Henry Harris

Lance Bombardier Henry Harris

Royal Field Artillery, “A” Battery, 348th Brigade

In the weeks following the Armistice of November 1918, the world was gripped by the devastating Spanish Flu pandemic, which spread across continents in successive waves. Among its countless victims was Lance Bombardier Henry Harris, who died on 22^nd November 1918, aged 24. He was the seventh serviceman to be buried at Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapel. His grave does not bear a military headstone.

Family Background

Thomas Benjamin Harries and Catherine Evans
marriage certificate 
St. John-juxta Church, Swansea

Henry was born in 1894, the son of Thomas Benjamin Harries and Catherine (née Evans), who had married at St. John-juxta Church, Swansea, in January 1887. The marriage register records that neither Thomas nor Catherine could sign their names, instead marking the document with an “X.”

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family was living at Cockett, with Thomas, then 32, working as a tin plate doubler. Catherine was 29, and they had two sons at home: Henry (7) and William Glyndwr (2). At this time, the surname was recorded as Harries.

1911 Census

The 1911 Census shows the family at Ty Gwyn, Cockett. Thomas, 42, was now employed as a tin plate worker rollerman, and Catherine, 39, kept the household. Their sons were Henry (17), working as a boot maker, and William Glyn (12) and David B. (12), both still in school. By this point, the surname appears as Harris.

Marriage and Family Life

Henry married Ada M. Longden in June 1913, and together they had two sons: Leslie (born 1913) and Ronald (born 1916). He also established a boot and shoemaking business in Sketty, a trade he had first learned as a teenager.

Military Service

Henry enlisted with the Royal Field Artillery, serving with “A” Battery, 348th Brigade. He went to France in December 1916, where he endured the brutal conditions of the Western Front. In November 1917, he was gassed and subsequently invalided home.

Death and Burial

Cambrian Daily Leader

While receiving treatment at Grimsby Military Hospital, Henry contracted influenza during the great pandemic. He died on 22^nd November 1918, only days after the Armistice. His death was reported in the Cambrian Daily Leader, which noted his military service, his young family, and his business in Sketty.

Henry Harris
Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapelyard
credit - findagrave

Henry was laid to rest at Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapel, Sketty, the seventh military burial there.

Legacy

Henry Harris’s story reflects the bitter aftermath of war, when the promise of peace was darkened by the Spanish flu. Surviving the front but lost to illness at home, his memory endures at Bethel among the other servicemen who gave their lives.