Thomas Nathaniel Evans – Royal Air Force

Clerk 2^nd Class Thomas Nathaniel Evans – Royal Air Force

Birth and Family Background

Thomas Nathaniel Evans was born in 1886 at Clydach. He was the son of Evan John Evans and Louisa George, who were married in 1874 at Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.

Early Life

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the Evans family were residing at Springfield Terrace, Llangyfelach, Swansea. Evan John Evans (38) was employed as a weigher at the iron and steel works, while Louisa (40) undertook household duties. Their children present were Frederick W. (16), employed at the tin works; David J. (13), also employed at the tin works; Esther J. (14); John G. (10); Thomas N. (5), the latter two attending school; and Mary L. (2).

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 16 Cwm Street, Swansea. Evan John (48) was working as a commission agent, and Louisa (49) remained at home. Their children were Esther J. (24); David J. (23), employed at a mill; John G. (20), a railway servant; Thomas N. (15), working as a grocer’s assistant; and Mary L. (12).

Also living in the household were six boarders, reflecting common working-class practice in industrial Swansea. These included Albert E. East (17), a railway servant; Edgar G. Beynon (21), a carpenter; Alfred Denville (30), a theatrical manager; Kate Denville (25); and her children John W. (4) and Margaret T. (1).

1911 Census

At the time of the 1911 Census, the family were residing at 21 Tangdaig, Morriston, Swansea. Evan John Evans (58) was employed as a news correspondent, while Louisa (60) remained at home. Their children present were Esther (34), recorded as at home; Thomas Nathaniel (25), still working as a grocer’s assistant; and Mary Louisa (22), a dressmaker. Also present was a boarder, Sydney Allen Lloyd (22), a furnaceman.

Marriage

In 1917, Thomas Nathaniel Evans married Beatrice A. Lewis in Swansea, during the later years of the First World War.

Military Service

Thomas Nathaniel Evans served with the Royal Air Force, carrying out an essential administrative role that supported the operation and logistics of Britain’s wartime air service. RAF clerks were responsible for personnel records, postings, pay, correspondence, and supply documentation, ensuring the effective functioning of training and operational units.

Camp Hospital, Greenhill, Sheffield

At the time of his death, Thomas Nathaniel Evans was being treated at Camp Hospital, Greenhill, a military medical facility attached to the large Greenhill military camp on the southern outskirts of Sheffield.

Greenhill Camp served as a training, holding, and administrative centre during the First World War. Its hospital treated servicemen suffering from illness, training-related injuries, and other non-combat medical conditions. By 1918, the hospital—like many others across Britain—was under severe strain due to widespread illness, including the influenza pandemic, which led to sharply increased admissions and fatalities during the final months of the war.

Death and Burial

Thomas Nathaniel Evans
St John the Baptist Churchyard, Clydach-on-Tawe
credit - findagrave

Thomas Nathaniel Evans died on 25^th October 1918 at Camp Hospital, Greenhill, Sheffield, less than three weeks before the Armistice. Following his death, his body was returned home to Wales, and he was buried at St John the Baptist Churchyard.

Commemoration

Thomas Nathaniel Evans is remembered as one of the many men whose wartime service, though carried out away from the front line, was nonetheless an integral part of the Royal Air Force war effort, and whose death was a direct consequence of service during the First World War