The Roll of Honour of the Mackintosh Institute was damaged during the movement of furniture. Prior to it being discarded, Malcolm Ranson, a past chairman and honorary life member of the Society, recorded the names. What follows is the information that has been found out about them by using the Commonwealth War Graves Register (CWGR), the Soldiers who Died in WW1 register and Ancestry.
BROOKS A – see postscript at bottom of page.
DICKS H E
3 Clun Terrace
Herbert Dicks was born in Cardiff circa 1900. The 1911 census finds the 11 year old Herbert living at 3, Clun Terrace, Cathays with his father, Isaac, a 45 yr old detective sergeant and his mother Martha, 46 yrs. Also present in the household were his 20 yr old brother, Arthur, a tram conductor, and Frank, 16 yrs, a steamship owner’s clerk. His parents have been married for 25 years.
The Book of Remembrance for the Mercantile Marine states that H E DICKS was a 16 yr old second steward on the SS Bayreaulx, which was a steam ship of 3009 tons operated by the Bay Steam Ship Company of Cardiff. On 22nd October 1916 she was travelling from Cardiff to Montreal carrying ballast, when she was intercepted and torpedoed by U63 under the command of Captain Otto Schulze. All 23 crew members were lost.
Otto Schulze
Otto Schulze was born in Oldenburg on 11th May 1884 and died in Hamburg on 22nd January 1966. During WW1 he sank 53 merchant ships with a combined tonnage of 132,567 tons and 1 warship, HMS Falmouth. He also damaged 7 merchant ships and 2 warships.
The CWGR records Herbert’s death and states that he was the son of Mrs. Hicks of 53 Diana Street, Cardiff. There is no known grave and he is listed on the Tower Hill Memorial near the Tower of London. This memorial commemorates 36,097 men of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who have no grave but the sea; of these about 12,000 are from WW1:-
EVANS C M
The 1891 census lists the baby Clifford Morgan Evans living at 3, Glebe Terrace, Cadoxton with his father William Morgan Evans, aged 22 yrs, and his mother, Beatrice Blanche, 21 yrs. William is a joiner. There is no photo of this address as it appears to be no longer there.
53, Donald Street
By the time of the 1901 census the family are living at 53, Donald Street. His father is now recorded as a master builder. The couple have also had further children – Violet Margaret, 9yrs, Leslie Evan Thomson, 7 yrs, and Horace Howell, 2yrs. Also listed is a 15 yr old servant, Alison Brock.
49, Shirley Road
By the time of the 1911 census the family has moved to 49, Shirley Road. The father is now listed as a builder and contractor; Clifford is a builder’s clerk, together with his younger brother, Leslie. Horace is at school. Two more children have arrived – Aubrey Robert, 9 yrs, and Telford Herbert, 7yrs. Also living in the house are Howell John Evans, described as a relative, a 45 yr old builder and contractor, and Harriet Edwards, a 23 yr old servant.
Lance Corporal Clifford Morgan Evans, number 35337, of the 13th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, was killed in action at Mametz wood on 10th July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme. His body was not found and he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial.
Horace Evans joined the Royal Army Service Corps on 26th January 1917, two months prior to his 18th birthday. He survived the war and died in 1975, aged 76.
HARRIS A G
There are two candidates for this person.
127 Glenroy Street
Firstly, the 1911 census finds the 35 yr old Arthur Griffith Harris living at 127, Glenroy Street with his wife Edith Janet, aged 29 yrs, and their son Geoffrey Arthur, aged 9 yrs. Arthur is a shipping clerk from Gloucester, Edith is from London. Geoffrey was born in Cardiff. Also listed on the census at this address is a 48 yr old boarder, Alfred Huill, a motor mechanic from Manchester. This HARRIS family was not traced on earlier censuses.
Grave of A G Harris
Private Arthur Griffith Harris 22163 of the Welsh Regimental Depot died on 28th July 1915 on home service. He is buried in the graveyard of St Mary’s Whitchurch. The circumstances of his death are not recorded.
84 Ninian Road
Secondly, Alfred George Harris was born in Cardiff on 3rd February 1895, the youngest son of Arthur G Harris, Ellesmere, 84 Ninian Road.
The 1901 census finds the family at 115 Albany Road. Alfred is now 6. His father Arthur is listed as an accountant from Cardiff. He is 41. His wife Elizabeth is 32 and is from Wooton Point, Cheshire. Alfred has two older brothers, William, 10 yrs, and Edward, 9 yrs.
