David John Thomas – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Indefatigable

Stoker 1^st Class David John Thomas – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Indefatigable

Early Life

David John Thomas was born in 1897 in Swansea, the son of Robert Thomas and Catherine A. Jones.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Thomas family were living at 20 Vivian Street, Hafod, Swansea. David’s father, Robert, aged 30, worked as a Labourer at the Copper Works, while his mother, Catherine, aged 27, cared for their young family. Their children were David (4), Thomas (2), and Robert (7 months).

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family were still residing at 20 Vivian Street. Robert, now 40, was employed as a Copper Smelter Furnaceman, and Catherine, aged 37, continued to manage the household. Their children were David John (14), working as a Butcher’s Errand Boy; Thomas (12), who attended school part‑time while also working as a Butcher’s Errand Boy; Robert (10); Josiah (8); Annie May (6); Nellie (4); George (2); and Sarah, an infant under three months old.

Naval Service

David John Thomas
Royal Navy Records

David John enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1915, later serving as a Stoker 1^st Class in the Royal Naval Reserve. 

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, he was posted to the battlecruiser H.M.S. Indefatigable, part of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet during the First World War.

Loss of H.M.S. Indefatigable

H.M.S. Indefatigable

During the opening phase of the Battle of Jutland on 31^st May 1916, H.M.S. Indefatigable, commanded by Captain Charles Sowerby, engaged the German battlecruiser SMS Von der Tann. Early in the action, a German shell struck Indefatigable amidships, forcing her out of formation. Moments later, another salvo hit the ship; one shell is believed to have penetrated X turret, igniting the cordite charges and causing a devastating flash explosion that spread to the aft magazines. It is also possible that a shell detonated the magazine directly.

The ship was quickly engulfed in thick smoke. When it cleared, Indefatigable was seen sinking rapidly, stern first, with a heavy list to port. She went down within seconds. Of her crew of over 1,000 men, only two survived. The remaining 1,017 officers and men, including Stoker 1^st Class David John Thomas, were lost in one of the most catastrophic explosions of the battle.

David John Thomas
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth
credit - findagrave

Commemoration

As he has no known grave, David John Thomas is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which honours Royal Navy personnel lost at sea during the First World War. His name stands among those who gave their lives in one of the most devastating moments of the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval engagement of the war