William Charles Jerram

Private William Charles Jerram – Welsh Regiment, 14^th Battalion

Early Life

William Charles Jerram

William Charles Jerram was born in 1890 in Swansea, the eldest son of Charles Jerram and Mary Emma Pope, who had married at St. Peter’s Church, Cockett, in 1888.

1901 Census

The first census in which William appears is the 1901 Census, when the Jerram family was living at Welling Street, Swansea. Charles, aged 35 and born in Southampton, was working as a General Labourer, while Mary, also 35, kept house. Their children were William (11), Sidney (9), and Stanley (7).

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family was still living at 13 Welling Street, Swansea. Charles, now 45, was employed as a Dock Labourer, and Mary was 46. Their sons were all at home: William Charles (21), working as a General Labourer; Sidney George (19), a Bricklayer’s Labourer; and Stanley Gifford (17), also a General Labourer.

Brief History of the 14^th (Service) Battalion, Welsh Regiment

The 14th (Service) Battalion, Welsh Regiment was raised in Swansea in November 1914 as part of Kitchener’s Fourth New Army. It became one of the so-called “Swansea Pals” battalions, recruited largely from local men who volunteered together.

The battalion was initially attached to the 129^th Brigade, 43^rd Division, but when Kitchener’s Fourth New Army was broken up, it transferred to the 114^th Brigade, 38^th (Welsh) Division in April 1915.

The 14th Welsh trained in England and North Wales before moving to France in December 1915, where they joined the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front.

Its first major action came during the Battle of the Somme, at the attack on Mametz Wood between 7^th–12^th July 1916. Here, the battalion and its comrades in the 38^th (Welsh) Division suffered very heavy casualties in fierce fighting against well-entrenched German defenders.

Military Service

William enlisted in the 14^th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, with his fellow Swansea men.

On 10^th July 1916, the battalion advanced during the attack on Mametz Wood, part of the Somme offensive. The fighting was brutal, with the Welshmen pushing into dense woodland under constant machine-gun and artillery fire. Visibility was poor, and the battle quickly descended into close-quarter combat among the trees.

The 38^th (Welsh) Division lost over 4,000 men in just five days of fighting. The 14^th Battalion itself suffered hundreds of casualties, and Private William Charles Jerram was among those killed in action that day.

Burial

Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects

Private William Charles Jerram is buried at Flatiron Copse Cemetery, France, where many of his comrades from the Welsh Regiment and other units engaged at Mametz Wood are also laid to rest.

Legacy

Private William Charles Jerram is commemorated on the St. Paul’s memorial, Swansea, among the parishioners who gave their lives in the Great War. His story is representative of the many young men from Swansea who went to France with the Welsh Regiment and did not return.

Though his life was short, his name endures in both his hometown and on the battlefields where he served, a reminder of the heavy price paid by local families during the Battle of the Somme.