Thomas John Hawes – Royal Corps of Signals

Driver Thomas John Hawes – Royal Corps of Signals

Early Life and Family Background

Thomas John Hawes and Annie Louisa Day marriage certificate Christ Church, Swansea

Thomas John Hawes was born in 1918 in Swansea, the son of Thomas John Hawes and Annie Louisa Day, who had married in 1916 at Christ Church, Swansea.

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records the family living at Station Road, Llansamlet, where Thomas John, aged thirty, worked as a general labourer employed by the National Oil Refineries, Skewen, while Annie Louisa, aged twenty‑eight, undertook the household duties. Their children present were Thomas John, aged three, and Nancy, aged one.

Military Service – Royal Corps of Signals

Thomas later enlisted in the Royal Corps of Signals, serving as a Driver. Signalmen played a vital role in maintaining communications across the Army’s formations, ensuring the flow of orders, intelligence, and operational coordination during the Second World War.

Thomas John Hawes 
St. Samlet Churchyard, Llansamlet
credit - findagrave

Death and Burial, November 1944

Thomas John Hawes died on 27 November 1944, during the final year of the war. His burial at St. Samlet Churchyard, Llansamlet marked the last military burial in the churchyard, closing the wartime chapter of the parish’s roll of honour.