David John Stanley Hixson – Cheshire Regiment, 1st Battalion

Private David John Stanley Hixson – Cheshire Regiment, 1^st Battalion

Early Life

David John Stanley Hixson was born in 1900, the son of Solomon Hixson and Ann Owen, who were married at St Mary’s Church in August 1880.

1901 Census

The 1901 Census records the Hixson family living at Whitestone Lane, Oystermouth. Solomon Hixson (45) was employed as a Ship’s Rigger, and his wife Ann (44) was at home with their children. Those present were Anna J. (14), Arthur S. (11), Thomas L. (10), Francis O. (8), Elizabeth J. (7), Muriel S. (6), William G. (5)—all attending school—along with David John Stanley (1) and a one-month-old unnamed baby. A visitor, Jane Jones (59), was also present.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to Slade Road, Newton, Mumbles. Solomon (55) was working as a Steam Winch Driver, and Ann (54) continued to manage the household. Their children recorded were Arthur (21) and Francis (18), both Dock Labourers; Jean (17), a Dressmaker; Muriel (16); Miriam (15); Stanley (10); Dorothy (10)—both attending school—and Euphemia (7).

Military Service and Death

Attestation Papers

David’s Attestation Papers show that he enlisted in 1917, giving his home address as Deu Draeth House, Slade Road, Newton. He served as a Private with the 1^st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment.

In August 1918, David arrived in France as part of the final phase of the war, during which the 1st Cheshires took part in the Hundred Days Offensive, the massive Allied advance that ultimately brought the conflict to an end. Although the battalion’s exact movements on 28 September 1918 are not recorded in publicly available sources, units of the Cheshire Regiment were at this time engaged in advancing through northern France, clearing trenches, facing intermittent artillery and machine-gun fire, and pushing back German forces as the front rapidly shifted eastwards.

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects

David John Stanley Hixson
Fifteen Ravine British Cemetery,
Villers-Plouich, France 
credit - findagrave

The Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects confirm that Private David John Stanley Hixson was killed in action on 28^th September 1918. His burial at Fifteen Ravine British Cemetery, Villers-Plouich, France indicates that he fell in or near ground held by British forces and was recovered and laid to rest close to the place where he died. The cemetery contains many graves of men who died during the final Allied advance of 1918.

Commemoration

Herald of Wales

Herald of Wales

In a poignant footnote, Ann Hixson later unveiled the new war memorial in Mumbles in 1939, an event reported in the Herald of Wales, honouring her son and all local men who fell in the Great War.