95 Claude Road
Alfred attended Cardiff High School from January 1907. On leaving school he was employed by the Powell Dyffryn Steam Coal Company. In May 1915 he enlisted as private 1991 in the 7th (Cyclist) Battalion, Welsh Regiment and he was later commissioned. He married Phyllis Lowrie of 95 Claude Road, Roath, shortly before he went out to the Western Front on 7th January 1917. He was killed in action on 11th April 1917 during the first battle of Bullecourt, while attached to the 2nd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment. His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.
The death of Alfred was recorded in the Western Mail as follows under the headline Cardiff Subaltern:-
“Second Lieutenant Alfred George Harris, killed in action on the 11th inst., was the youngest son of Mr. & Mrs. A.G. Harris, 84, Ninian Road, Cardiff. He was 22 years of age and joined the colours in May 1915. Before the war he was in the service of the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company.”
The name of A G Harris on the Arras Memorial
The Arras memorial commemorates nearly 35,000 British, South African and New Zealand soldiers who died in hostilities near Arras between 9th April and 16th May 1917 and who have no known grave.
Which Harris is it? We can never know for sure but Alfred has the edge due to his age and slightly more local connection.
HUNT H C
The 1901 census finds the three year old Herbert Clifford Hunt living at 97 Mackintosh Place with his father, Edward, a 32 yr old colliery shipping agent from Aberdare, and his 36 yr old mother, Emma Elizabeth, from Twerton, Devon. Herbert has an older brother, Ernest Edward, aged 7, and a younger brother, Trevor Stuart. All three were born in Cardiff. Also present was a 37 yr old William Hunt from Aberdare, possibly Edward’s brother, and a domestic servant, the 19 yr old, Cecelia Hunt, possibly a relation.
22 Tydfil Place
By the time of the 1911 census the family are living at 22 Tydfil Place. Ernest is a clerk at a coal importers. They have been joined by Doreen Mary, aged 3. The parents are recorded as having been married for 18 years and have had 6 children, 3 of whom survived. Trevor must have died in the interim period.
Prior to enlistment he was on the staff of Foster, Hain and Co, shipping agents. He won many prizes at Roath Park for rowing and model yacht racing.
He enlisted in Cardiff and joined the Honourable Artillery Company on 12th December 1916. He went to the Western Front on 20th March 1917.
Arras Memorial
Private Herbert Clifford Hunt 9644, 2nd Battalion Honourable Artillery Company, was killed in action in the second Battle of Bullecourt on 15th May 1917. His body was never found and he is also commemorated on the Arras Memorial. He is also commemorated on the roll of honour at St. Martin’s church, Albany Road.
A newspaper article entitled “Missing Believed Killed” describes him as follows:-
“Intimation has been received from an officer of the corps by Mr. & Mrs. Ed Hunt, of 22, Tydfil Place, Cardiff that his son, Private Herbert Clifford Hunt, of the Honourable Artillery Company has been missing since May 14th and is believed to have been killed. Private Hunt joined the Army in December 1916 and has been at the front since March of the present year. Prior to enlisting he was on the staff of Messrs Foster Hain and Company, shipowners, Cardiff. He was 19 years of age and took a keen interest in model yacht racing and rowing on Roath Lake, and was a frequent prize winner at regattas.”
LAVERICK E C
Emmanuel Comby Laverick was baptised in Redcar, North Yorkshire on 12th December 1853.
The 1861 census finds him living at 6A, North Terrace, Seaham Harbour with his father William, a 40 yr old hairdresser from Whitby and his mother Christiana, a 42 yr old from Redcar. He has two younger brothers, George, aged 5 yrs and Thomas, aged 3; both born in Redcar; and a younger sister, Claire, aged 1, who was born in Seaham.
The 1871 census finds him living at 3 Mill Lane, Stockton, as a 17 year old mariner, with his spinster aunt, Miriam, a 45 yr old shopkeeper from Whitby. This is a large household of ten further persons, 8 of whom are described as nieces or nephews of Miriam, together with a visiting dressmaker and a 19 yr old servant from Great Ayton.
He is not recorded in the 1881 census (possibly at sea) but he did find time to marry Mary Hannah Harrison about 1887. He also acquired a master’s certificate at West Hartlepool on 20th December 1882.
