Daniel John Williams – Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), 13th Battalion

Second Lieutenant Daniel John Williams – Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), 13^th Battalion

Birth and Early Life

Daniel John Williams was born in Swansea in 1882, the son of John Williams. Although little is recorded about his early years, his later profession as a schoolmaster suggests that he received a solid education and grew up in an environment that valued learning and public service.

Marriage and Civilian Life

Daniel married Annie Williams, who lived at 93 Endelsham Road, Balham, London. At the time, Daniel was employed as a schoolmaster under the London County Council (L.C.C.), a respected and responsible position within one of the most progressive educational authorities of the period. His role would have involved teaching in one of London’s expanding urban schools, shaping the lives of children during a time of rapid social and educational reform.

Military Service

During the First World War, Daniel enlisted and was later commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), 13^th Battalion. The Machine Gun Corps was one of the most hazardous branches of the British Army. Machine‑gun teams were prime targets for enemy fire, and officers leading these units faced constant danger as they directed their crews under intense battlefield conditions.

Daniel distinguished himself through bravery and leadership, earning the Military Medal, an award granted for acts of gallantry in the field. This decoration reflects the courage he displayed in the face of extreme danger and the high regard in which he was held by his comrades and superiors.

Death and Commemoration

Daniel John Williams
Tyne Cot Memorial
credit - findagrave

Daniel John Williams
Tyne Cot Memorial
credit - findagrave

Second Lieutenant Daniel John Williams was killed in action on 5^th October 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres—better known as Passchendaele. This phase of the war was marked by relentless fighting, deep mud, and devastating artillery fire, conditions that claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers.

Daniel has no known grave, a fate shared by many who fell in the Ypres Salient. His name is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, the largest Commonwealth war memorial in the world, which honours those who died in the Ypres sector and whose resting places are unknown