Timothy Lynch

Private Timothy Lynch – Welsh Regiment

Early Life

Timothy Lynch was born in 1890, the son of John Lynch and Margaret Screen, who had married in 1886.

1891 Census

The 1891 Census records the Lynch family living at 7 Pantyglasdwe Street. John, then 37, worked as a General Labourer, while Margaret, aged 29, kept the home. Both had been born in Merthyr Tydfil. Their young family included Hannah (3), Timothy (1), and Mary A. (2 months).

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 23 Charles Street, Greenhill. John, now 43, was employed as a Dock Labourer, and Margaret was 40. The children still at home were Hannah, 13; Timothy, 11; and Mary A., 10.

Marriage and Family

1911 Census

In 1910, Timothy married Susannah Morgans. By the time of the 1911 Census, the couple were living at 1 Siloh Road, Landore, the home of Susannah’s parents. Timothy, aged 22, was employed as a Tin Works Labourer, while Susannah, 20, kept house.

Together they would raise two children: Dalys (born 1912) and Mary Ann (born 1915).

Military Service

Attestation Papers

On 14^th November 1914, just months after the outbreak of the First World War, Timothy enlisted with the Welsh Regiment. Like many Swansea men, he answered the call to serve despite the risks and uncertainties ahead. His surviving Attestation Papers confirm his commitment.

However, Timothy’s time in uniform was cut short. In November 1916, after two years of service, he was discharged on medical grounds, declared unfit for further duty. The precise nature of his illness is not recorded, but it marked the beginning of a decline that would later claim his life.

Death and Burial

South Wales Daily Post

Timothy died on 5^th March 1919, aged just 29. His death came after the official end of the war, part of the long shadow cast by illness and injury that lingered among veterans. The South Wales Daily Post reported his passing, noting that yet another Swansea soldier had succumbed to the delayed cost of war.

Timothy Lynch
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

His funeral took place at Danygraig Cemetery, where he was buried with honour among fellow servicemen. Though his illness had prevented him from returning to the Front, his service and sacrifice were recognised.

At the time, military funerals at Danygraig followed a solemn but dignified pattern. The cortege was often accompanied by fellow veterans and sometimes by a small detachment of soldiers or ex-servicemen, who would walk in procession. Clergy from the local parish conducted the burial rites, while mourners—family, neighbours, and comrades—gathered at the graveside. The lowering of the coffin was usually accompanied by prayers, and in some cases, volleys of rifles or the sounding of the “Last Post” added military solemnity. For Timothy, whose service had been cut short by illness, the ritual of burial in this resting place of Swansea’s war dead affirmed his place among them.

His grave at Danygraig stands among the rows of men who had fallen in different ways, on the battlefield and at home, bound together by the same cause.

Legacy

Though Timothy Lynch never returned to active service after his discharge, his story reflects the quieter tragedies of the war—men who answered the call, only to be struck down by illness before they could see the conflict through. His wife Susannah and their two young children, left behind in Swansea, carried forward his memory.

Timothy’s grave at Danygraig stands as part of the broader story of Swansea’s sacrifice, reminding us that the costs of the First World War extended far beyond the battlefield, into the lives of families and communities at home.