Louis Edward Johns

Rifleman Louis Edward Johns – King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 16^th Battalion, “B” Company

Early Life

De la Beche Road, Sketty, was once known as De la Beche Terrace. It was here that Louis Edward Johns was born in 1895 in Swansea, the son of Edward Johns and Sarah Michael, who had married in 1889.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Johns family was living at 6 De la Beche Terrace. Edward, aged 36, was employed as a Jobbing Gardener, while Sarah, also 36 and born in Oystermouth, kept house. Their children were Maud (10), born in Binfield, Berkshire; Louis (6); and Leonard (4).

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 1 De la Beche Terrace. Edward, now 48, was working as a Market Gardener, while Sarah, also 48, remained at home. Their two sons were listed in the household: Louis (16), employed as an Office Boy, and Leonard (14), still at school.

Military Service

Attestation apers

Louis’s surviving attestation papers show that he enlisted in September 1914, soon after the outbreak of the First World War. He joined the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, 16^th Battalion, “B” Company, one of the service battalions raised for Kitchener’s New Army.

Death

Rifleman Louis Edward Johns was killed in action on 15^th July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme. On that date, the 16^th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, part of the 100^th Brigade, 33^rd Division, was engaged in the attack on Bazentin Ridge.

The battalion advanced in the early hours of the morning across open ground under relentless German artillery and machine-gun fire. Despite their determination, progress was slow, and casualties were heavy. Amid this brutal fighting, Louis was killed. He was only 21 years old, one of the many young men who gave their lives during the Somme offensive.

Commemoration

Louis has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, the great memorial to the missing of the Somme, which bears the names of more than 72,000 men who died in the Somme sector and have no known resting place.

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects 

The Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects record the settlement of his pay and War Gratuity, a small but poignant reminder of the family he left behind.

Legacy

Rifleman Louis Edward Johns is also commemorated on the St. Paul’s memorial, Swansea, alongside fellow parishioners who gave their lives in the Great War. His early enlistment in 1914, his service with the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, and his death during the Somme campaign highlight his courage and the profound sacrifice made by his family and community.

Though he has no known grave, his name lives on in both France and Swansea, a lasting testament to a life cut short in the Great War.