Ralph Cousins – Royal Engineers, 966 (Inland Water Transport) Company

Sapper Ralph Cousins – Royal Engineers, 966 (Inland Water Transport) Company

Family Origins

Charles Howard and Louisa Elizabeth Howard marriage certificate St Stephen’s Church, St Thomas, Swansea

Ralph Cousins was born in 1913, in Swansea. He was the son of Charles Howard and Louisa Elizabeth Howard, who married in 1913 at St Stephen’s Church, St Thomas, Swansea. At the time of this marriage, Louisa Elizabeth was already widowed; her first husband had been Thomas John Gow.

The Family in 1921

1921 Census

By the time of the 1921 Census, Louisa Elizabeth had been widowed for the second time, her second husband David Cousins—a Private in the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards, killed on 24 April 1918 and buried at Bivillers Military Cemetery—having fallen in the First World War. She was living at 60 Port Tennant Road, Swansea, aged 42, undertaking the household duties and caring for her children: Brinley Charles Howard, 23, a locomotive fireman employed at the East Dock Dept., GWR Sheds; Thomas John Gow, 19, also a locomotive fireman at Danygraig Loco Shed, GWR; M. H. Gow, 12; Ronald Haydn Gow, 10; and Ralph Cousins, aged 10, with the three younger boys attending school. Sharing the home was a boarder, Mary Ann Heaven, aged 78, completing a household marked by loss, resilience, and the close-knit structure typical of post-war Swansea families.

1939 Register

Marriage & Home Life

In 1939, Ralph married Florence Bevan. The 1939 Register records the couple living at Carshalton, Gower. Ralph was employed as a Carpenter Farmer, while Florence undertook household duties. Also living with them was Ralph’s widowed mother, Louisa Elizabeth, who assisted with the running of the home.

Service with the Royal Engineers

During the Second World War, Ralph served with the Royal Engineers, 966 (Inland Water Transport) Company, holding the rank of Sapper. Units of Inland Water Transport were responsible for operating and maintaining vessels, docks, and waterways essential to military logistics — a demanding and often dangerous branch of the Engineers.

Herald of Wales

Death in 1945

On 18 November 1945, tragedy struck. Ralph was killed in a motor accident at Sandwich, Kent, while home on leave in Bishopston. His death was reported in the Herald of Wales, which described the loss in solemn terms:

“Private Ralph Cousins, Royal Engineers, lost his life in a motor accident at Sandwich, Kent, bringing a tragic end to the service of a man who had already endured the greatest trials of war. Aged 33, he was married and lived at Sunnyside, Murton, Bishopston, where he was well known in the community.”

Ralph had been in the Army for three years, serving with distinction and taking part in the D‑Day landings, one of the most perilous operations of the war. Before joining the Army, he worked as a carpenter with Messrs. Bennett Bros., builders, where he was respected for his skill and reliability.

His family had already known wartime loss: his father, David Cousins, had been killed in the First World War — a sorrow now echoed in the death of his son a generation later.

Ralph Cousins
St. Teilo's Church, Bishopston
credit - findagrave

Burial

Ralph Cousins was laid to rest at St Teilo’s Church, returning him to the Gower landscape that had shaped his early life. He is remembered as a man who served his country with courage, survived the storm of D‑Day, and was tragically taken in peacetime — a double blow for a family marked by sacrifice.