Thomas Henry Williams

Private Thomas Henry Williams – Welsh Regiment / Machine Gun Corps

American Origins

The United States entered the First World War on 6 April 1917, driven by Germany’s policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the revelation of the Zimmermann Telegram. Yet long before that official declaration, American-born men living in Britain had already taken up arms. One such man was Thomas Henry Williams.

Thomas Williams and Martha Jane Wilkins
marriage certificate
All Saints Church, Llanelli

Thomas was born in 1890 in the United States, the son of Thomas Williams and Martha Jane Wilkins, who had married at All Saints Church, Llanelli, in 1885.

Early Life in Swansea

1901 Census

The first census record to include Thomas is the 1901 Census, when the family was living at 48 Carlton Terrace, Swansea. His father, Thomas, 40, born in Kifig, Carmarthenshire, was employed as a draper’s assistant, while his mother Martha, 44, born in Langhorn, Carmarthenshire, managed the household. Their children were Walter, 15, a sampler’s assistant; Maudeline, 14; Thomas, 11; and Olyn Harriet, 6.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 25 Matthew Street, Swansea. Martha, now a widow at 54, was head of the household. With her were Thomas Henry, 20, working as a butcher’s assistant, and his sister Olga, 16, employed as an assistant in a fruit business.

In 1914, Thomas married Esther E. Griffiths, and the couple made their home at 79 Carmarthen Road, Swansea.

Military Service

Thomas initially enlisted with the 21^st Battalion, Welsh Regiment. He was later transferred to the newly created Machine Gun Corps (Heavy Branch), Depot Battalion. Formed in 1916, the Heavy Branch was Britain’s pioneering armoured warfare unit, responsible for operating the newly developed tanks on the Western Front.

The Heavy Branch began modestly, with only a handful of converted agricultural tractors and armoured prototypes, but by 1917 it had grown into a recognised force within the British Army. Its soldiers—many drawn from other regiments like Thomas—underwent specialised training to manage the mechanical, tactical, and physical demands of operating tanks in battle.

Wool, Dorset – Training the Tank Corps

Thomas was stationed at Wool, Dorset, which became one of the key training centres for the Heavy Branch. The surrounding heathland provided ideal terrain for early tank manoeuvres and gunnery practice. Training at Wool was intense and often dangerous, involving live fire exercises and the maintenance of complex and unreliable machines.

The camp was also the site of the Depot Battalion, where men were trained before joining tank companies in France. Living conditions were basic, and illness was common reflecting the broader risks of army life away from the front line.

Death and Burial

Thomas Henry Williams
St. Peters church
credit - findagrave

On 18^th May 1917, Thomas Henry Williams died while serving at Wool. The cause of his death is not fully recorded, but his passing came during the period when the Heavy Branch was preparing for major actions at Messines Ridge and Third Ypres (Passchendaele). His body was returned home to Swansea, where he was buried at St. Peter’s Church, Cockett.

Legacy

Although born in America, Thomas’s life and service were firmly rooted in Swansea. His enlistment with the Welsh Regiment and later transfer to the Machine Gun Corps (Heavy Branch) placed him within the ranks of the men who helped shape the future of modern mechanised warfare. His grave at St. Peter’s stands not only as a family memorial but also as a symbol of the global and local threads woven together by the First World War.