Robert Hosking – Welsh Regiment, 14th (Service) Battalion (Swansea)

 Private Robert Hosking – Welsh Regiment, 14th (Service) Battalion (Swansea)

Thomas Hosking and Margaret Fisher marriage certificate St. Mary's Church, Swansea

Robert Hosking was born in 1889 in Swansea, the son of Thomas Hosking and Margaret Fisher, who married in 1867 at St Mary’s Church, Swansea. His early life unfolded in the industrial neighbourhoods around Pentre Mawr Street, where copper smelters, steel‑workers, and extended families shaped the character of late‑Victorian Swansea.

Family Life

1891 Census

The 1891 Census records the Hosking family at 4 Pentre Mawr Street, Swansea, where Thomas Hosking, aged 45, worked as a Copper Smelter, and his wife Margaret, aged 43, managed the home. Their children present were Thomas, 13; Richard J., 10; William A., 8; Rosena, 5 — all attending school — and Robert, aged 2. Also present was Martha Fisher, 63, Margaret’s widowed mother. The census shows a busy household rooted in Swansea’s metalworking community.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family were still at 4 Pentre Mawr Street. Thomas, now 55, was employed as a Black Steel Striker, and Margaret, aged 53, remained at home. Their children present were William, 18, a Plumber’s Labourer; Robert, 12; and Bertie, 8. The household had grown smaller as older children left home.

Early Adulthood

1911 Census

The 1911 Census records Robert, aged 22 and working as a General Haulier, living at Windsor Cottage, Uplands, Swansea, the home of his brother‑in‑law William Thomas Delve, 42, also a General Haulier, and his wife Eliza Jane, 43. Their children present were William Thomas, 18, assisting his father; Brinley, 10; Olive Margaret, 5; and Frederick John, 8 months. Robert was clearly integrated into the extended family’s haulage business.

In 1915, Robert married Beatrice Luxton, establishing his own household shortly before entering wartime service.

Service Papers

Military Service

Robert Hosking enlisted in 1915 and served as a Private with the Welsh Regiment, 14th (Service) Battalion (Swansea) — the Swansea “Pals” Battalion. Raised from local volunteers, the 14th Battalion trained in Wales before deployment to the Western Front. Robert’s service was cut short when he was discharged in February 1918, recorded as unfit for further duty.

Robert Hosking
Cwmgelli Cemetery, Swansea
credit - findagrave

Death and Burial

Robert died on 8 January 1920, his death recorded as due to tuberculosis, a condition often worsened by wartime hardship. He was laid to rest at Cwmgelli Cemetery, where he is remembered among Swansea’s First World War casualties.