Ada Lesser

 Worker Ada Lesser – Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps

Danygraig Cemetery is the resting place of 91 First World War burials, and among them is just one woman: Ada Lesser, who served with the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps (QMAAC). She is also the only woman to have died of illness and been buried at Danygraig Cemetery during the First World War.

Service in the QMAAC

The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), later renamed the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps, was officially instituted on 7^th July 1917 under Lieutenant-General Sir Nevil Macready, with Dr. Mona Charles Watson as its first controller. More than 57,000 women served between 1917 and 1918, taking up roles such as clerks, cooks, telephonists, and medical staff to release men for front-line duties.

In March 1917, the first WAAC cooks and waitresses were sent to the battlefields of France, and by 1918 women medical personnel were serving close to the Front. The Corps continued until it was formally disbanded in 1921.

Ada was one of those who volunteered. Tragically, she contracted influenza and died at the Women’s Hospital, Cholderton, Wiltshire, in early December 1918—just weeks after the Armistice.

Early Life

Ada was born in Nova Scotia in 1878, the daughter of Leila Radcliffe. At the time of the 1881 Canadian Census, she was recorded in the district of Antigonish, living with her mother and her grandparents, Malcolm and Mary Ann Currie, who were of Scottish and Irish descent.

Passenger lists suggest Leila Radcliffe may have travelled earlier: in 1876, she is listed arriving at Ellis Island on board the Italy.

1891 Census

By the 1891 British Census, Ada is absent from her immediate family’s household. Her parents, James and Leila Radcliffe, were living at 6 Gam Street, Swansea, with five children. James was employed as a Gas Purifier.

1901 Census

In 1901, the Radcliffe family lived at 6 Lower Oxford Street, Swansea, with seven children listed, but again Ada is absent from the household.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 40 Oxford Street, Swansea. James, now working as a Blacksmith Striker, and Leila were recorded with four children.

Marriage

1901 Census

In 1899, Ada married Arthur Charles Lesser. By the 1901 Census, they were living at The Barracks, Cardiff.

1911 Census

By 1911, the couple were recorded at 20 Junction Terrace, Radyr, near Cardiff, where Arthur was employed as a Railway Timekeeper.

Family Sacrifice – The Radcliffe Brothers

Ada’s family endured devastating losses in 1918, an annus horribilis.

• Her brother Clifford George Radcliffe, a former postman, enlisted with the Glamorgan Yeomanry before transferring to the 24th Battalion, Welsh Regiment. He rose to the rank of Serjeant but died of wounds on 18th September 1918 in France. He is buried at Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France.
• Another brother, Stanley Henry Radcliffe, listed in 1911 as a Telegraph Messenger, served as a Driver with the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Field Artillery. He died on 18th March 1918 and is buried at La Clytte Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.

Death and Burial

Ada Lesser
Danygraig Cemetery, Swansea

Ada’s life ended on 6^th December 1918, at the Women’s Hospital, Cholderton, Wiltshire, where many members of the QMAAC were treated. The cause of death was officially given as influenza, part of the devastating pandemic that swept through military and civilian populations alike.

Her death was noted in the South Wales press, and although her headstone was not erected until the 1990s, it now bears her name among the Commonwealth war dead.

Ada was laid to rest at Danygraig Cemetery, where she remains the only woman buried among Swansea’s First World War casualties.

Legacy

Ada Lesser’s story is remarkable not only because she is the only woman buried at Danygraig among the First World War graves, but also because her family paid a heavy price in 1918, losing two of her brothers alongside her.

Her grave, belatedly marked, stands as a testament to the service of women in the Great War—volunteers who stepped into new roles, often at great personal risk.

In Ada’s case, her death from influenza reminds us that the dangers of war extended beyond the battlefield, striking down soldiers, sailors, and volunteers alike. Her presence at Danygraig ensures that the contribution of women to the war effort is not forgotten.