40 Angus Street
The 1891 census has no entry for Emmanuel (again possibly at sea) but Mary is living at 26, Harris Street, Middlesbrough with her parents, Robert and Margaret Harrison, her two brothers and a sister. Emmanuel and Mary’s children, Edna, aged 3 and William, aged 1, are there. They were born in Middlesbrough.
The 1901 census finds the family living at 40 Angus Street. (Emmanuel is not at sea this time). They have been joined by Robert, aged 9, who was born in Cardiff.
1 Ilton Road
The 1911 census finds the Lavericks at different locations. Mary is living now at 1, Ilton Road with Edna and Robert, who has become a clerk in a marine surveyor’s office. Emmanuel is a first mate on the SS Kildare, berthed at Port Talbot. The captain is a Frenchman called Bernard Clopet. There is a further crew of 10, comprising 2 Germans, 4 Irishmen, 2 Welshmen and 2 Englishmen. The captain’s wife Charlotte is also on board. She is from Berwick on Tweed.
On 3rd February 1918 Emmanuel was a master mariner on board the SS Holmtown, a cargo ship built by R. THOMPSON & Sons in Sunderland in 1907, which was travelling from Rouen to Cardiff, when, east of the Shambles light house in the English Channel, he unfortunately encountered Captain Erwin Wassner , the commander of UB59, which sank the boat with all 15 crew lost.
Erwin Wassner
Erwin Wassner was born on 1st March 1887 and died on 24th August 1937. During WW1 he sank 89 merchant ships with a combined tonnage of 135,048. He also damaged 4 merchant ships and 1 warship.
Grave of Emmanuel Laverick
Emmanuel’s body was washed ashore at Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, on 7th February 1918. It was brought to Cardiff and interred in Cathays cemetery. The grave bears the inscription ‘In loving memory of Emmanuel Comby Laverick, Master Mariner, who died at sea through enemy action Feb 7 1918, aged 64 years. His body was washed ashore at Swanage and interred here. Also Mary Hannah, wife of the above, died Feb 6 1940, aged 81 years’.
Probate was granted to Mary on 3rd December 1918. He left £980, £39,000 at current values. Poignantly the grave has a further inscription on the side of the headstone indicating that their 4 day old daughter is interred there. She died on 16th October 1895.
LAVERICK W L
William Leslie Laverick was Emmanuel’s son. He was born in Middlesbrough in 1890. He is recorded in his father’s entry as a 1 yr old in the 1891 census in Middlesbrough and the 1901 census in Angus Street.
He is not recorded in the 1911 census. He was probably at sea. He was issued with a second mate’s certificate at Cardiff on 7th August 1907; a master’s certificate on 19th November 1912; then an extra master’s certificate at Cardiff on 26th November 1912.
9 Senghenydd Place
He married Margaret Amelia Brian in Cardiff in 1913. The 1911 census shows her living at 9 Senghenydd Place with her parents and siblings; her father and three of her brothers are flour mill workers.
William died on 10th July 1918. His wife was granted probate of his estate which amounted to £1194.0.3d, £48,000 at current values. The probate records record him living at 7, Senghenydd Place and that he died in France.
There is no record of him in the CWGR or the Book of Remembrance for the Mercantile Marine. However, the Cathays Cemetery grave register records him as being interred there. William’s grave has a barely legible inscription which states ‘Died suddenly at Rouen July 10th 1918, aged 28 years’.
There is no information as to the circumstances of his death, but Rouen was a major port supplying the Western Front and he was certainly there with his ship.
Grave of William Laverick
The graves of father and son are in adjoining rows.
(Since this research was completed, the author has visited both graves on Remembrance Sunday in 2017 and 2018 and has been pleased to find that both graves have been renovated and a stone urn added to William’s grave).
Inscription on grave of William Laverick
MACKINTOSH A A
Angus Alexander Mackintosh was born on 6th August 1885 at Moy Hall, Invernessshire, the seat of the clan Mackintosh. He was the son of Harriet Diana Arabella Mary Richards (1857-1941) and Alfred Donald Mackintosh (1851-1938). Alfred was the 38th clan chief and the commanding officer of the Highland Light Infantry and subsequently the territorial battalion of the Cameron Highlanders.
Cottrell Hall
The 1891 census finds the 5 yr old Angus living at Cottrell Hall, St Nicholas, with a staff of 17, including a butler, a housekeeper, a piper, 2 nurses, 1 domestic maid, 2 housemaids, 2 footmen, a cook, 2 kitchen maids, a dairy maid, 2 grooms and a coachman. There are three visitors including Frederick Lambton, a major general on half pay.
