Trevor Thomas Ace - Private - South Lancashire Regiment – 9th (Service) Battalion

William George Ace and Emily Griffiths
marriage certificate
St. Mary's Church, Swansea

Trevor Thomas Ace was born in Swansea in 1898, the son of William George Ace and Emily Griffiths, who had married at St. Mary’s Church, Swansea, on 7th May 1892.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Ace family were living at 7 Earl Street, Hafod, Swansea. Trevor’s father, recorded as George Ace, was 35 years old and employed as a general dock labourer, while his mother, Emily, was 34.  She was reocrded as being born in St Davids, Pembrokeshire.  Their only child at the time was Trevor, aged just three years.

1911 Census

A decade later, the 1911 Census recorded the family living nearby at 11 Earl Street. Trevor’s father, William George Ace, now aged 43, continued to work as a dock labourer, while his mother, Emily, was also 43 years old.

By this time, the family had grown with the arrival of another son, Ivor George, who was four years old. Trevor, recorded on the census as Thomas Trevor Ace, was now 13 years old.

Attestation Papers 

Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Trevor was among the many young men who volunteered for military service. His surviving Army Attestation Papers reveal that he enlisted in September 1914, when he would have been only about 16 years old.

Trevor joined the South Lancashire Regiment and served as a Private with the 9th (Service) Battalion.

Although Trevor was under the minimum age of 19 for overseas service, his recorded age at the time of his death was 19, suggesting that he may have given an incorrect year of birth when enlisting. Such instances were not uncommon during the First World War, when many underage boys and young men were eager to join the armed forces.

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects 

Tragically, Trevor's military service was cut short. The Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects record that he was killed in action on 21st October 1915. Although his military records gave his age as 19, his birth year of 1898 indicates that he was, in fact, only 17 years old when he lost his life.

Trevor's body was never recovered or identified, and he has no known grave. His name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, France, which honours more than 72,000 British and South African servicemen who died in the Somme sector during the First World War and have no known grave.

For his parents, William George and Emily, and his younger brother, Ivor George, Trevor's death meant the loss of a much-loved son and brother who had left his home in Hafod at such a young age, never to return.