John William Kneath

Private John William Kneath – East Lancashire Regiment, 10^th Battalion – One of Swansea’s Youngest Soldiers 

Early Life

John William Kneath was born in 1900, the youngest son of John Kneath and Charlotte Annie Greenslade, who had married in 1881.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, John (recorded under the name Harold) was living with his family at 7 Milton Terrace, Swansea. His father, John, aged 39, was employed as a greaser refiner, while Annie, aged 37, kept the home. Their children were Phillip, 16, working as a joiner; Annie, 12; Llewellyn, 10; George, 7; Albert, 4; and Harold (John William), aged 1.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 5 Milton Terrace. John, aged 51, was employed as a brattice cloth maker, and Annie, now 49, was recorded at home. The children still living with them were George, 17, working as a joiner; Albert, 11, an apprentice; and Harold (John William), 11, and Florence, 8, both of whom were at school.

Military Service and Death

Army Registers of Soldier’s Effects, 1901-1929

Still only a teenager, John William enlisted with the East Lancashire Regiment, 10^th Battalion. On 19^th October 1915, at the age of just 15, he died at the Swansea Fever Hospital. His death is recorded in the Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901–1929, which also confirms his burial at Danygraig Cemetery.

Burial

Kneath family grave
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

John William was buried in the Kneath family grave at Danygraig Cemetery. Unlike many others, there is no official military headstone marking his service. The inscription bearing his name on the family memorial has, over time, worn away, leaving only faint traces of his story visible.

Legacy

The story of Private John William Kneath, dead at just 15 years old, is one of the most poignant in Swansea’s roll of losses from the First World War. His service highlights the reality that some recruits were little more than boys, eager or compelled to join up despite their youth. His life ended not in battle but through illness, a fate shared by many who never reached the front.

Kneath family grave
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

The fading inscription on his family’s grave at Danygraig speaks quietly of both his service and his family’s grief, underscoring the importance of preserving the memory of the youngest soldiers whose lives were cut short by war.