The 1901 census is much the same but with a slight increase of staff to 19 (2 extra grooms).
On 4th July 1906 Angus became a probationary officer in the Household Cavalry. He was made a Lieutenant on 5th July 1908.
The 1911 census finds the family still at Cottrell Hall but without Angus. There are no further children. The domestic staff still number 19. Angus is at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, as a lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards. His fellow officers include Lord Tweedmouth, Lord Herbert, Earl Compton, Lord Worsley, Lord Paget and Lord Leveson Gower.
On 22nd September 1913 he went as aide-de-camp to Sir Arthur Paget, the commander in chief in Ireland.
On 6th October 1914 Angus went to Flanders with the British Expeditionary Force. The first battle of Ypres commenced on 19th October 1914 and the 1st Life Guards were used dismounted in rudimentary trenches until 20th November sustaining heavy casualties. Angus was wounded on 30th October 1914 and returned to the UK on 8th December 1914. In November 1915, he went to Canada as ADC to the Governor General. On 3rd November 1917 he married Lady Maud Louisa Emma Cavendish, daughter of the 9th Duke of Devonshire in Ottowa Cathedral. Their daughter was born on 24th September 1918 at Cartierville, Montreal.
Captain Angus Mackintosh died in Washington D.C. on 13th October 1918. His death was reported in the Western Mail of Tuesday 15th October 1918 under the headline “Gallant Captain Dies At Washington”. The article states:-
Moy Hall
‘The sad news has come to hand of the death in Washington, USA, of Captain Angus Alexander Mackintosh, the only son and heir of the Mackintosh of Mackintosh, of Moy Hall, Inverness and the Cottrell, Glamorgan. On Monday morning, Mr. Walter R. Shirley, of Cardiff, agent of the Cottrell Estate, received a telegram from the Mackintosh of Mackintosh stating that his son was suffering from double pneumonia, and later in the day another telegram arrived with the tidings of death.
Wedding of Angus Mackintosh and Maud Cavendish
Capt. Mackintosh was married in Canada last November to Lady Maud Cavendish, daughter of the Duke of Devonshire, and a child was born to them three weeks ago. Educated at Eton, Capt. Mackintosh joined the Royal Horse Guards (Blues), and, when in France during the early stages of the was was badly wounded. After recovery he became aide-de-camp to the Governor General of Canada (HRH the Duke of Connaught) and afterwards served in a similar capacity with the Duke of Devonshire. It was at this period that he wooed Lady Maud Cavendish, the marriage giving rise to widespread rejoicings. He afterwards became honorary attaché to the British Embassy at Washington, where, he succumbed, as stated on Sunday.
A A Mackintosh grave in Arlington Cemetery
Captain Mackintosh was heir to vast estates in Scotland and Glamorgan and the news of his death will be learnt with deep regret in South Wales, and especially in Glamorgan, where he had spent much of his time. He was a particularly genial and charming personality and only 33 years of age, having been born on August 6th, 1885.’
He is buried in Arlington Cemetery, Virginia.
The daughter was called Anne Peace Arabella Mackintosh; her family pet name was Arbell.
There is a charming anecdote recorded of her meeting King George V at a shooting party as her grandfather, the 38th Mackintosh of Mackintosh, used to frequently shoot with the King.
King George V “What is your name?”
Reply “I am Anne Peace Arabella Mackintosh of Mackintosh”.
The King replied “Ah I’m just George”.
Cottrell Hall was deemed unfit for human habitation in 1972 and was demolished. There is a golf course there now in the former grounds. If you drive on the A48 from Culverhouse Cross to Cowbridge it is just past the village of St. Nicholas. Angus Mackintosh is remembered on the village war memorial.
MORGAN H B
Harold Bristow Morgan was born in Cardiff in 1884. In the 1891 census he is to be found at 66 Charles Street, Steynton, Pembrokeshire, visiting his aunts Elizabeth & Ellen, with his 42 yr old mother Susannah, who is from Milford Haven.
2 Keppoch Street
The 1901 census finds Harold, now a ship owner’s clerk, living at 2, Keppoch Street, with his widowed mother and his older brother, Howard, 25 yrs, a ship owner’s manager.
73 Richards Terrace
Harold’s father has died between 1891 and 1901 and, in fact, in 1891, Charles Henry Morgan, his father, was living at 73 Richards Terrace with Howard. Charles was a railway clerk and was born in Milford Haven in 1847. He died at 73 Richards Terrace on 5th September 1895, leaving £175.5s, £16,000 by current values, to his wife.
