Richard Lewis Davies – West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own)

Private Richard Lewis Davies – West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own)

Richard Lewis Davies was born in 1894 in Swansea, the son of David John Davies and Margaret Thomas. His childhood unfolded in the mining districts of Llangefelach Road and Forest Fach, where the Davies family lived among colliery drivers, underground labourers, and school‑age children typical of early‑20th‑century Swansea’s industrial communities.

Family Life

1901 Census

The 1901 Census records the Davies household at 24 Llangefelach Road, Swansea, where David J. Davies, aged 32, worked as a Colliery Driver, and his wife Margaret, aged 30 and born in Carmarthenshire, managed a growing family. Their children present were David, 8; Richard, 7; Walter, 4; Mary H., 3; Zachariah, 2; and William Edward, 4 months. The census depicts a young household with several small children and a father employed in the demanding underground work of the South Wales coalfield.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to James Terrace, Forest Fach, near Swansea. David John, now 41, was employed as a Stationary Engineer Underground, and Margaret, aged 39, continued to oversee the home. Their children present were David, 18, a Labourer; Richard, 16, working as a Labourer Repairer Underground; Walter, 14, a Door Boy Underground; Mary Hannah, 13; Zackariah, 12; William Edgar, 11; and Charles, 8, the younger ones still attending school. The census reflects a family deeply rooted in the mining industry, with multiple sons already working below ground.

Marriage

In 1914, Richard Lewis Davies married Catherine J. Tomkins in Swansea, establishing his own household shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.

Richard Lewis Davies
Cwmgelli Cemetery, Swansea
credit - findagrave

Military Service

Richard enlisted to serve as a Private with the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own), a regiment with a long and distinguished history. The regiment raised numerous battalions during the First World War, serving on the Western Front, in Italy, and in home defence. Men like Richard formed the backbone of these units, undertaking infantry training before being posted to operational or reserve formations.

Death and Burial

Richard died in Shropshire on 16 May 1918, while still serving with the regiment. His body was brought home to Swansea and laid to rest at Cwmgelli Cemetery, where he is commemorated among the wartime burials of the First World War.