Reginald William Henry Phillips – Royal Artillery, 98 (Surrey & Sussex Yeomanry) Field Regiment

Gunner Reginald William Henry Phillips – Royal Artillery, 98 (Surrey & Sussex Yeomanry) Field Regiment

Early Life and Family Background

William John Phillips and Maud Louisa Haines marriage certificate Holy Trinity Church, Swansea

Reginald William Henry Phillips was born in 1915 in Swansea, the son of William John Phillips and Maud Louisa Haines, who had married in 1886 at Holy Trinity Church, Swansea.

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records the family living at Plain Bonymren, Swansea, where William John, aged thirty‑two, worked as a grocery warehouseman employed by wholesale grocers, while Maud Louisa, aged thirty‑four, undertook the household duties. Their children present were Ivy Elizabeth, aged three, and Reginald William Henry, aged five. Also living with the family were two boarders: Sarah Emily Swift, aged forty‑seven, and her daughter Lilian Dorothy Emily, aged eight.

Military Service – Royal Artillery

Reginald later enlisted as a Gunner in the Royal Artillery, serving with the 98 (The Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry) Field Regiment, a unit that saw extensive service during the early years of the Second World War.

Death and Burial, October 1940

Reginald William Henry Phillips died on 14 October 1940, during a period marked by heavy losses across Britain as the war intensified. His body was brought home to Llansamlet, where he was buried at St. Samlet Churchyard, one of the early Second World War burials connected to the parish.