Richard Williams

Stoker Richard Williams – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Warrior

Early Life and Family

1911 Census

The main surviving record of Richard Williams before the war comes from the 1911 Census. At that time, Richard, aged 41, was employed as a dock labourer and living with his wife, Sarah, also aged 41, at 57 New Street, Swansea.

Their children at home were William, 21, working as a fuel worker shovelling coal; Sidney, 17, a newspaper hawker; David, 12; Florence, 8; and Doris, 8, all attending school. The younger children were Violet, 4, and Richard, 2.

Naval Service

Richard later joined the Royal Naval Reserve, serving as a Stoker aboard H.M.S. Warrior.

H.M.S. Warrior and the Battle of Jutland

H.M.S. Warrior

Warrior was an armoured cruiser of the Duke of Edinburgh class, launched in 1905. At the Battle of Jutland on 31^st May 1916, she was part of the 1st Cruiser Squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Arbuthnot. During the fighting, Warrior was caught under heavy German fire. She sustained severe shell damage, leaving her flooded and ablaze.

Despite her condition, the seaplane carrier H.M.S. Engadine managed to take Warrior in tow, rescuing much of her surviving crew. However, the damage was too great, and by 1st June, the order was given to abandon ship. She sank soon after in the rising seas.

Casualties were heavy: out of more than 700 men, over 70 were killed in the action, with many others injured — among them, Richard Williams.

Death

Richard was among those injured in the aftermath of the battle. His wife received official notice that he had been wounded. Sadly, Richard Williams died of his injuries on 5^th June 1916.

Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder

His death was reported in the Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder on 10th June 1916.

Burial

Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder

On 17^th June 1916, the Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder reported on Richard’s military funeral at Danygraig Cemetery, Swansea. His coffin, draped with the Union Jack, was borne to the cemetery accompanied by comrades, friends, and family, reflecting both the solemnity of his naval service and the grief of a local community.

The funeral cortege included representatives of the Royal Naval Reserve, along with local organisations connected to the docks where Richard had worked before the war. Hymns were sung and prayers offered, honouring both his service at sea and his role as a husband and father from Swansea.

Richard Williams
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

His burial placed him among the growing number of men laid to rest at Danygraig during the early years of the Great War. The ceremony not only marked the passing of an individual sailor but also served as a public expression of the city’s mourning for those lost at Jutland, the greatest naval battle of the war.

Legacy

As a Swansea dockworker turned naval reservist, Richard Williams’s story mirrors that of many men from the city whose industrial trades prepared them for service in Britain’s wartime navy. His death, following one of the First World War’s largest naval battles, brought the cost of the war at sea directly home to Swansea’s families. His grave at Danygraig remains a reminder of the local toll of the war and Swansea’s strong maritime connections.