Lance Corporal 17408 Gwilym Rees Lloyd

• Age: 27
• From: Bangor N Wales
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• D.O.W Friday 28th September 1917
• Commemorated at: Trois Arbres
  Panel Ref: II.A.7

Gwilym Lloyd was born in the September quarter of 1890 in  Bangor, North Wales, the youngest son of Thomas Edward Lloyd and his wife Amelia (née Owen). His birth registration shows no middle name. His father was born in Denbigh, and his mother in Holywell. They married in Holywell in 1882 and had seven children, three of whom died young. Gwilym had older siblings Elizabeth Jane (Bessie), (Hannah) Gwen, and Robert Hugh.

The 1891 census finds the family living at 90 Vale Road, Rhyl, with four children and a boarder. His father, 32, is a railway checker, Gwilym is 9 months old.

Some time in the 1890s  the family moved to Liverpool, where Gwilym attended Breckfield Road School, and where his father worked as a cotton porter. 

His father died in 1898 aged 40 and was buried in the non-conformist section of Anfield Cemetery.

In 1901 his mother, with Elizabeth, 18, and Hannah, 14, is living at 222 Breck Road, Everton.  His mother, 40, is a dressmaker working on her own account at home. Gwilym is  living at 1 Ty Coch, Denbigh with relatives. The head of the house is Robert Lloyd aged 72, born 1829 is a gardener was born in Llanynys, Denbighshire. His wife Jane is aged 65, born 1836 born in Llansannan, Denbighshire and their daughter Deborah aged 29, born 1872 in Denbigh. Gwilym Rees is aged 11, born 1890 and his brother Robert Hugh aged 13, born 1888 are also at the address.

1911 finds Gwilym at 70 Venmore Street, Everton, with his mother, 50, and three siblings.  Elizabeth, 28, and Hannah, 24, are draper’s assistants, Robert, 23, and Gwilym, 20, are commercial clerks (hardware). Some time after the census they moved over the water to Wallasey.

He enlisted at St. George's Hall on the 31^st August 1914 in Liverpool joining the 19th Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Lance Corporal No 17408 gave his age as 24 years and one month and his occupation as a clerk. He was five feet five and half inches tall, weighed 112lbs, had a fresh complexion, hazel eyes, brown hair and gave his religion as Congregationalist.

Formed on 07^th September 1914 the 19^th Battalion trained locally at Sefton Park and remained living at home or in rented accommodation until November 1914. They then moved to the hutted accommodation at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 19th Battalion alongside the other three Pals battalions left Liverpool via Prescot Station for further training at Belton Park, Grantham. They remained here until September 1915 when they reached Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain. He arrived in France on 7^th November 1915.

His service records survived and show:

30.07.16: Gunshot wound to head admitted to Field Ambulance. (Guillemont)

31.07.6: Admitted to 4 General Hospital.

03.08.16: Transferred to Etaples.

09.08.16: Rejoined battalion.

29.08.16: Lewis Gun course Le Tournet.

31.08.16: Awarded Good Conduct badge and Class II proficiency pay.

05.09.16: Rejoined battalion.

16.04.17: Appointed unpaid Lance Corporal.

18.07.17: Granted leave to UK.

31.07.17: Rejoined battalion.

09.09.17: From IX Corps LG school.

26.09.17: Gunshot wound to head, face, arm, left thigh and chest to field ambulance. 

The circumstances of Gwilym's wounds is recorded in the Battalion diary:

19^th Battalion War Diary for 26^th September 1917

Classes etc continued, good progress being made. Lt Col G. Rollo D.S.O. having returned from 89^th Inf. Brigade resumed command. The brigade Concert party “The Optimists” showed to the battalion in the evening. At night the usual working parties were provided. On the returning of one of the parties 2 O.R. were killed by a shell and 2 O.R. severely wounded by the same. The wounded men died from their wounds after being admitted to hospital.       

Gwilyam died of wounds at 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station on the 28th September, 1917 aged 27.

He now rests at Trois-Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck, France.

Steenwerck village remained untouched for much of the First World War, but on 10 April 1918 it was captured by the Germans and remained in their possession until the beginning of October. Trois-Arbres passed into German hands a day later than Steenwerck, after a rearguard defence by the 34th Division. The site for Trois Arbres Cemetery was chosen for the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station in July 1916, and Plot 1 and the earlier rows of Plot II, were made and used by that hospital until April 1918. A few further burials were made in the cemetery after the German withdrawal at the end of 1918 and after the Armistice, over 700 graves were brought into it from the battlefields of Steenwerck, Nieppe, Bailleul and Neuve-Eglise. Graves from the following graveyards were concentrated into Trois-Arbres Cemetery:-. DOUANE CEMETERY, NEUVE-EGLISE, at the Custom House on the road from Neuve-Eglise to Nieppe, contained the graves of 15 soldiers from Canada and four from the United Kingdom who fell in 1915-16. FORTRIE FARM CEMETERY, NEUVE-EGLISE, 1.6Kms West of the hamlet of Le Romarin, contained the graves of 27 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in November and December 1914. LINEN FACTORY CEMETERY, BAC-ST. MAUR. This was a row of graves in Steenwerck commune, in the angle formed by the river Lys, the road from Bac-St. Maur to Croix-du-Bac, and Edwards's Linen Factory. In it were buried 20 soldiers from the United Kingdom, one from India and seven Germans. There are now 1,704 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 435 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to ten casualties known or believed to be buried among them. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

His headstone bears the epitaph:

“THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD I SHALL NOT WANT”

His death was reported in the Liverpool Echo on 10th October 1917:

He is also commemorated on the following memorials:

Wallasey Civic Memorial and Roll of Honour 

Marlowe Road Congregational Church, Liscard.

He earned his three medals, which his mother signed for.

His mother, then living at 34 Wyndham Road, Wallasey, received his Army effects and a War Gratuity of £13-10s, as well as a dependant’s pension, amount unknown. 

His personal effects included letters, photographs, 1 visiting card, 2 religious books, metal cigarette case, metal ring, note book, wallet, small metal shield in cover, metal mirror, machine gun handbook, exercise book and one coin.

His mother died at the age of 75 in 1935 in Wallasey, still living at 34 Wyndham Road.  She was buried alongside Gwilym’s father in Anfield Cemetery.

We currently have no further information on Gwilym Rees Lloyd, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.