Daniel Ridgway

Deck Hand Daniel Ridgway – Royal Navy, H.M.S. Victory

Early Life

Daniel Ridgway was born in 1900, the youngest son of Arthur K. Ridgway and Grace Messer.

1901 Census

By the time of the 1901 Census, the Ridgway family were living at 11 Hoo Street, Swansea. Arthur, then 44, was employed as a copper furnaceman, while Grace, aged 39, cared for their large family. They had eight children at home: William G., 20, also a copper furnaceman; Charles, 19, who was unemployed; Mary, 18; Elizabeth, 15; Robert J., 13; David A., 8; Albert, 4; and baby Daniel, just one year old.

1911 Census

A decade later, the 1911 Census shows the family still living at 11 Hoo Street. Arthur, now 54, was employed as a labourer, and Grace, aged 48, was recorded as the mother of 15 children, six of whom had already died. The surviving children at home were Charles, 29, working as a labourer; Robert, 22, a gas stoker; David, 17, also a labourer; Albert, 14, a mill boy; and Daniel, aged 11, who was still at school.

Naval Service

Daniel later enlisted in the Royal Navy, serving as a deck hand aboard H.M.S. Victory. Though Victory’s name evoked Nelson’s flagship, by the First World War it served as a shore establishment at Portsmouth, training new recruits and housing naval personnel.

Haslar Naval Hospital

At the time of his death, Daniel was a patient at Haslar Naval Hospital, Portsmouth. Founded in 1753, Haslar was one of the Royal Navy’s largest hospitals and became a vital center for the treatment of sailors during the First World War. The hospital specialised in dealing with injuries sustained at sea, infectious diseases common among crews, and cases of pneumonia and tuberculosis. Thousands of servicemen passed through its wards during the conflict, and for many like Daniel, it became the final place of care.

Death and Burial

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Daniel Ridgway died on the 13^th of September 1918, aged just 18 years old, at Haslar Naval Hospital. His death was registered in the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records.

Daniel Ridgway
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Following his death, Daniel’s body was returned home to Swansea. He was buried at Danygraig Cemetery, his grave standing among many others of Swansea men who served at sea.

Legacy

The death of Daniel Ridgway, at such a young age, was a heavy blow for his large Swansea family. As the youngest of fifteen children—six of whom had already died—his loss reflected the vulnerability of working-class families who gave so much during the war.

Daniel’s burial at Danygraig Cemetery adds his name to the long roll of Swansea men commemorated there, men whose lives were shaped by service and sacrifice. His story, though brief, stands as part of the city’s collective memory of the First World War, where even the youngest sons were drawn into the global conflict.