The 1911 census finds Harold, now a ship owner’s cashier, living at 102, Claude Road with Howard, still a ship owner’s manager, Howard’s wife, Dora, and their daughter Enid and an unnamed baby son, less than one month old. Susannah is still with them.
Sergeant Harold Bristow Morgan 137204 was killed in action on 13th June 1917 as a member of 281st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. The CWGR site states he was formerly of Glamorgan Royal Garrison Artillery. He is buried in Grave 4, Row H1, of Vlamertinghe Cemetery, Belgium. The date of his death coincides with the last few days of the Battle of Messines, a precursor to the Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele as it is also known.
Grave of Sergeant Harold Bristow Morgan in Vlamertinghe Cemetery, Belgium (photo credit: Vivian Giles)
David Hughes, the Branch Chairman of the Western Front Association found a memorial to Sergeant MORGAN in Cathays cemetery, where he is remembered on his father’s grave.
SANDERS W M
William Merrifield Sanders was born on 30th November 1898 in Cardiff.
152 Corporation Road
The 1901 census finds him at 152 Corporation Road, Grangetown with his father, William David, a 25 yr old baker and shopkeeper from Cardiff, and his mother, Elizabeth Sarah, aged 24 from Plymouth. His grandmother Jane Merrifield from Plymouth was visiting at this time.
William attended Roath Park council school and then entered Cardiff High School on 20th September 1910.
151 Donald Street
In the 1911 census the family are living at 151 Donald Street. William’s father is now described as a baker and confectioner and the family has been joined by Gwendoline Eva, aged 8. The census form indicates that the father is conducting his business from home.
William Merrifield Sanders (Photo: reproduced courtesy of the Imperial War Musuem)
William left school on 27th July 1916 and enlisted in Cardiff. He became private 122341 of the 61st Battalion, Machine Gun Corps, having previously been private 535112 of the London Regiment. He was killed in action on 21st March 1918 in the battle of San Quentin during the early stages of the German offensive, known as Operation Michael or Kaiserschlacht.
Pozieres Memorial
His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial. The Pozieres Memorial commemorates over 14,000 British and 300 South African soldiers who died on the Somme between 21st March and 7th August 1918 and have no known grave. The Machine Gun Corps of which William was a member has over 500 names on this memorial.
SMITH T
A CWGR search reveals 669 possibilities. It is not possible to identify this person.
SMITH W C
91 Arabella Street
William Charles Smith was born in Adamsdown in 1893. The 1901 census finds him living at 91, Arabella Street with his father, William, a 30 yr old oil merchant agent from Worcester and his Cardiff born 29 yr old mother Phoebe. He has two younger sisters, Esther, 6, and Annie, 3.
22 Alfred Street
In 1911 the family are at 22 Alfred Street and William is an electrical engineer. They have been joined by three further children, Gladys, 10 yrs, Albert, 6 yrs and Herbert, 3 yrs. His parents have been married for 19 years and all 6 children have survived.
Corporal William Charles Smith 56519, 16th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, died on 27th August 1917.
Tyne Cot Memorial
His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, which is the largest CWG in the world. It has almost 35,000 graves and its walls commemorate 35,000 British and New Zealand men with no known grave, mainly from the Battle of Passchendaele.
William Charles Smith remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial (Photo credit: Vivian Giles)
WATSON D
CWGR search reveals 52 possibilities. It is not possible to identify this person. See postscript at end of page.
WILLIAMS J T
A CWGR search reveals 7 possibilities, the nearest being Private John T Williams, 1st Battalion, Welsh Regiment, who died on 1st October 1915. He is recorded as being the son of John and Elizabeth Williams of Brecon and having been born in Newtown but enlisted in Cardiff. His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Loos Memorial. There is no further family information on Ancestry so it is not possible to confirm it is him.
WILLIAMS T H AND WILLIAMS D A
These are brothers.
The 1891 census finds Thomas Howard Williams, aged 8, and his brother, David Aubrey, aged 4, living at 33 Laws Street, Pembroke Dock, with their father, William, aged 43, the headmaster of Pembroke Dock School, and their mother, Marianne, 41. They have an older sister, Beatrice Margaret, aged 10. All were born in Pembroke Dock.
30, Kincraig Street
The 1901 census finds Thomas living at 30, Kincraig Street, boarding with the Gardner family. Thomas is a bank clerk. David is still in Pembroke Dock with the rest of the family.
