war, Trask was awarded the British War and Victory Medals, which were sent to his father at Brondshard, Norton Sub Hamdon, Stoke Under Ham.
Odo Richard Vivian DSO MVO TD, Lieutenant Colonel. Vivian was born in London on 22 April 1875, the son of Henry Hussey and Averil Vivian (née Beaumont). He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 13 May 1896. He served with the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Welsh Regiment for a period, before being promoted captain with the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 19 October 1901. He was created a Member of the Victorian Order on 12 August 1904. He married Winifred Hamilton in Ireland on 25 October 1906. He was seconded to the 14th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles on 6 February 1917, and later commanded the 6th Welsh and the 11th Battalion, Cameron Highlanders during the war. For his services during the war, he was awarded the DSO (see the Honours and Awards Appendix). He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, as well as the Territorial Force War Medal, which were sent to him at Glanogwr, Bridgend. He became lieutenant colonel commanding the 6th Welsh (TA) on 16 February 1920. He became the third Baron Swansea upon the death of his brother in 1932, and died at Builth Wells on 16 November 1934, aged 59. His medals, the Member of the Victorian Order, Distinguished Service Order, British War Medal, Victory Medal with MID emblem, and the Territorial War Medal were sold at auction in 2007, the estimate being £3,000 to £4,000.
Charles Herbert Stanley Wakeford, Lieutenant. Wakeford was born in 1899, the son of Herbert Steele and Mary Wakeford, of Meadow View, Clive Crescent, Penarth. He was commissioned on 27 October 1915 into the Glamorgan Yeomanry, and embarked for Egypt with them in 1916. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1917, and sailed for France with the battalion in May 1918. Wakefield was killed in action on 7 September 1918, aged 28. He is buried at Tincourt New British Cemetery, France. For his services during the war he was awarded the British War and Victory Medals, which were sent to his father at Meadow View, 54, Clive Road, Penarth.
Francis Reginald Steele Wakeford, Lieutenant. Wakeford was born on 24 May 1893, the son of Herbert Steele and Mary Wakeford, of Meadow View, Clive Crescent, Penarth He was commissioned in the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 25 October 1916, joining the yeomanry in Egypt. He was promoted lieutenant on 25 April 1918. He later transferred to the Royal Air Force as flying officer (Observer). He died on 25 December 1918, aged 25, and is buried in Penarth (St Augustine of Hippo) Churchyard. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his father at 54, Clive Road, Penarth.
Howel Cyril Watkins MC, Lieutenant. Watkins was the son of Walter Jones and Nellie Watkins (née Chadwick), of 5, Richmond Villas, Swansea. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 5 August 1916, and taken on strength in the 24th Welsh after its formation. He was promoted lieutenant on 5 February 1918. He was awarded the Military Cross during the Battle of Épehy, and was wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans during the great offensive, on 21 September 1918. He died of his wounds on 23 October 1918, aged 21, and is buried in Le Cateau Military Cemetery. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his father at 56, Eaton Crescent, Swansea.
Alfred E Welch, Second Lieutenant. Welch was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 28 March 1917, and on 7 September 1917 joined the 24th Welsh in Palestine. Little else is presently known of him, but he survived the war and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his service.
Cecil Hamlyn Williams MID, Second Lieutenant. Williams was born at Clerkenwell on 23 January 1895, the son of Alfred Hamlyn and Mildred Mercy Williams. He originally served as an able seaman in the Royal Navy, before being commissioned into the Welsh Regiment, and posted to the 24th Welsh. Williams was mentioned in Sir Archibald Murray’s Despatches of 28 August 1917. He was later promoted captain, and transferred to the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. For his services during the war Williams was awarded the British War and Victory Medals, which were sent to his mother at 35, Dover Street, Piccadily. He died at Eastbourne in 1976, aged 81.
Hugh Williams, Second Lieutenant. Williams was the son of John and Margaret Williams, of Landers Hook, Treffgarne, Pembrokeshire. He married prior to the war, and lived with his wife Anna Williams at Old Gate House, Robeston Wathen. Williams was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry, but was then attached to the 7th Battalion, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, part of 8 Brigade, 3rd Division. He was killed near Béthune on 28 July 1918 aged 29, and is buried at Sandpits British Cemetery, Fouquereuil. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services.
James Alexander Wilson MD, Captain (Surgeon). Wilson was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry as Medical Officer on 2 September 1905. Little else is known of him, but he remained in Britain on home service and did not embark for Egypt with the yeomanry.
