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15th (1st London Welsh) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers
15th (1st London Welsh) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers was raised in London on the 20th of October 1914. After initial training the London area, in December they joined 128th Brigade, 43rd Division at Llandudno, which was renamed 113th Brigade, 38th (Welsh) Division on the 28th of April 1915. They moved to Winchester for final training in August 1915 and proceeded to France in December 1915. In July 1916 they were in action at Mametz Wood on The Somme, suffering severe casualties. The Division did not return to major action for more than a 12 months. In 1917 they were in action in the Third Battles of Ypres, in early 1918 the army was reorgansied and on the 27th of February the 15th Welsh Fusiliers were disbanded in France with troops transferring to other units.
17th Feb 1916 Reliefs
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Pte. George Henry Gladden 15th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers  George Gladden went into battle in Mametz Wood in May 1916 with the 1st London Welsh. His fellow soldier, Private F. Laydon wrote to George's wife describing how George had been shot in the neck, the leg and the shoulder. He had been left in a hollow in the ground and his companions were unable to return for him, but other men came back later in the day and reported that " the Germans had taken in our wounded with the utmost care and attention....The gentleness was wonderful and we ourselves could not have cared for them more tenderly."
George returned to England several months later. His wife had eventually discovered that he was in a prisoner of war camp in Nurnberg and had written to him regularly until he came home.
George reported that he had been left for dead in the German mortuary, but that a German mortuary attendant had realised he was still alive and had called for assistance. George was attended by a German surgeon, who had trained in London and so spoke good English. The surgeon stitched up all his wounds and George lived to run a very successful engineering parts business and eventually died in 1972.
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Robert Griffth Lloyd 16th Btn. Royal Welch Fusiliers Robert Lloyd enlisted at Litherland on the 29th of January 1917 and was posted to the 15th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers on the 14th of June 1917 then transferred to 16th Battalion on the 30th of July 1917.
He was reported missing on the 18th of September 1918 and later confirmed as POW in Germany. On release he was admitted to to 64 CCS on the 26th of December 1918 suffering from a gunshot wound to his right thigh. He was repatriated to England on the 31st of December 1918 and admitted to Military Hospital Lewisham and later Grangethorpe Military Hospital Manchester.
He was discharged from the military on the 24th of February 1920 as no longer fit for military service.
His pension record survives.
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Pte. John Victor Leadbeatter 15th (1st London Welsh) Btn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers Jack Leadbeatter served with the 1st London Welsh.
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Sgt. Picton Prater 15th (1st London Welsh) Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers (d.26th May 1916)  Picton Prater,was born 17th July 1891 and was killed in action on the 26th of May 1916, Aged 25. Picton was born in Maesteg, Glamorgan and served his apprenticeship in the drapery trade with his uncle, Richard Jones, at the Bridge Shop, Bridgend. He then moved to London, working as a buyer in a large drapery establishment, subsequently enlisting in the 15th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers.
Pte 21813 Fred Langdon of the Battalion wrote in a letter to a mutual friend in the weeks following Picton's death:
"In training he was a splendid fellow, always genial and never disturbed. His qualities showed themselves out here especially, he rose to the occasion splendidly. Under fire he was always cool and level-headed, a splendid leader of men. For a long time our platoon were without an officer and he was in sole charge. He was remarkably just in his dealings with everybody. I can honestly say nobody had a bad word for him, or dare speak against him. A thoroughly capable and efficient Sergt. and a splendid character indeed. Surely such qualities must be fitly rewarded in the world to come.
I was very near him when he was hit, he fell a victim to a wonderful piece of sniping. He had been chatting to me only two minutes before and we were laughing over some past experiences. He left me to speak to our Officer and a Corpl. All three stood together talking and just at that point the parapet was very low. We were about 400 yards from the German front line, so you can understand how we marvelled at his being hit.
I saw him fall and it was my affection for him that simply rooted me to where I stood and I was so upset that I could not render any assistance. However, others were on the spot and he received every attention possible.
He was never conscious, that we can be very thankful for and he died about one and a half hours afterwards, about 7:30 in the evening. Out here we have to steel our hearts to losing comrades, but in this case it was different. Everybody was affected by the loss of one to whom we mutually agreed was the best man in the trench.
He was buried the next day and it was unfortunate that we left this part of the line before it was possible for us to arrange anything like a fitting monument for one we admired so much."
In the letter to his mother, the Nonconformist Chaplain of the 15th Battalion wrote:
"He was beloved by all his men. His cheerfulness was the inspiration of his company and he proved himself a most capable NCO and a brave and fearless soldier.
His Company Commander, Capt. Howell and several men of the company came specially from the trenches as a mark of the deep respect in which he was held by the battalion. It was a glorious spring morning when we laid him to rest in the beautiful British Cemetery."
