Walter Henry Lewis – Royal Field Artillery, “D” Battery, 107th Brigade

Second Lieutenant Walter Henry Lewis – Royal Field Artillery, “D” Battery, 107^th Brigade

Family Background

Walter Henry Lewis was born in 1894 in Swansea, the son of John Dyer Lewis and Harriet Louisa Davies.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Lewis family were residing at 183 Richmond Road, St. John the Baptist, Cardiff. John Dyer Lewis (43), born in Carmarthenshire, was employed as a Civil Servant, Assistant Inspector of Mines, and his wife Harriet Louisa (32) managed the household. Their children were John D. (10), Walter H. (7), Vivian M. (5), and Harold D. (1). Also present was a servant, Laura B. Soard (16).

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, Walter was recorded as a pupil at the Grammar School, Worcester Street, Bromsgrove, reflecting a strong educational foundation.

Military Service

During the First World War, Walter was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, serving with “D” Battery, 107^th Brigade.

On 4^th  August 1917, the battery was engaged in operations during the opening phase of the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). Field batteries equipped with 18-pounder guns were responsible for laying creeping barrages in support of infantry assaults, suppressing German machine-gun positions, and conducting counter-battery fire against enemy artillery.

The fighting in early August was marked by heavy and sustained artillery duels. German forces actively targeted British gun lines using aerial observation and sound-ranging techniques. Gun pits were frequently subjected to high-explosive and gas shelling, and conditions were further worsened by heavy rain, which turned the already devastated ground into deep mud. Artillery officers were particularly vulnerable while supervising gun positions or directing fire from forward observation posts.

Death and Burial

Walter Henry Lewis
Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
credit - findagrave

It was during these intense operations on 4^th August 1917 that Walter was killed in action. He is buried at Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France, one of the principal cemeteries associated with the base hospitals serving the British Expeditionary Force. His burial there suggests that he may have died of wounds after evacuation from the front.

His death reflects the hazardous nature of artillery service during the Ypres offensive, where gun lines were constant targets in the struggle for control of the battlefield