Sidney George Phillips

The Mystery of Sidney George Phillips

Everyone loves a mystery – and here we have one. Private Sidney George Phillips, who served with the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 15^th Battalion, died on 17^th April 1919, aged just 30. He was laid to rest at Danygraig Cemetery, yet the fragments of his life story leave behind unanswered questions.

Early Life

Sidney was born in 1889, the youngest child of William Phillips and Elizabeth Owens, who had married that same year at St. James’ Church, Swansea.

1891 Census

By the time of the 1891 Census, the Phillips family was living at 31 Union Row, St. Thomas. William, then aged 37, was employed as a coal merchant, while his wife Elizabeth, aged 43, kept the household. Their children at home included Mary Jane, 15, working as a domestic servant; John, 14, a carter; Ethel, 11; Richard, 10; William, 8; and Sidney, then just 2 years old.

But here the mystery begins. Also listed at the address were children recorded as William’s stepchildren: William John Thomas, 14, a railway number taker; Elizabeth Thomas, 13; Edith Thomas, 9; and Ruth Thomas, 6. Whether these were truly Elizabeth’s children from a previous relationship, or the result of a census error, remains unresolved.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 105 Port Tennant Road. William, now 47, was employed as a plate layer on the railways, and Elizabeth, 53, continued to keep the home. Two sons remained in the household: William Henry, 17, employed as a general labourer, and Sidney George, 13, who was still at school.

Marriage and Family

In April 1908, Sidney married Beatrice Thomas at Swansea.

1911 Census

At the time of the 1911 Census, Sidney and Beatrice were living at 22 Ebenezer Street. Sidney, then 22, was employed as a dock labourer, while Beatrice, 26, kept house. They were raising two young daughters: Elizabeth, aged 2, and Edith, 9 months old.

Military Service

Attestation Papers

On 26^th October 1914, during the first months of the First World War, Sidney enlisted in the Welsh Regiment. His service took him away from home during some of the hardest years of the war. In June 1918, he transferred to the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Later that same year, he was discharged, possibly due to health reasons, as so many men were by that stage of the conflict.

Burial

Sidney George Phillips
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Just a few months after his discharge, Sidney’s health deteriorated. He died on 17^th April 1919, aged only 30. His funeral took place at Danygraig Cemetery, where his family, comrades, and neighbours gathered to lay him to rest. Though no detailed newspaper account survives, funerals for former servicemen at Danygraig were often conducted with quiet dignity, with prayers for peace, simple floral tributes, and the presence of regimental friends.

Sidney’s death, so soon after the end of the war, reflects the continuing toll of illness and hardship faced by discharged soldiers. His grave stands among those of many others whose service left unseen scars that claimed their lives after the armistice.

Legacy

Sidney’s story is part of Swansea’s broader war narrative: not only the men who fell in battle, but those who came home weakened, only to die months later. His mystery-filled early records — especially the unusual 1891 Census entry — leave unanswered questions about his family background. Yet what is certain is that he served, that he was loved, and that he was mourned.

In being buried at Danygraig Cemetery, Sidney is remembered alongside nearly a hundred others from Swansea whose lives were cut short by the war. His grave remains a reminder that the end of the war did not end its human cost.