Richard Cape Wilson, Captain. Wilson was born in Africa in 1892. He was originally commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 15 September 1913. He was promoted lieutenant just after the Yeomanry arrived in Egypt, on 26 March 1916, and put in command of No 1 Company. On 11 June 1916 he was promoted captain, with precedence as of 26 March 1916. On 8 March 1917 he was attached to the HQ staff. He was restored to the establishment on 5 March 1918. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, as well as the Territorial Force War Medal, which were sent to him at Nash Manor, Cowbridge, Glamorgan. He possibly died in 1959.
Wilfrid Hawthorn Wilson, Second Lieutenant. Wilson was born in St Mellons, Cardiff in 1893, and was brought up by his aunt and uncle, Matthew and Margaret Cope. He was commissioned into the Glamorgan Yeomanry on 30 September 1914, but transferred to the Welsh Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. He served in France from 7 May 1918, and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to him at Edgemont, Derby Road, Nottingham.
John Burrell Holme Woodcock DSO MID, Major. Woodcock was born at Standish, Lancashire in 1885. He was educated at Rugby, before graduating BA, becoming an articled solicitor’s clerk. He was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 12 May 1906, lieutenant on 22 April 1912, and captain on 26 November 1914. On 24 February 1917 Woodcock was promoted to major, with precedence from 10 August 1916. He assumed temporary command of the 24th Welsh on 19 May 1918 and reassumed command on 14 September 1918, and again on 18 January and 24 February 1919. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration in the Royal Warrant of 13 October 1920, whilst on the staff of 102nd (Pembroke & Cardigan) Field Brigade, Royal Artillery. On 14 April 1926, Major Woodcock DSO TD resigned his commission upon retirement, retaining the rank of major. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, as well as the Territorial Force War Medal, which were sent to him at Ashley Manor, Kings Limbourne, Hampshire. He died in South Africa in 1960, aged 75.
William Woolf, Lieutenant. Woolf was born in Cardiff in 1894, the son of Joseph and Rebecca Woolf. He was commissioned from the Royal Engineers into the 17th Welsh in February 1915, and later transferred to the 24th Welsh. He was killed in action at Épehy on 21 September 1918, aged 24, and is buried in Ste. Emilie Valley Cemetery, Villers-Faucon. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his parents at 35b Queen’s Gate, South Kensington, London.
Charles Frederick Talbot Wyndham-Quin, Major. Wyndham-Quin was born on 12 January 1864, the son of the Fourth Earl of Dunraven, Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin, and of Caroline Tyler. His father had commanded the Imperial Yeomanry during the Boer War. Wyndham-Quin was too old for overseas service, so remained on the home establishment throughout the war. He died in Kensington on 2 April 1926.
John Wyndham, Major. Wyndham was commissioned into the 2nd Welsh in May 1900, and was promoted captain in August 1910. In 1913 he was serving as an assistant district commissioner, South Nigeria, on the Welsh Regiment retired list. At the outbreak of the Great War he first served with the Nigeria Regiment in West Africa and was then posted to the 24th Welsh, serving in Egypt, and later on the staff in France, attached to Fifth Army. On 10 July 1918 he was granted the rank of major on retiring for the second time. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his services, and was also awarded a Silver War Badge. His address on retirement was Williton, Somerset. He died on 24 November 1966 at Bathealton, near Taunton.
Thomas William Yarrow, Major. Yarrow was born in Tottenham in 1854. He enlisted into the 5th Lancers in 1872, and retired in 1906, after thirty four years service. He married the widowed Martha Roberts in Tenby on 7 September 1895. He was Quartermaster and Honorary Major with the Glamorgan Yeomanry at the outbreak of war, and on 9 November 1914 was attached to the Pembroke Yeomanry in the same capacity. He was awarded the Silver War Badge, which was sent to him at 1, Green Hill Avenue, Tenby. He died in Tenby in 1926, aged 72.
James Hamilton Langdon Yorke MC, Captain. Yorke was the son of James Charles Yorke, J.P. and Katherine Ellen Yorke (née Langdon), of Langton, Durnbach, Pembrokeshire, and was educated at Haileybury and at Oriel College, Oxford. He married Violet Mary Vincent, of 8 Argyll Mansions, Chelsea, London, and the couple had two children. Yorke was commissioned into the Pembroke Yeomanry on 3 October 1912, and worked for the British South Africa Company. Upon the outbreak of war he volunteered for overseas service, and embarked for Egypt with the Pembroke Yeomanry in 1916. He was promoted captain in Egypt, joining the 24th Welsh upon formation in 1917. Yorke was killed in action at El Tireh on 27 December 1917. He had just nine days previously been awarded the Military Cross. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his wartime services, which were sent to his widow, at 7, Argyll Mansions, Chelsea, SW3.