Trevor Thomas – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Anson Battalion, Royal Naval Division

Able Seaman Trevor Thomas – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Anson Battalion, Royal Naval Division

Early Life

Trevor Thomas was born in 1897 in Morriston, Glamorgan, the son of Thomas and Mary Thomas.

1911 Census

By the time of the 1911 Census, the family were living at 88 Graig Road, Morriston. Trevor’s father, Thomas, aged 43, worked as a Mason, while his mother, Mary, also 43, cared for their home and children. Their children were Trevor (13) and Blodwen (6), both attending school, along with Mary Lizzie, aged one. It was a typical working‑class family rooted in the close‑knit community of Morriston.

Military Service

Trevor Thomas
Army Records

In November 1916, Trevor first enlisted with the Glamorgan Yeomanry. Later that same month, he was discharged from the Army and re‑enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, where he was posted to the Anson Battalion of the Royal Naval Division with the rank of Able Seaman.

The Royal Naval Division, composed of naval reservists serving as infantry, fought in some of the harshest battles of the Western Front. By 1917, the Division was heavily engaged in the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as Passchendaele.

Anson Battalion – 26^th October 1917

On 26^th October 1917, the Anson Battalion took part in the opening assault of the Second Battle of Passchendaele, one of the final and most gruelling phases of the Ypres campaign. The battalion advanced as part of the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division, which had been brought forward to renew the offensive in appalling conditions.

Weeks of relentless rain and shelling had turned the battlefield into a vast swamp. Deep mud swallowed equipment, slowed movement, and made it almost impossible to maintain formation. Despite this, the Anson Battalion moved forward from positions near Varlet Farm and Wallemolen, aiming to capture a series of German strongpoints along the Wallemolen Spur.

As the attack began at dawn, the battalion immediately came under heavy machine‑gun fire from German pillboxes that had survived the artillery bombardment. The mud made it difficult to take cover or manoeuvre, and casualties mounted quickly. Progress was slow and costly, with scattered units struggling through the shattered landscape and engaging in close‑quarters fighting around concrete blockhouses.

Although parts of the line advanced, the overall attack achieved only limited gains, and the Anson Battalion suffered severe losses.

It was during this brutal and chaotic fighting on 26^th October 1917 that Able Seaman Trevor Thomas was killed in action.

Commemoration

As he has no known grave, Trevor Thomas is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial in West‑Vlaanderen, Belgium. His name stands among the thousands who fell during the long and costly struggle for Passchendaele, remembered for their courage and sacrifice