Tudor Thomas – Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 19th (Service) Battalion

Second Lieutenant Tudor Thomas – Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 19^th (Service) Battalion

Birth and Parentage

Tudor Thomas was born in Swansea in 1891, the youngest child of Abraham Hezekiah Thomas and Hannah Maddock, who had married in Neath in 1870. The Thomas family was well‑established in the Swansea and Llansamlet area, with Abraham connected to both the colliery industry and later to local educational administration, reflecting a household that valued both enterprise and learning. Tudor grew up as the youngest of a large family, surrounded by older siblings whose occupations and schooling shaped the intellectual environment of the home.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the Thomas family was residing at Crumlin Villas, Swansea. Abraham, aged 40, was working as a Colliery Proprietor, and his wife Hannah, was 30. Living with them were their children—Arthur (18); Gwendolen (14); Evan M. (11); Walter G. (7); Glyn (5); Gwladys (3); and the youngest, Tudor, who was just one month old. All the children were attending school, and the household also included a 19‑year‑old servant, Catherine Donne. This census paints a picture of a prosperous and educated family, with the older children already progressing through school and the household able to employ domestic help.

1901 Census

By the time of the 1901 Census, the Thomas family was still living at Crumlin Villas, Swansea. Abraham, then 50, was employed as an Accountant, while Hannah was 48. Their children at home were Arthur (28), who worked as a Bookkeeper; Gwendolen (24); Glyn (15), a Pupil Teacher; Gwladys (13), a School Monitress; and Tudor (10). The presence of two children already working in education suggests that learning and literacy were central to the family’s identity, and Tudor would have grown up in an environment that encouraged academic achievement.

1911 Census

In the 1911 Census, the family remained at Crymlyn Villa, Llansamlet, Swansea. Abraham, now 60, was working as an Accountant Clerk to the School Managers, and Hannah, aged 58, continued to manage the household. Their children present were Arthur (37), employed as a Books and Stationery Traveller; Gwendolen (33); Glyn (26) and Gwladys (23), both of whom were School Teachers; along with Tudor (20), who was working as a Clerk in the Harbour Trust Offices. Tudor’s occupation suggests he was already trusted with responsible clerical duties, likely involving shipping records, trade documentation, and port administration—skills that would later prove valuable in military service.

Military Service and Death

With the outbreak of the First World War, Tudor Thomas enlisted and later received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, serving with the 19^th (Service) Battalion, a unit raised as part of Kitchener’s New Army. Officers like Tudor were often selected from educated young men with clerical or professional backgrounds, reflecting both their literacy and leadership potential.

The 19^th Battalion saw action on the Western Front, including involvement in the Battle of Cambrai, which began on 20^th November 1917. This battle was notable for the first large‑scale, coordinated use of tanks, supported by infantry and artillery in a surprise attack that initially broke through the German Hindenburg Line.

The 19^th Battalion at Bourlon Wood – 23^rd to 25^th November 1917

By 25^th November 1917, the situation at Cambrai had become extremely dangerous. The early British gains had slowed, and German counter‑attacks were growing in strength and frequency. The 40th Division, which included the 19th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, was ordered to reinforce the hard‑pressed line around Bourlon Wood, one of the most fiercely contested positions of the entire battle.

Between 23^rd and 25^th November, the battalion endured relentless German shelling—both high‑explosive and shrapnel—along with repeated counter‑attacks aimed at retaking the wood. The men fought in dense, shattered woodland where visibility was poor, machine‑gun fire came from concealed positions, and the combat was confused and fragmented, with units becoming intermingled among the splintered trees.

Survivors later described the fighting in Bourlon Wood as chaotic and brutal. Junior officers like Second Lieutenant Tudor Thomas played a vital role in holding scattered platoons together under extreme pressure, often making rapid decisions in conditions where communication was difficult and the front line constantly shifting.

Tudor Thomas
Cambrai Memorial at Louverval, Nord, France
credit - findagrave

The battalion suffered heavy casualties, particularly among officers who were exposed while leading counter‑attacks or reorganising their men under fire. It was during this intense phase of the battle that Tudor Thomas was killed in action on 25^th November 1917, aged just 26.

Like many who fell in the Battle of Cambrai, he has no known grave, and is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial at Louverval, Nord, France, which honours more than 7,000 soldiers who died in the Cambrai operations