Thomas Evans – Welsh Regiment, 8th Battalion

Corporal Thomas Evans – Welsh Regiment, 8th Battalion

First Military Burial at St. Samlet Churchyard, Llansamlet

Thomas Evans
St. Samlet Churchyard, Llansamlet
credit - findagrave

The earliest recorded military burial at St. Samlet Churchyard, Llansamlet is that of Corporal Thomas Evans, whose grave marks the beginning of the churchyard’s First World War commemorations.

Military Service and Death

Thomas Evans served with the Welsh Regiment, 8th Battalion, a unit that saw extensive service on the Western Front. He died on 20 December 1916, during one of the most demanding phases of the war, when the battalion was engaged in the gruelling winter operations that followed the Somme campaign.

His burial at St. Samlet Churchyard stands today as a quiet testament to the local men who served and died during the conflict, and as the first military headstone to appear in the churchyard during the Great War.