William Henry Clement – Welsh Regiment, 9th Battalion

Private William Henry Clement – Welsh Regiment, 9^th Battalion

Birth and Family Background

William Henry Clement

William Henry Clement was born in 1890 in Llansamlet, Glamorgan, the son of William Clement and Elizabeth Ann Pickett, who had married in Swansea in 1884.

1891 Census

The first census in which William appears is the 1891 Census, when the family were living at 7 Tirbach, Lower Llansamlet, Swansea. William (the father), aged 31, was employed as a spelterman, and his wife Elizabeth was 28. Their household included their children: Mary Catherine, aged 6; George James, 3; William Henry, 1; and Joseph, 5 months.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to Dudson Hut, Ystradyfodwg, in the Ferndale and Tylorstown district. William, then 42, was working as a coalminer hewer, while Elizabeth, aged 39, was managing the home. Living with them were their children: George, 14, already working as a coalminer hewer; William, 12; Joseph, 11; and David J., 11 weeks old. Also residing in the home were Benjamin Clement, a 54-year-old cousin, and William Pickett, a 20-year-old brother-in-law—both employed as coalminer hewers.

Marriage

In 1907, William married Mormonia Jones at Pontypridd.

1911 Census

The 1911 Census records William and Mormonia living at 9 Parry Street, Tylorstown, the household of George, William’s brother. William, aged 21, was employed as a coalminer hewer, and his wife Mormonia, aged 19, was keeping house.

Military Service and Death

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects

William Henry Clement
Tyne Cot Memorial
credit - findagrave

Serving with the Welsh Regiment, 9^th Battalion. The Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects record that William killed in action on 16^th April 1918, and his name is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

The 9^th (Service) Battalion, Welsh Regiment formed part of the 58^th Brigade within the 19^th (Western) Division, a unit that had been heavily engaged on the Western Front since 1915. In March–April 1918, the battalion was caught up in the turmoil of the German Spring Offensive, during which British divisions were forced into rapid withdrawals, emergency defensive actions, and continuous reorganisation under intense pressure.

By mid-April 1918, the 9th Battalion was operating in the Ypres sector, where the front was unstable and casualties were high. Several men of the battalion who died between 10^th–17^th April 1918—including William—have no known grave and are commemorated at Tyne Cot, indicating that many fell during chaotic defensive fighting, heavy artillery bombardments, or actions in which the front lines were shifting rapidly. William’s death on 16^th April 1918 places him squarely within this period of intense combat and heavy losses suffered by the battalion.