Frederick Hughes

Private Frederick Hughes – Royal Munster Fusiliers, 7^th Battalion

Early Life

Frederick Hughes was born in 1890 in Swansea, the son of John Hughes and Mary Hughes.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the Hughes family were living at 215 Marsden Terrace, Swansea. John, aged 30, originally from Pembrokeshire, was employed as a general labourer. Mary, aged 27, was at home with their three children: James and William Joseph, both aged 9, and Frederick, then 9 months old.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 1 Upper Pentre Mawr Road, Swansea. John, aged 39, was still working as a general labourer, while Mary was 36. Their children included James, 19, employed as a labourer; William, 14; Frederick, 12; Catherine, 8; Ellen, 4; and baby Mary, aged 3 months.

1911 Census

The 1911 Census recorded the family still living at 1 Upper Pentre Mawr Road. John, now 50, was working as a hawker (general), and Mary was 47. Their children at home included William John, 24, a labourer; Frederick, 21, employed at the forge; Catherine, 17, and Ellen, 14, both working as machine girls in a fuse factory; Mary Annie, 10; and Albert, aged 5, both of whom were attending school.

Military Service and Death

Army Register of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929

Frederick enlisted with the Royal Munster Fusiliers, 7^th Battalion. He died on 8^th May 1915, aged 25, at Netley Military Hospital near Southampton. His death was recorded in the Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects (1901–1929).

Burial

Frederick Hughes
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Following his death, Private Frederick Hughes was buried at Danygraig Cemetery, Swansea. His headstone bears the personal inscription chosen by his family:

“8 YEARS HAVE PASSED OUR HEARTS STILL SORE
AS TIME ROLLS ON WE MISS YOU MORE”

This inscription suggests that his permanent headstone — and likely others at Danygraig — was erected in the early 1920s, several years after the war.

Netley Military Hospital

Netley Military Hospital

Netley Military Hospital, where Frederick died, was first built in 1856 on the suggestion of Queen Victoria, although its design drew criticism from Florence Nightingale. During the First World War, a large Red Cross hutted hospital was added at the rear of the site, expanding Netley’s capacity to around 2,500 beds. Many of the staff were Red Cross volunteers, as regular army medical staff were serving overseas. Over the course of the war, some 50,000 patients were treated at Netley.

Legacy

Frederick Hughes’s life was cut short at the age of 25, only months after the outbreak of the war. His service with the Royal Munster Fusiliers reflects the reach of the conflict, which drew men from Swansea into regiments across Britain and Ireland.

His grave at Danygraig Cemetery, inscribed with his family’s enduring grief, speaks not only to his sacrifice but also to the long-lasting pain carried by families at home.

Frederick’s burial in May 1915 places him alongside other early Swansea casualties interred at Danygraig that same year, including Private Cecil John Hopkins of the Welsh Regiment and Private David John Williams of the Royal Army Medical Corps. Together, their graves mark the continuation of the cemetery’s story of loss, which had begun in 1914 with the burials of Owen Owen, William Bromfield, and others. Collectively, these memorials form a poignant record of Swansea’s sacrifice during the earliest years of the First World War.