Thomas Davies, South Wales Borderers, 1st Battalion

Private Thomas Davies, South Wales Borderers, 1^st Battalion

Private Thomas Davies, born in 1895, served with the South Wales Borderers, 1^st Battalion, during the early and exceptionally dangerous months of trench warfare on the Western Front. Although surviving records concerning his personal life are scarce, his service and sacrifice are clearly documented by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Thomas served with the 1^st Battalion, South Wales Borderers, which formed part of the 3^rd Brigade, 1^st Division. The battalion had been heavily engaged in action in France and Flanders since the outbreak of war in 1914. By January 1915, the battalion was manning front-line positions in the Festubert sector, an area notorious for its shallow, waterlogged trenches and its constant exposure to enemy fire.

During this period, the battalion faced persistent German shelling and mortar fire, sniper activity, severe rain and flooding that caused trench walls to collapse, and hazardous night-time patrols into No Man’s Land. Frequent trench reliefs, often carried out under fire, added to the dangers of what was described as one of the most miserable winter periods of the entire war.

Although 25^th January 1915 was not marked by a major offensive, the battalion was engaged in the deadly routine of winter trench warfare—conditions that produced casualties on an almost daily basis. The circumstances of Thomas Davies’s death strongly suggest that he fell during one of these routine yet perilous front-line duties.

Private Thomas Davies died on 25^th January 1915 and is buried at Brown’s Road Military Cemetery, Festubert, France, where he lies among many of his comrades who faced the same harsh conditions on that unforgiving front.