The 1911 census finds both brothers at the same address with the same family. Thomas is recorded as a bank clerk with the London & Provincial. In fact, prior to enlistment, he was the chief cashier of the Docks branch of this bank. David is an assistant secondary school master at Canton Secondary School.
David had an excellent university career at University College, Cardiff and excelled at sport, being the captain of the Mackintosh Institute tennis and cricket teams. He was also captain of Barry Golf Club. Thomas also excelled at tennis and golf.
Thiepval Memorial
2nd Lieutenant David Aubrey Williams, 1st Battalion, South Wales Borderers, was killed in action on 25th July 1916 at Pozieres, when was shot by machine gun fire while leading his men in a night attack. His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
Tyne Cot Memorial
Private Thomas Howard Williams 765298, C Company, 1st/28th Battalion London Regiment (Artists Rifles) died on 30th October 1917. His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial. His CWGR register entry refers not only to his parents but also the fact that he was the husband of Nancy Gibbs, of Tanglewood, Lisvane and that he had been 19 years in the service of the London & Provincial Bank.
The name of T H Williams remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial (Photo credit: Vivian Giles)
VISIT TO BELGIUM 2019
You may remember the talk given by one of our members, Viv Giles, about the Roll of Honour of the Mackintosh Institute. Earlier this year he visited Ypres and was able, on behalf of the Society, to place memorial crosses to remember the following soldiers from the roll of honour who are commemorated or buried in the area.
Viv Giles at the grave of Sergeant Harold Bristow Morgan in Vlamertinghe Cemetery, Belgium
He placed crosses at the foot of the relevant memorial panels at the Tyne Cot Memorial to remember Corporal William Charles SMITH of the 16th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, who was killed in action on 27th August 1917 and Private Thomas Howard WILLIAMS, 1st/28th Battalion, London Regiment (Artists Rifles), who was killed in action on 30th October 1917.
He also placed a memorial cross at the grave of Sergeant Harold Bristow MORGAN, 281st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, the only member of the Mackintosh Institute Roll of Honour to have a known grave on the Western Front. Harold MORGAN was killed in action on 13th June 1917.
Viv is a member of the South Wales Branch of the Western Front Association and David Hughes, the Branch Chairman, found a memorial to Sergeant MORGAN in Cathays cemetery, where he is remembered on his father’s grave.
Postscript:
BROOKS A
Since the original research was completed, another member of the society has identified a possible First World War casualty that could be BROOKS A:
William Edwin Archibald Brooks
Son of Llewellyn and Blanche Brooks
1 Axminster Road Roath
Dob April 1899
Died 16.6.18. age 19
Buried Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension Grave 11.G.15
Act/sgt (mech observer)
Royal Fusiliers/RAF
City of London Regiment1901 and 1911 census living in Castle Road/ City Road (on the corner with Keppoch Street) and known as Archie.The same person is remembered on the War Memorial in Plasnewydd Presbyterian Church over the road from the Macintosh Institute (now the Gate Arts Centre). Archie’s military career has been summarised along with the others named on that memorial in The Gate and the Great War
Further research has identified that the D Watson on the Roll of Honour is probably:
DAVID THOMAS WATSON
Private, 7th Battalion, Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (Service Number 24846)
David Thomas Watson was born in Cardiff in 1883. He was son of David Watson, a licenced victualler (pub landlord) originally from Gelligaer, and Ann Watson née Edwards, originally from Quakers Yard. In 1883 David Watson was publican at the Roath Cottage. In 1891 the family lived in Duke Street in the middle of Cardiff before moving to Stacey Road, Roath. By 1911 Ann is widowed, her husband having died in Pencoed in 1906, and the family is living at 221 Albany Road. David Thomas Watson was a carpenter by trade. He enlisted it seems at first in the Welsh Horse Yeomanry before joining the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). He died on the Western Front on 15th Feb 1915 aged 34. He is buried at the Grandcourt Road Cemetery (Grave C 79) in the Somme region of France. The Commonwealth War Grave Commission record indicated the family address as being 160 Marlborough Rd. He was also remembered on his parent’s gravestone at Cathays Cemetery in Cardiff with the words “Also of Private David Thomas Watson, dearly beloved son of the above who was killed in action in France February 15 1917 aged 34 yrs”. That gravestone on plot W1130 is marked as having been removed.
Roath Local History Society 