Thomas Frederick Cyril Salt – South Wales Borderers, 11th (Service) Battalion (2nd Gwent)

Lieutenant Thomas Frederick Cyril Salt – South Wales Borderers, 11^th (Service) Battalion (2^nd Gwent)

Birth and Family Background

Thomas Frederick Cyril Salt 

Thomas Frederick Cyril Salt was born in 1894 at Abertillery, Monmouthshire, the son of Thomas Frederick Salt and Mary Ellen Carpenter.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Salt family were residing at Arral Coby Cottage, Abertillery. Thomas Salt (40) was employed as an under-colliery manager, while his wife Mary Ellen (34) managed the household. Their children were Edith A. M. (13); Gertrude C. (11); Thomas Frederick C. (7); Morris H. (3); and Florence P. (1). Also present was a servant, Mary Wright (25).

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to Gwenland House, Abertillery. Thomas Frederick Salt (50) was recorded as a colliery proprietor, and Mary Ellen (44) remained at home. Their children were Edith Annie Maud (23), a teacher; Gertrude Camila (21); Thomas Frederick (17), a surveyor and part-time student; Doris Eleanor (13); and Florence Pearl (11), both attending school. Also present was a servant, Olive Penn (21).

Military Service

At the outbreak of the First World War, Thomas enlisted as a Private with the Monmouthshire Regiment, 3^rd Battalion, training at Northampton and Cambridge. In March 1915, he was gazetted as a Second Lieutenant to the South Wales Borderers, joining the 11^th (Service) Battalion (2^nd Gwent).

During the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915, the battalion took part in the first major British offensive of the war. After an intense artillery bombardment, infantry units advanced against German positions, initially achieving success but soon encountering severe difficulties caused by broken communications, confusion over objectives, shortages of artillery ammunition, and determined German counter-attacks. The 11^th South Wales Borderers, composed largely of newly raised volunteers, were exposed to heavy shellfire and machine-gun fire as they attempted to consolidate captured ground. Junior officers were required to lead attacks, organise defensive positions under fire, and maintain control amid chaos and bombardment. It was during this fighting that Lieutenant Salt was wounded, one of many officers injured during the costly and hard-fought battle.

Death and Burial

Thomas Frederick Cyril Salt
Bailleul Communal Cemetery, Nord, France
credit - findagrave

Thomas Frederick Cyril Salt died of his wounds on 3^rd April 1915 at No. 8 Casualty Clearing Station. At the time of his death, he held the rank of Lieutenant. He is buried at Bailleul Communal Cemetery, Nord, France.

Later Life of Family

By the time of the 1921 Census, Thomas’s parents had moved to Mumbles, where they were residing at St Brelades, Langland Road, Mumbles.

Lieutenant Salt’s story reflects the experience of many young officers of 1914–15, who moved rapidly from civilian life to front-line command and were lost during the earliest and most costly battles of the First World War