Thomas Richard Austin - Private - Welsh Regiment – 2nd Battalion

 Thomas Richard Austin was born in Plymouth, Devon, in 1891, the son of Joseph Austin and Maud Mary Hartop, who were married at St. Matthew’s Church, East Stonehouse, Devon, reportedly in 1860.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the Austin family were living at 24 Habart Street, East Stonehouse, Devon. Thomas’s father, Joseph, aged 34, was serving as a Private in the Royal Marines. His place of birth was recorded as Oystermouth, near Swansea, while his wife, Maud Mary, aged 30, had been born in Morval, Cornwall.

The couple had two young children living at home: Josephine Maude, aged one, and Thomas Richard, who was just six months old.

1901 Census

By the time of the 1901 Census, the family had moved from Devon to Swansea, where they were living at 118 Lower Oxford Street. Joseph, now aged 43, had left the Royal Marines and was employed as a general labourer, while his wife, Maud M., was 41 years old.

Four children were recorded in the household: Thomas R., aged 10, Frederick P., six, Sidney G., four, and Edith M., two.

1911 Census

Ten years later, the 1911 Census recorded the family living at 152 Oxford Street, Swansea. Joseph, now aged 53, was described as a naval pensioner and was employed as a cellar man and labourer. His wife, Maud, was 49 years old.

Three of their children remained at home. Thomas, recorded as Richard Austin, was now 20 years old and employed as a coach smith, a skilled occupation involving the manufacture and repair of metalwork for horse-drawn carriages and other vehicles. His younger brother, Sidney, aged 14, worked as a bootshop errand boy, while their sister, Edith, aged 12, was still attending school.

Having grown up in a family with a background in military service, Thomas would have been familiar with his father's former career in the Royal Marines. His own employment as a coach smith suggests that he had developed practical skills in metalworking, a trade that required considerable strength and craftsmanship.

In 1912, Thomas married Caroline Reed, beginning a new chapter in his life. However, their married years would soon be overshadowed by the outbreak of the First World War.

Following the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Thomas entered military service, joining the Welsh Regiment. He served as a Private with the 2nd Battalion, a regular army battalion which saw extensive service on the Western Front.

The 2nd Battalion formed part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, and participated in numerous major engagements throughout the war, including fighting in the Ypres Salient in Belgium.

By March 1918, the battalion was serving in Flanders, where British forces continued to hold defensive positions against the German Army. Although the major battles of 1917 had ended, the Ypres Salient remained a dangerous place, with soldiers exposed to artillery bombardments, trench raids, sniper fire and the constant hazards of front-line service.

It was during this period that Thomas lost his life.

Private Thomas Richard Austin was killed in action on 18th March 1918, just three days before the German Army launched its major Spring Offensive on the Western Front.

Although the precise circumstances of his death remain unknown, his date of death places him among the casualties of the continuing fighting in Flanders during the final year of the war.

Thomas was approximately 27 years old.

Thomas Richard Austin
Duhallow Advanced Dressing Station (A.D.S.) Cemetery,
West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
credit - findagrave

He was laid to rest at Duhallow Advanced Dressing Station (A.D.S.) Cemetery, near Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium.

The cemetery takes its name from the advanced dressing station that operated in the area, where wounded soldiers received medical attention before being evacuated to hospitals farther behind the front lines. Many of those buried there died from wounds sustained during the fighting in the Ypres Salient.

For his wife, Caroline, whom he had married just six years earlier, Thomas's death meant the loss of her husband and the future they had hoped to share.

His parents, Joseph and Maud, together with his brothers and sisters back in Swansea, were also left to mourn the loss of a son and brother who had left his home in Oxford Street to serve his country.

His father, a former Royal Marine, would have understood the demands and dangers of military life, but the loss of his son during the war would nevertheless have been a profound tragedy for the family.