Hywel James Elias - Northumberland Fusiliers, 21st (Service) Battalion (2nd Tyneside Scottish)
Second Lieutenant Hywel James Elias - Northumberland Fusiliers, 21st (Service) Battalion (2nd Tyneside Scottish)
Birth and Family Background
Hywel James Elias was born in 1897 in Swansea. He was
the son of Daniel James Elias and Mabel Wood.
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| 1901 Census |
At the time of the 1901 Census, the family were residing at 92 Rhondda Street, Swansea. Cardiganshire-born Daniel James Elias (33) was employed as a railway clerk, and his Essex-born wife Mabel (24) managed the household. Their children were Hywel J. (4) and Ivor G. (1).
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| 1911 Census |
By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 35 The Promenade, Swansea. Daniel James (43) continued his employment as a railway clerk, and Mabel (34) remained at home. The children recorded were Hywel James (14), Ivor Gwyn (11), and Gladys May (5), all of whom were attending school.
Military Service and Death
Hywel was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Northumberland
Fusiliers, 21st (Service) Battalion (2nd Tyneside
Scottish).
On 5th June 1917, while serving in the
Arras sector during the continuing operations that followed the main phases of
the Battle of Arras, the battalion was engaged in holding and
consolidating recently captured trench systems under frequent German artillery
bombardment. Although large-scale assaults had subsided, the fighting remained
intense and attritional. Units carried out local attacks to improve their
positions, strengthened defences, and repelled counter-attacks, all while
exposed to high-explosive shelling, trench mortar fire, and machine-gun fire.
Even routine duties such as trench inspection, wiring, and patrol work proved
hazardous. It was during this period of sustained front-line operations that
Hywel was killed in action.
Burial
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| Hywel James Elias Arras Road Cemetery, Roclincourt, Pas-de-Calais, France credit - findagrave |
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