Douglas Allenby Rose

Royal Navy, H.M.S. Drake

Douglas Allenby Rose

Douglas Allenby Rose
Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapelyard
credit - findagrave

The first sailor to be buried at Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapelyard was Ordinary Seaman Douglas Allenby Rose, who served with the Royal Navy at H.M.S. Drake.

Family Background

Charles Rose and Teresa Davies
marriage certificate 
Christ Church, Swansea

Douglas was the son of Charles Rose and Teresa Rose (née Davies). His father, born in Jersey, married Teresa in 1896 at Christ Church, Swansea.

1901 Census

The 1901 Census records the couple at 113 Western Street, Swansea, where Charles, 34, worked as a journeyman plasterer. Teresa, 24, kept house, and they had two young daughters: Olive (3) and Myrtle (3 months).

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family was running the Vivian’s Arms, Ferry Side, near the Town Hall, Swansea. Charles, 44, was listed as the publican, and Teresa, 34, assisted in the business. Their children were Olive (13), Myrtle (10), Ivy (8), and Maxwell (7). Teresa’s widowed mother, Grace Davies (65), also lived with them, as did their servant, Mary Bresner (20).

1921 Census

London Hotel, 50 Bathurst Street

Douglas, known in the family as Allen, was born in 1918. At the time of the 1921 Census, the family was living at the London Hotel, 50 Bathurst Street, Swansea. Charles, 55, was still working as a plasterer on his own account, while Teresa, 44, managed home duties. Their daughters, Olive (23), Myrtle (20), and Ivy (19) were employed as barmaids by their father. Their sons were Maxwell (17), Lionel (7), and Allen (3). Also present was Charles’s brother-in-law, John Davies (38), who was unemployed.

Tragedy struck the family when Charles Rose died in 1924.

Early Life

Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Douglas was employed by Messrs Gregor Brothers, timber merchants. He was also a member of St. Mary’s Church and the YMCA, where he was well known among the local community.

Military Service

Douglas joined the Royal Navy in early 1940. He was stationed at H.M.S. Drake, a Royal Navy shore establishment at Devonport. Originally known as H.M.S. Vivid when commissioned in the 1890s, it was renamed H.M.S. Drake in 1934 and served as an important training and administrative base.

Death and Burial

In October 1940, Douglas returned home to Swansea on leave before resuming duties. Shortly after, tragedy struck. On 4^th November 1940, he was one of 27 victims of the Norton Fitzwarren rail crash, near Taunton, Somerset.

Western Morning News

South Wales Daily Post

The crash occurred at 3:47 am when the 11:15 pm express train from London Paddington to Penzance, carrying over 900 passengers, including many military personnel, failed to stop as scheduled at Taunton. Driver Percy Stacey, unfamiliar with the track layout and confused by wartime blackout conditions, mistakenly thought he had clearance to continue. The train entered a set of crossover points at 40 mph, derailed, and the carriages were wrecked. Douglas was among those killed instantly, aged 23.

Douglas’s body was brought back to Swansea. His funeral took place on 11^th November 1940, with a service conducted at St. Mary’s Church before burial at Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapelyard. His grave does not bear a military headstone.

Legacy

Douglas’s story is a reminder that wartime loss was not confined to the battlefield. A young sailor, only recently embarked on his naval career, became a casualty of tragic circumstances far from the sea. His burial at Bethel, close to the community where he was born and raised, ensures that his name lives on among the roll of remembrance.