Thomas Glyn Rees

Thomas Glyn Rees – Civilian Casualty, Chigwell Bombing, 1941

Early Life and Family

Thomas Glyn Rees was born in 1911 in Swansea, the son of Evan Rees and Mary Ann Rees, who lived at Harlesden, Mayals, Swansea. He grew up in the Swansea area before later moving to England for work.

Marriage and Early Adulthood

1939 Register 

In 1936, Thomas married Beryl M. Vagg at Swansea. By the time of the 1939 Register, the couple were living apart for work‑related reasons. Thomas was residing at Langland, Forest Way, Woodford Green, Essex, while his wife Beryl was living at 3 Clenedon Road, Swansea.

The Chigwell Bombing – 19^th April 1941

The Prince of Wales Public House, Chigwell, 
Memorial
credit - IWM

The destruction of the Prince of Wales Public House in Chigwell on 19^th April 1941 was one of the most devastating civilian tragedies to strike Essex during the Second World War. The attack occurred during a period of heavy Luftwaffe activity across London and the surrounding counties, when German parachute mines were being dropped to inflict maximum blast damage on residential areas.

A parachute mine, a naval mine adapted for air‑delivery, descended silently over Chigwell shortly after 10 p.m. These weapons, weighing around 1,000 kg, detonated above ground level, producing a vast shockwave capable of flattening buildings over a wide radius. When the mine exploded on or beside the Prince of Wales Public House, the effect was catastrophic.

The pub was obliterated instantly, and several adjoining houses were destroyed. The blast blew out windows across the neighbourhood, lifted roofs from their frames, and left a deep crater amid the wreckage. Fires broke out in the debris, complicating the rescue efforts that followed. The explosion was so violent that many victims were killed outright, while others were buried beneath collapsed masonry and timber.

Contemporary reports estimate that at least 46 people were killed in the disaster. Among the dead were members of the Clayhall Cricket Club, who had been meeting at the pub that evening, as well as members of the Royal Observer Corps, local residents, pub staff, and visitors. The scale of the destruction meant that identification of some victims was extremely difficult, and the final death toll may have been even higher.

Rescue teams, Home Guard units, and local volunteers worked through the night and for several days afterwards. The ruins were unstable, and much of the rubble had to be cleared by hand. Despite the efforts of emergency workers, few survivors were found after the first hours. The incident remains one of the worst single civilian losses in Essex during the war.

Thomas Glyn Rees was among those who died in the explosion, placing him at the centre of one of the most tragic bombing incidents to affect the region during the Blitz.

Family Losses

Tragically, Thomas’s wife Beryl had already suffered a wartime bereavement. Her brother, Edward Alan Vagg, serving with the Royal Air Force, was killed in May 1940. He became the first airman buried at St Paul’s, Sketty, marking another sorrowful chapter for the family.  More information here Edward Alan Vagg