Thomas Cyril Morgan - Cheshire Regiment, 11th (Service) Battalion)
Second Lieutenant Thomas Cyril Morgan - Cheshire Regiment, 11th (Service) Battalion)
Birth and Parentage
Thomas Cyril Morgan was born in 1898 in Carmarthen,
the son of Stephen Morgan and Mary Elizabeth George, who were
married in 1889 at St. Mary’s Parish Church, Tenby. He was baptised
Thomas Cyril William Morgan and grew up in a respectable and industrious family
environment.Stephen Morgan and Mary Elizabeth George
marraige certifcate
St. Mary’s Parish Church, Tenby
Family Background
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| 1901 Census |
The 1901 Census records the family residing at 116 Bryn Road, Swansea. Stephen, aged 34 and born in Carmarthenshire, was employed as a Potato Dealer Merchant, while Mary Elizabeth, born in Pembrokeshire, managed the household. Their children were Stanley Reginald (11), Emiah Ida Maud (10), Annie Gwendoline (6), and Thomas Cyril William (3). Also present was Mary Elizabeth’s sister, Rosa Maud George (23).
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| 1911 Census |
By the time of the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 33 Windsor Terrace, Swansea. Stephen, aged 44, was now a Potato Importer and Manager, reflecting a growing and successful business. Mary Elizabeth was 45. Their children at home were Stanley Reginald (21), an engineer’s apprentice; Emiah Maud Ida (20), a milliner; Annie Gwendoline (16), a milliner’s apprentice; and Thomas Cyril William (13), who was attending school.
Thomas’s upbringing suggests a stable and supportive
household, with emphasis placed on employment and vocational training.
Military Commission
During the First World War, Thomas Cyril Morgan was
commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Cheshire Regiment, 11th
(Service) Battalion). As a junior officer, he would have been entrusted
with leading platoons of men in front-line conditions, carrying both tactical
responsibility and the duty of maintaining morale under fire.
The Western Front – Ypres, 1917
By the summer of 1917, the 11th Battalion was serving
in the Ypres Salient during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele),
one of the most brutal and exhausting campaigns of the war.
British forces were attempting to advance east of Ypres
following the initial assaults of late July. The battlefield had been reduced
to a shattered wasteland of broken trees, flooded shell holes, and obliterated
trench systems. Continuous rain transformed the ground into deep mud, severely
hindering movement and making the evacuation of the wounded extremely
difficult.
Operations – 12th August 1917
On 12th August 1917, the battalion was
engaged in heavy fighting. The Cheshires faced intense German artillery
bombardment, including high-explosive and gas shells, alongside persistent
machine-gun fire from reinforced concrete pillboxes dominating the battlefield.
The German defensive system relied heavily on these
fortified strongpoints, forcing British infantry to cross exposed ground under
direct fire. Officers were required to lead from the front, organising assaults
and attempting to consolidate captured positions under constant shelling.
Casualties were heavy. Many soldiers were killed or went
missing in terrain so devastated that recovery of the fallen was often
impossible.
Death and Commemoration
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| Thomas Cyril Morgan Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium credit - findagrave |
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| Thomas Cyril Morgan Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium credit - findagrave |
He is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres,
West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, which honours those who have no known grave.
His death represents the sacrifice of a young officer who fell during one of the most destructive and costly phases of the fighting in Flanders
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