John Howell Keith Beynon – Royal Welch Fusiliers, 1st Battalion

Fusilier John Howell Keith Beynon – Royal Welch Fusiliers, 1^st Battalion

Birth and Family Background

John Wilfred Beynon and Lucy Gwendoline Thomas
marriage certificate
Parish Church of Llangyfelach, Swansea

John Howell Keith Beynon was born in 1915 at Swansea. He was the son of John Wilfred Beynon and Lucy Gwendoline Thomas, who were married in 1912 at the Parish Church of Llangyfelach, Swansea.

1939 Register 

The only official household record traced for John Howell Keith Beynon is the 1939 Register, which records the family residing at 580 Mumbles Road.

The head of the household was Sydney W. Beynon, employed as a Licensed Victualler, with his wife Lucy G. Beynon recorded as a Hotel Manageress. Their children were John H. K. Beynon, employed as a Bank Clerk, and Edward G. Beynon, a student who was also serving as an Auxiliary Fire Service messenger.

Also present in the household were Doris A. Dowe and Betty Jewell, both employed as housemaids, and Caroline D. Gibbs, a typist working for a petroleum products company.

Military Service

John Howell Keith Beynon enlisted in the British Army and served as a Fusilier with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, 1^st Battalion.

On 25^th May 1940, the 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers, was engaged in heavy fighting during the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in northern France, following the rapid German advance through Belgium and France. By this stage of the campaign, Allied forces were falling back toward the Dunkirk perimeter, attempting to delay the enemy and protect the withdrawal of troops to the coast.

The battalion took part in rearguard actions, holding defensive positions under intense pressure from German infantry, artillery, and air attack. Casualties were heavy during these engagements, and many soldiers killed during this chaotic period had no known grave, later being commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial.

Death and Commemoration

John Howell Keith Beynon
Dunkirk Memorial
credit - findagrave

Fusilier John Howell Keith Beynon was killed in action on 25^th May 1940 during this phase of the fighting in France.

He has no known grave, and his name is commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial, which honours British soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of France and the Dunkirk evacuation and whose burial places are unknown.