William John Thomas – Royal Air Force, 201 Squadron

Leading Aircraftman William John Thomas – Royal Air Force, 201 Squadron

Early Life and Family Background

William John Thomas was born in 1912 in Swansea, the son of William John and Margaret Ann Thomas.

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records the family living at Gwernllon Terrace, Llansamlet, where William John, aged forty‑one, worked as a house‑building mason employed on the H.M.O.W. Housing Scheme, while Margaret Ann, aged forty, managed the household. Their children present were Rose Hannah, seventeen; Violet, thirteen; William John, eight; and Leonard George, six, with the three younger children attending school.

Military Service – RAF 201 Squadron

William later enlisted in the Royal Air Force, serving as a Leading Aircraftman with 201 Squadron, a long‑established maritime patrol unit. During the Second World War, the squadron was based at Military Base Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, where flying‑boat operations played a crucial role in convoy protection and anti‑submarine patrols across the Western Approaches.

William John Thomas
St. Samlet Churchyard, llansamlet
credit - findagrave

Death and Burial, October 1942

On 14 October 1942, William John Thomas was accidentally drowned when a marine dinghy capsized with the loss of all hands, a tragedy that underscored the dangers faced by RAF personnel even far from enemy action. His body was brought home to Llansamlet, where he was buried at St. Samlet Churchyard, one of the Second World War burials connected to the parish.