Ivor Evan Owen – Monmouthshire Regiment, 2nd Battalion

Lieutenant Ivor Evan Owen – Monmouthshire Regiment, 2^nd Battalion

Birth and Family Background

Ivor Evan Owen 

Ivor Evan Owen was born in 1896 in Swansea, the son of Owen Owen and Ellen Roberts.

1901 Census

The 1901 Census is the only known census record in which Ivor appears. At that time, the Owen family were residing at 68 Brunswick Street, Swansea. Owen Owen (32) was employed as an agent for a drapery, and his wife Ellen (36) managed the household. Their only child was Ivor Evan (5).
Also present in the household was a servant, Naomi Evans (27).

Military Service

Ivor served with the Monmouthshire Regiment, joining the 2^nd Battalion. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant, a role that placed him in direct command of men during active service on the Western Front.

Monmouthshire Regiment, 2^nd Battalion — 13^th April 1918

On 13^th April 1918, the 2^nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment, was engaged in heavy fighting during the later stages of the German Spring Offensive. Following the initial German breakthroughs in March, operations had shifted into Flanders, where British forces were under severe pressure as they fought to hold vital ground.

At this time, the battalion was primarily involved in defensive operations, including holding front-line and support positions, carrying out local counter-attacks, and resisting repeated enemy assaults supported by artillery and machine-gun fire. Trench systems were often damaged or incomplete, and units were frequently moved at short notice to plug gaps in the line. Casualties were heavy, particularly among junior officers, who were required to lead defensive actions, reorganise units under fire, and maintain cohesion amid constant shelling, gas attacks, and sniper fire.

It was during this period of sustained and hazardous fighting on 13^th April 1918 that Lieutenant Ivor Evan Owen was killed in action.

Death and Burial

Ivor Evan Owen
Mendinghem Military Cemetery, 
West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
credit - findagrave

Lieutenant Owen is buried at Mendinghem Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, a cemetery closely associated with casualties from the intense fighting in the Ypres sector.

South Wales Daily Post

Ivor’s death was reported in the South Wales Daily Post, marking the loss of a Swansea officer during one of the most critical and dangerous phases of the First World War