DRAFT

David Thomas Lewis was born at Pentre Estyll, Swansea on 6 Jan 1891, he was the eldest child of John and Elizabeth Lewis.

The first record of David is in the 1891census, he was living with his parents at 44 Llangyfelach Rd, St Johns, Swansea and his father John was working as a labourer.

By the time of the 1901 census, the family had moved to 43 Pentre Estyll St, Swansea and John continued to work as a Labourer

In 1911, Daniel, along with one of his sisters had moved away from their parents and were living with a widowed Aunt, Catherine Probert and 2 of her children at 7 Crole St, Swansea. By that time, David had followed in his fathers footsteps and was working as a Labourer at the Tinplate Works.

On 22 Feb 1913, David married Nellie Pierce Jones at Christ Church, Swansea. At the time he gave his address as 214 Oxford Street, Swansea and one of the witnesses was Edgar James Hanney, which is interesting as the Hanney family were closely involved with the Welsh Howitzers and in particular were involved with the Brigade band.

In line with the other members of the Brigade, Daniel would have been mobilised in August 1914, leaving Swansea shortly after. With the exception of some brief periods of leave between August 1914 and November 1915, it is likely that he would not have returned home to see his wife and family until he was discharged from the Army after the end of the War.

David and Nellie welcomed their first child, Hubert David on 16 March 1920 whilst they were living at 214 Oxford Street. Hubert’s date of birth may give a rough indication of when David returned home to his wife.

The next surviving record is the 1939 Register. David and Nellie were living at 35 Creidol Rd , Swansea with 2 sons, Stanley W (born 8 Aug 1922 ) and Thomas (born 18 Dec 1922) – a further record is currently closed which could be a 4th child. David was working as a Road Labourer

In 1942, David was widowed when his wife Nellie passed away.

David Thomas Lewis died at the age of 66 in 1957 in Swansea.

One of descendants added: David Thomas is my paternal Great Grandfather. Sadly we know very little about him other than he was a gentle mannered man.

David Thomas Lewis enlisted in the 1st Welsh (Howitzer) Brigade of the Territorial Force in October/November 1912 as a Driver and was given the service number 667.

Unfortunately, his service record was destroyed in the Blitz, however it is possible to piece together much of service based on other surviving records.

Given that Dvr. Lewis lived in Swansea, it is likely that he was a member of the 1st Glamorgan Battery based at the Drill Hall on Richardson St and he would have attended regular evening drill sessions and annual summer camps.

When war was declared on 4 August 1914, the Brigade had just arrived at summer camp on Salisbury Plain and, given it was compulsory to attend, it is reasonable to assume Dvr. Lewis was there. The Brigade was immediately ordered to return to Swansea.

On 6 August 1914, the men of the Brigade were embodied and the Brigade initially travelled to Shrewsbury to join up with the rest of the Welsh Division and then Northampton shortly after where they trained until December 1914. Just before Christmas, they moved to Cambridge where they remained until May 1915 when they moved to Bedford.

His Medal Index Card confirms that he, along with the rest of the Brigade, travelled from Southampton to Le Havre on 22 November 1915. From there they moved to the Somme area, where they underwent further training, including a period in the front-line South-East of Albert facing Mametz (an area that marked the southern edge of the Somme battlefield just 6 months later).

Just before Christmas 1915, the Brigade withdrew from the front-line and in January 1916, received orders to rejoin the rest of the 53rd Welsh Division in Egypt.

Whilst no further records have been found relating to Dvr. Lewis’s service, we know the majority of men of the Brigade travelled to Egypt in February 1916 and given that he was also given a new service number in 1917 from a batch of numbers associated with the Brigade, it is likely that he remained with the Brigade/Division throughout the Egypt campaign, being involved in Suez Canal Defences (1916), the 3 Battles of Gaza and march into Jerusalem (1917) and the subsequent push through the Palestine and the Judean Hills (1918).

The majority of the men of the Brigade arrived back in Swansea in March/April 1919 and were swiftly demobilized. There are no records stating when Dvr. Lewis was demobilized, however the birth of his first child in March 1920 does give a clue.

For his service in the Great War, Driver David Thomas Lewis was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Like many of his former comrades, David rejoined the Territorial Artillery on 29 May 1920 at the age of 29 and served for a further year, being discharged on 28 May 1921 with the rank of Lance Bombadier. His family have a surviving portrait of him at that time, proudly wearing his Great War medal ribbons.

His Great Grand daughter added: My Grandfather (his son) served in WW2 and his time in the services, just like his father before him was never talked about - we genuinely have no idea what he did or even where exactly he served. David died when my Dad was just 6 so his recollection is minimal of his Grandfather and there is no one else left to share memories.