Reginald Samuel Palferman – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Anson Battalion, Royal Naval Division
Able Seaman Reginald Samuel Palferman – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Anson Battalion, Royal Naval Division
Early Life
Reginald Samuel Palferman was born in 1897 in Rhondda,
Glamorgan, the son of Samuel James Palferman and Victoria
Williams.
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| 1901 Census |
The 1901 Census records the family living at 25 Parade, Pontypridd, Glamorgan. Samuel, aged 26, worked as a Grocer’s Assistant, while his Staffordshire‑born wife Catherine, aged 24, cared for their young son Reginald S. (4). Also living in the household were Samuel’s brother Josiah Palferman (18) and sister Annie Palferman (20).
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| 1911 Census |
By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 10 St John’s Road, Manselton, Swansea. Samuel James, then 36, was employed as a Traveller and Counter Salesman (Shop Assistant), while Catherine, aged 34, managed the home. Their children were Reginald Samuel (14), listed as a Learner (rice); Irene (8); Aubrey (6); William James (5); Dennis (4); and Rose (3).
Naval Service
As a young man, Reginald Samuel Palferman enlisted in
the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and served as an Able Seaman
with the Anson Battalion, part of the Royal Naval Division, which
fought as infantry on the Western Front during the First World War.
Anson Battalion – The Fighting on 28th September 1916
On 28th September 1916, the Anson
Battalion was heavily engaged in the fighting associated with the later
stages of the Battle of the Somme. Operating in the sector around Lesboeufs,
Gueudecourt, and Morval, the Royal Naval Division had already
suffered significant casualties earlier that month, yet its
battalions—including Anson—were once again ordered to advance.
The attack on this day formed part of the Allied effort to
dislodge the German Army from the Transloy Ridges, a line of strongly
defended positions dominating the surrounding battlefield. The terrain offered
little cover: the ground was deeply churned by previous bombardments, muddy and
uneven, with shattered tree stumps and shell‑holes stretching across
no-man’s-land.
As the men of the Anson Battalion moved forward, they faced intense
machine‑gun fire from German positions that had survived earlier artillery
barrages. Heavy shellfire fell on their assembly trenches and on the
troops as they advanced, causing confusion and heavy losses. Contemporary
reports describe the fighting as extremely close and chaotic, with the
Battalion attempting to push forward under very difficult conditions and in the
face of strong resistance. Stretcher‑bearers worked tirelessly to recover the
wounded, often under direct fire, struggling across the devastated ground.
Despite their determination, the attack came at a high
human cost, and many of those who were killed fell during the attempt to
consolidate the limited gains made in the assault. It was during this period of
severe and unrelenting fighting that Able Seaman Reginald Samuel Palferman
lost his life.
Death and Commemoration
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| British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records |
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| Reginald Samuel Palferman Moeuvres Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord, France credit - findagrave |
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