Thomas Lewis

Private Thomas Lewis – Welsh Regiment

Early Life and Marriage

Thomas Lewis was born in the mid-1870s and worked as a stonemason. In 1897, he married Kate Morgans.

Census Records

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, Thomas and Kate were living at 10 Watkin Street, Swansea. Thomas, aged 25, was employed as a stone mason, while Kate, aged 24, cared for their two young children: Kate, aged 3, and John, aged 1.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 72 Byron Crescent. Thomas, then 35, was still working as a stone mason, and Kate, also 35, was raising their growing family. Their children were Kate, 13; John, 11; Thomas, 9; Mary E., 7; Caroline, 5; and baby Hannah, aged just 7 months.

Military Service

At the outbreak of the First World War, Thomas enlisted with the Welsh Regiment, 3^rd Battalion.

Death and Burial

Thomas Lewis
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Private Thomas Lewis sadly died on 27^th October 1914, aged 38 years, at King Edward VII Hospital, Cardiff. At the time of his death, his home address was 15 Dyfed Avenue, Townhill. He was laid to rest at Danygraig Cemetery, Swansea.

Legacy

Private Thomas Lewis was among the earliest of Swansea’s casualties of the First World War, dying only a few months after the conflict began. His loss left behind his wife, Kate, and six young children, the eldest just entering her teenage years and the youngest still an infant.

His name stands as a reminder not only of the men of Swansea who served with the Welsh Regiment, but also of the families who bore the heavy burden of loss on the home front. His burial at Danygraig Cemetery places him among the city’s earliest war dead, whose sacrifices were deeply felt within their communities.