William James Adams

Lance Corporal William James Adams – Devonshire Regiment, 9^th Battalion

The 9^th Battalion at the Somme

On the first morning of the Battle of the Somme, 1^st July 1916, the 9th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment saw heavy action south of Mametz. Over the following days, they remained in the thick of the fighting: on 14^th July, they attacked and captured Bazentin-le-Grand Wood; on 20^th July, they supported an attack south of High Wood; and by September, they were again in action in front of Ginchy.

Captain Lennox Martin

Among the officers was Captain Lennox Martin, whose foresight before the battle had become one of the most striking premonitions recorded from the war. While on leave in the weeks before the offensive, Martin built a plasticine model of the Mametz battlefield. He concluded that if his company advanced over a small rise by Mansel Copse, they would come under fire from a German machine gun concealed at the base of a shrine near the village. On 1^st July at 7.30 am, Martin’s prediction proved tragically correct: as he led his men forward, they crested the slope and were caught by deadly fire from the exact position he had identified. He was killed where he had said they would be “doomed.”

Another officer of the 9th Devons, Lieutenant William Noel Hodgson, seemed equally aware of the fate that awaited. Two days earlier, on 29^th June 1916, writing under the pseudonym Edward Melbourne, he composed his now-famous poem Before Action, which ends with the haunting plea: “Help me to die, O Lord.” Hodgson was killed on the first day of the battle.

Devonshire Cemetery, Mametz

The dead of the 9^th Battalion were buried together in what is now the Devonshire Cemetery, Mametz. Its memorial stone carries the enduring words: “The Devonshires held this trench; the Devonshires hold it still.”

Early Life of William James Adams

William James Adams

One of those who fought on that first day was Lance Corporal William James Adams, who was wounded and brought back to Britain.

Born in 1899, William was the son of David George Adams and Mary Ann Lane, who had married in December 1896 at St. James’ Church, Swansea.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Adams family were living at 61 Penteguinea Road. David, aged 31, worked as a general labourer, while Mary Ann was 21. Their young son William was 2 years old. Also in the household was David’s brother, Charles, 19, a labourer, and a lodger, John Thomas, 50, an engine driver.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 61 Midland Terrace, St. Thomas. David, now 41, was employed as a dock labourer, while Mary Ann was 31. Their children were William, 12; Evelyn, 10; Edwin, 8; Grace, 5; and Elsie, 2. The household also included Giles Taylor, 22, a fisherman lodging with the family.

Death and Burial

William James Adams
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Lance Corporal William James Adams survived the horrors of the Somme but later died of his wounds on the 16^th of July.  He was brought home to Swansea, where he was buried at Danygraig Cemetery.

His grave, among the ranks of Swansea’s First World War dead, links him to the great tragedy of the Somme — the battle that claimed the lives of so many young men of his generation.