Vincent Melville Bennett – South Wales Borderers, 30th Battalion

Private Vincent Melville Bennett – South Wales Borderers, 30th Battalion

Early Life

Born in 1918 at Swansea, Vincent Melville Bennett was the son of Frederick Bennett and Blodwen Bennett. His childhood was rooted in the Morriston district, where tinplate work and steel manufacture shaped the rhythm of daily life.

Family Life (1921 Census)

1921 Census

By the 1921 Census, the Bennett family were living at 42 Horel Road, Morriston. Frederick, aged 56, Norfolk‑born, worked as a Tinplate Worker Rolls Pickler for the William Morris Morriston Tinplate Company, though recorded as out of work at the time of the census. Blodwen, aged 54, undertook household duties. Their children present were Stanley Bevan (11), Leighton Hamilton (8), Edwin Wareneford (5)—all attending school—and Vincent Melville (2), the youngest of the household.

Marriage

In 1938, Vincent married Alice Armstrong in Swansea, establishing his own home as Europe moved steadily toward war.

Military Service

Vincent Melville Bennett served as a Private with the South Wales Borderers, attached to the 30th Battalion. His service placed him within one of Wales’s most historic regiments, whose battalions undertook essential duties across Britain during the Second World War.

Vincent Melville Bennett
Morriston Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Death and Burial

Vincent died on 25 June 1943 and was laid to rest at Morriston Cemetery, where his grave stands among Swansea’s wartime burials. His service and sacrifice remain preserved within the community that shaped his early life.