The Swansea Men Who Fell on D‑Day – 6 June 1944

On D‑Day, 6 June 1944, six men with Swansea ties lost their lives during the opening hours of the Allied landings in Normandy. Their stories, though varied in origin and service, converge in the great sacrifice made on that single historic day.

Private John Cavey – Parachute Regiment, 7th Battalion

John Cavey
La Délivrande War Cemetery credit - findagrave

John Cavey, a Private of the Parachute Regiment, Army Air Corps, 7th Battalion, was born in November 1920 in County Dublin, Ireland, the son of Patrick Cavey and Mary Powlesland. Although the surviving documentation of his early years is limited, the Cavey family had settled in Swansea by the interwar period, residing at Carlton Terrace, where Patrick worked as an Engineer’s Fitter. John does not appear in either the 1921 Census or the 1939 Register, a gap that reflects the mobility and economic uncertainty experienced by many working families of the time. By the outbreak of the Second World War he had entered military service and was posted to the 7th Battalion, Parachute Regiment, one of Britain’s elite airborne formations. In the early hours of 6 June 1944, he took part in the airborne assault that preceded the seaborne landings, descending into the darkness over Calvados before engaging in fierce fighting to secure vital objectives inland. John was killed during these opening hours of the liberation of Europe and now lies at La Délivrande War Cemetery, Douvres, Calvados, France.

Corporal Edmund John Jones – Suffolk Regiment, 1st Battalion

Edmund John Jones, a Corporal of the Suffolk Regiment, 1st Battalion, was born in 1910 at Swansea, the son of Edmund Jones and Mary Jones. Though his early years are lightly documented, he grew up in a city shaped by industry and close‑knit communities.

1939 Register

Edmund John Jones
La Délivrande War Cemetery credit - findagrave

By 1939, he was lodging with the Stock family at Thurrock, Essex, working as a General Labourer (Tunnel Asbestos). In 1940, he married Florence E. Stock, establishing a young family life on the eve of global conflict. Edmund later enlisted in the Suffolk Regiment, joining the 1st Battalion, which landed in the first waves on Sword Beach on D‑Day. Advancing inland under heavy fire, the battalion faced fortified German positions and fierce resistance as they pushed towards Caen. Edmund was killed during these opening operations and is buried at La Délivrande War Cemetery, Douvres, Calvados. His name is also commemorated on the Aveley War Memorial.

Captain John Charles Linn – Green Howards, 6th Battalion

John Charles Linn, Captain, Green Howards (Yorkshire Regiment), 6th Battalion, was born in 1916 at Scarborough, Yorkshire, the only child of Charles Linn and Mary Agnes Dodds.

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records the family at 52 Ramshill Road, shared with John’s maternal grandparents, reflecting the close family networks of the period. By the late 1930s he had embarked on a military career, commissioned into the Green Howards, one of Yorkshire’s most distinguished regiments.

John Charles Linn and Daphne Margaret Gillinder marriage certificate Parish church of Easly, Yorkshire

John Charles Linn
Bayeux War Cemetery credit - findagrave

In May 1940, he married Daphne Margaret Gillinder of Swansea, forging a lasting connection with the city. As part of the 6th Battalion, he landed in the early waves on Gold Beach on D‑Day, leading his men through the chaos of the beachhead. John was killed during the opening operations of the Normandy landings and is buried at Bayeux War Cemetery, Calvados.

Serjeant Albert Edward Myhill – Royal Engineers, 77 Assault Squadron

Albert Edward Myhill
Hermanville War Cemetery credit - findagrave

Albert Edward Myhill, a Serjeant of the Royal Engineers, 77 Assault Squadron, was born in 1916 at Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, the son of Albert Edward Myhill and Gladys Evans. Though absent from the 1921 Census, he later established himself in Swansea, marrying Winifred May Vaughan in 1939. Albert enlisted in the Royal Engineers, whose technical skill and courage were essential to every major operation of the war. His posting to the 77 Assault Squadron placed him within one of the most specialised and hazardous units of the Normandy invasion force. On D‑Day, the squadron landed under direct fire to clear obstacles, breach minefields, and destroy beach defences. It was in these perilous conditions that Albert lost his life. He is buried at Hermanville War Cemetery, Calvados, among comrades who shared the same hazardous mission.

Private Morgan Rees Price – South Wales Borderers, 2nd Battalion

Morgan Rees Price
Bayeux War Cemetery credit - findagrave

Morgan Rees Price, a Private of the South Wales Borderers, 2nd Battalion, was born in 1923, the son of R. Price. Though the surviving documentation of his early life is sparse, he belonged to the generation whose youth was overtaken by war. He enlisted in the South Wales Borderers, a regiment with deep Welsh roots, and joined the 2nd Battalion, which landed on the Normandy beaches on D‑Day. The battalion advanced inland through the bocage landscape of Calvados, where hedgerows and fortified positions created some of the most difficult fighting conditions of the campaign. Morgan was killed during these opening operations and is buried at Bayeux War Cemetery, Calvados, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Normandy.

Private Charles William Smith – Hampshire Regiment, 1st Battalion

Charles William Smith
Bayeux Memorial credit - findagrave

Charles William Smith, a Private of the Hampshire Regiment, 1st Battalion, was born in 1918, the son of George Smith. Although surviving civilian records are limited, his wartime service places him firmly among Swansea’s D‑Day dead. He enlisted in the Hampshire Regiment, joining the 1st Battalion, which formed part of the assault on Gold Beach on D‑Day, 6 June 1944. The battalion faced intense machine‑gun fire, minefields, and entrenched resistance as they fought their way inland. Charles was killed during these opening operations of the Normandy landings. With no known grave, his name is preserved on the Bayeux Memorial, Calvados, which commemorates those who fell in the Normandy campaign and have no identified resting place. His inscription ensures that his sacrifice endures despite the absence of a marked grave.

Conclusion – Swansea’s Quiet Debt to the Fallen

Swansea’s D‑Day Legacy The six Swansea men who fell on D‑Day, 6 June 1944, represent only a small part of the vast Allied force that crossed the Channel that morning, yet their stories illuminate the human cost of the liberation of Europe. They came from different backgrounds—some born in Swansea, others drawn to the city through family or marriage—but each carried with him the hopes of loved ones and the quiet determination of a generation shaped by hardship and duty. Their paths converged on the beaches and fields of Normandy, where the opening hours of the invasion demanded extraordinary courage from ordinary men.

Today, their names endure in the cemeteries and memorials of Calvados, on the stones of Bayeux, La Délivrande, and Hermanville, and in the records of the regiments they served. But they also endure in Swansea itself—in the memory of the communities they left behind, in the streets where their families lived, and in the city’s long tradition of honouring its wartime dead. Their sacrifice forms part of a wider story of service that stretches across Wales and the United Kingdom, yet it remains deeply personal to the city that shaped their early lives.

As each anniversary of D‑Day passes, the distance between the present and the events of 1944 grows, but the significance of their sacrifice does not diminish. These six men—Cavey, Jones, Linn, Myhill, Price, and Smith—stand as representatives of a generation that bore the weight of history on its shoulders. Their courage helped secure the freedoms enjoyed today, and their memory reminds us that the cost of peace is measured not in numbers, but in lives lived, lives interrupted, and lives given. Swansea’s quiet debt to them endures, carried forward in remembrance, gratitude, and the simple act of telling their stories.