David Reginald Michael – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Anson Battalion, Royal Navy Division

Able Seaman David Reginald Michael – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Anson Battalion, Royal Navy Division

Early Life

David Reginald Michael

David Michael and Esther Jane Beavan
marriage certificate
Christ Church, Swansea

David Reginald Michael was born in 1898 in Swansea, the son of David Michael and Esther Jane Beavan, who married in 1896 at Christ Church, Swansea. He spent his early childhood in the St Thomas district, growing up in a typical working‑class household at the turn of the twentieth century.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Michael family were living at 14 William Street, Swansea. David’s father, David, aged 28, was employed as a grocer’s traveller, while his mother, Esther Jane, was 26. The couple had three young children: William George, aged 4; David, recorded under his middle name Reginald, aged 2; and Ernest Lewis, aged 1.

1911 Census

By 1911, the family had moved to 25 William Street, Swansea. David’s father, now 38, was working as a grocery warehouseman, and his mother, Esther Jane, aged 36, was at home caring for their growing family. The children were listed as William George, 14, employed as a baker’s van boy; Reginald, 13; Lewis, 11; Elizabeth, 7; Muriel, 2; and Charlie, also aged 2. The older children were all attending school, reflecting a stable and settled family life.

Military Service

As a young man, David Reginald enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) and served as an Able Seaman with the Anson Battalion of the Royal Naval Division. The RNVR, originally intended for naval personnel not required for sea service, provided thousands of trained men who were reorganised into infantry battalions during the First World War. The Anson Battalion, named after Admiral George Anson, fought as infantry on the Western Front and saw heavy action throughout the war.

The Anson Battalion on 6^th November 1917

The date of 6^th November 1917 places David Reginald Michael in the midst of the Second Battle of Passchendaele, the final major assault of the Third Battle of Ypres, when the 63^rd (Royal Naval) Division, including the Anson Battalion, was brought forward for the last push to capture the Passchendaele Ridge. On that day the Anson Battalion, forming part of the 189th Brigade, advanced on the left flank of the attack with the objective of securing the final stretch of high ground overlooking Passchendaele village. The conditions were atrocious—deep mud, flooded shell craters, and relentless machine‑gun fire slowed every movement—yet the battalion succeeded in gaining ground and contributed to the overall capture of the ridge. The fighting was intense and costly, with many men killed by shellfire or machine‑gun bursts and others lost in the mud where they could not be recovered. It was during this brutal action that Able Seaman David Reginald Michael was killed.

Death and Commemoration

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

David Reginald Michael
Tyne Cot Memorial in West‑Vlaanderen, Belgium
credit - findagrave

According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, David Reginald Michael was killed in action on 6^th November 1917 during the final assault on Passchendaele Ridge. Like many who fell in this phase of the campaign, he has no known grave. His name is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial in West‑Vlaanderen, Belgium, which honours the thousands of servicemen who died in the Ypres Salient and whose bodies were never recovered or identified