One Family and Three Memorials at St James’ Church, Swansea
One Family and Three Memorials at St James’ Church, Swansea The Memorial to Thomas William James of Rheanfa The first of the three memorials at St James’ Church commemorates Thomas William James of Rheanfa , a respected Swansea solicitor whose life was brought to a tragic end during the First World War when the S.S. Sussex was torpedoed in 1916. His story begins in the industrial north‑east of England and unfolds across Newcastle, London, and Swansea before concluding in the turmoil of wartime Europe. Early Life in Northumberland Thomas William James was born in 1858 in Newcastle upon Tyne , the only child of Thomas Morgan James and his wife Maria . 1861 Census At the time of the 1861 Census , the family was living in Elswick, Northumberland, where Thomas Morgan, aged 26, and Maria, aged 23, were raising their two‑year‑old son. Maria died before the 1871 Census , leaving Thomas Morgan a widower. He later married Constantia Elisabeth Cooper , a widow whose first husband, William Bayli...
