Ralph Lewis Morgan - Welsh Regiment, 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, attached 13th (Service) Battalion (2nd Rhondda)

 Second Lieutenant Ralph Lewis Morgan - Welsh Regiment, 3^rd (Reserve) Battalion, attached 13^th (Service) Battalion (2^nd Rhondda)

Early Life and Family Background

Joshua Morris Morgan and Matilda Lewis
marriage certificate
St. Peter’s Parish Church, Carmarthen.

Ralph Lewis Morgan was born in 1888 in Swansea, the son of Joshua Morris Morgan and Matilda Lewis, who were married in 1880 at St. Peter’s Parish Church, Carmarthen.

1891 Census

The 1891 Census records the family residing at 8 Church Park, Oystermouth. Joshua M., aged 52 and born in Neath, was employed as a Bank Cashier, while Matilda, aged 31 and born in Carmarthenshire, managed the household. Their children were Cicely M. (10), Hugh Lewis (8), Edith (8), Ralph L. (3), and Agnes (1). Also present were Joshua’s sister Elizabeth M. Morgan (53), Matilda’s sister Eleanor Lewis (25), and two servants, Maria Davies (27) and Annie Davies (19).

1901 Census

By the time of the 1901 Census, thirteen-year-old Ralph was recorded as a pupil at Seaford College, Eastbourne, reflecting the family’s comfortable social standing and commitment to education.

1911 Census

In 1911, Ralph, aged 23, was recorded as a visitor at The Rectory, Pusey, Faringdon, Berkshire, and his occupation was listed as Marine Engineer, indicating a professional and technical career prior to the war.

Military Service

Ralph Lewis Morgan was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Welsh Regiment, 3^rd (Reserve) Battalion, and was later attached to the 13^th (Service) Battalion (2^nd Rhondda) for active service overseas. His role as a junior officer placed him in direct responsibility for leading and supervising men in front-line conditions.

By January 1917, the battalion was serving in the Ypres Salient, one of the most dangerous and heavily contested sectors of the Western Front. During the harsh winter of 1916–1917, the unit was engaged primarily in front-line trench holding duties and defensive operations. Although no major offensive was underway at that time, the sector remained extremely hazardous and unpredictable.

The battalion endured frequent German artillery bombardments, including high-explosive and trench mortar fire, along with persistent sniping from concealed enemy positions. Severe winter weather left trenches waterlogged and unstable, often collapsing under shellfire and heavy rain. Officers and men spent long hours exposed while repairing damaged defences and maintaining communication trenches.

Junior officers such as Ralph were responsible for supervising working parties, inspecting forward posts, and maintaining morale and discipline under relentless strain. Even routine trench duty could prove fatal in the Ypres sector, where shellfire and sniper activity were constant and casualties occurred regularly despite the absence of large-scale assaults.

Death and Burial

Ralph Lewis Morgan
Essex Farm Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
credit - findagrave

Second Lieutenant Ralph Lewis Morgan was killed in action on 14^th January 1917. His death occurred during this period of sustained front-line exposure and attritional fighting in the Ypres Salient.

He is buried at Essex Farm Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, a cemetery closely associated with the heavy fighting around Ypres.

His loss represents one of the many steady casualties suffered during trench warfare, where danger was ever-present even in the absence of large-scale assaults