Thomas Sheehan

Stoker Thomas Sheehan – H.M.S. Carnarvon

Early Life

Thomas Sheehan was born in 1893, the eldest son of James Sheehan and Ellen Dineen, who had married in 1891. The family lived in Swansea’s Eastside, where James worked at sea to provide for his growing household.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Sheehans were living at 19 Well Street. James, then 31, was recorded as a sailor, while Ellen, 32, kept the home. Their children included Thomas, aged 8, Mary, 6, Daniel, 4, and 1-year-old Timothy. Also living with them was Ellen’s younger sister, Catherine Dineen, aged 29.

1911 Census

A decade later, the 1911 Census shows the Sheehans still at 19 Well Street. James, now 42, was employed as a stoker, and Ellen, also 42, is described as housekeeper of the home. Thomas, then 18, was working as a tin-worker. Mary, 16, helped with domestic duties, while Daniel, 13; Timothy, 10; and John, 9, were still at school. By then the family had grown further with the arrival of twins, Kate and Johanna, aged 3.

In 1913, Thomas married Margaret E. Connor, setting out to begin his own family just a year before the outbreak of war.

Naval Service – H.M.S. Carnarvon

H.M.S. Carnarvon

When the First World War began in August 1914, Thomas enlisted with the Royal Navy as a stoker. He was posted to H.M.S. Carnarvon, a British armoured cruiser that saw extensive service throughout the war.

At the outbreak of hostilities, Carnarvon was assigned to the Cape Verde Station, tasked with hunting German commerce raiders and safeguarding British merchant shipping. Within months, the cruiser was transferred to the South Atlantic, where she played an active role in the squadron that intercepted and destroyed the German East Asia Squadron at the Battle of the Falklands in December 1914. Later in the war, Carnarvon was reassigned to the North America and West Indies Station, where she continued patrolling against German raiders and escorting convoys until the end of the conflict.

Death and Burial

British Army and Navy
Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Tragically, Thomas Sheehan died on the 25^th of April 1918, aged just 25. His death was registered in the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, which indicate that at the time he was attached to H.M.S. Vivid, the Royal Navy’s shore establishment at Devonport used for training and administrative purposes for stokers and engine-room ratings.

Thomas Sheehan
Danygraing Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Following his death, Thomas’s body was returned to Swansea for burial. His funeral at Danygraig Cemetery was attended by family, friends, and fellow servicemen, a solemn recognition of a young life cut short by war service. His headstone bears the inscription that he had served on H.M.S. Carnarvon, the ship on which he had spent the most significant part of his naval duty. The stone remains a visible reminder of his contribution to Britain’s naval war effort.

Legacy

Thomas Sheehan’s story is one of many that show how the war’s impact stretched far beyond the battlefield. His service aboard Carnarvon linked Swansea directly to some of the war’s most dramatic naval encounters, including the Battle of the Falklands. His premature death left his wife, Margaret, widowed in her twenties, and added another name to the long roll of Swansea families bereaved during 1918.

Though the records differ over his final posting, the inscription at Danygraig ensures that Thomas’s service aboard Carnarvon is not forgotten. His grave sits among those of soldiers, sailors, and airmen whose lives were shaped—and often ended—by the Great War, forming part of the collective memory of Swansea’s sacrifice.