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Pte. Thomas Williams 15th Btn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers (d.31st July 1917) Thomas was the son of Mr and Mrs William Williams, The Castle, Denbigh.
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Pte. Aneurin Ingman 15th Btn Royal Welsh Fusiliers (d.4th Sep 1917) Aneurin Ingman was the husband of Aileen Florence Ingman of 86 Wickham Road, London.
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Pte. Joseph James Mills 15th (London Welsh) Btn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers My grandfather Joseph Mills joined the London Welsh Battalion of the Welsh Fusiliers on 12th January 1915. The only information I have is that he was wounded in the leg at the Battle of the Somme. He was operated on by a German doctor and then repatriated to England. My mother told me that he had metal plates in his right leg and walked with a really bad limp. I never got to meet my grandfather as he died six years before I was born. My mum said he never talked about the war, but he had to live with the after affects of being wounded and never really got over it.
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Pte. Shadrach Williams 15th Battalion Welsh Regiment Shadrach Williams served with the 15th Battalion, Welsh Regiment.
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Pte. Arthur Howard "Howard" Cox 15th (1st London Welsh) Royal Welsh Fusiliers (d.7th Sep 1918) Arthur Howard Cox, known as Howard, was born August 1879 in Bloxwich, Staffordshire to Joseph and Tryphena Cox. He was the middle of 11 children and my great grandfather was his brother. Nothing of his childhood is known and he never married. Prior to joining up in November 1918 he was a porter and lived in Middlesex Street (Petticoat Lane) London.
On 14th November 1914, at the age of 36 years and 3 months, he joined the 15th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, known as the 1st London Welsh, in Poplar, London. At that time, he was just under 5’3â€, with brown hair and blue/grey eyes. Sadly, we do not have a photo of him.
From the autobiography of “The Lousier War†by W A Tucker, who was recruited at the same time into the 15th Battalion, “the Unit assembled every day in the grounds of Grays Inn, London and we all returned to our homes every night. To recompense for this burden on our private finances our pay was (temporarily) raised to three shillings (15p) a day. The basic pay was one shilling (5p) a day.†After a month of practice in London he transferred to Llandudno in North Wales where the recruits were billeted in hotels and boarding houses. According to W A Tucker “They occupied ordinary bedrooms and were catered for by the hotel waitresses and general staff.†He later moved to Winchester until December 1915 before marching to Southampton and shipping out to France.
He was involved in various actions on the Western Front, surviving the shambolic battle of Mametz Wood (10th-15th July 1916) on the Somme, where all the officers were killed and soldiers fired at each other in the confusion of the trees. After Mametz the battalion moved, arriving eventually at Ypres in November 1916. He was either gassed or wounded (or both, according to a letter from his father) in action as he returned home on 28th November, whilst the battalion remained in Ypres.
Whilst recovering, he was posted to the 2/5 Battalion and was based in Westleton, Suffolk. On 9th March 1918 he was transferred to 23rd Battalion (territorial force) Cheshire Regiment. The 23rd Battalion was made up of men who were either stunted in growth or who were not fully fit eg. wounded or gassed (as had Howard). In May be was again shipped out to France, serving in B company under 2nd Lt. VRW Campbell and was involved in trench digging.
From biography of Thomas Burke, killed the same day as Howard "On 6th September, Thomas and his comrades were in front line trenches at the Pont de Nieppe, in northern France, near the town of Armentieres. Nieppe had been lost in the German attacks of the spring of 1918, but had been retaken on 3rd September. During the day, they were relieved by the 13th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment. The Battalion's War Diary notes that Howard’s "B" Company had difficulty in "extricating themselves from their positions" and their acting company commander, 2nd Lt. V R Campbell, was killed.
The Battalion then moved back to billets at Lupin Farm near Grand Beaumart. During the evening, a party of stretcher bearers under the Battalion's Medical Officer, Lieutenant Phibbs, managed to bring in several wounded from the area.
About 5pm on the 7th, there were several fruitless attempts to recover the body of Lt. Campbell which was, presumably, still lying in the open. His body must have been recovered sometime later as he is buried at Pont-de-Nieppe Cemetery where his grave is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The War Diary records that eight soldiers had been killed and another three were missing on 7th. Arthur Howard was one of these casualties. His is the only Cheshire Regiment burial in Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery, Armentieres, France.
He was 40 when he died on 7th September 1918, one of the many unsung heroes of WW1. May he and his many comrades all rest in peace. He is honoured and remembered by his Cox family.
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Pte. Samuel Mason 13th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers Samuel Mason is my grandfather. We know little of his war service, he was on the wounded casualty list dated 11/6/1918, thankfully he survived the war.
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Sgt. Thomas William King 189th "Hackney" Bty. Royal Field Artillery My Great grandfather was in the Royal Marine Light Infantry before the war but enlisted as a Private in the Royal (London) Welsh Fusiliers 15th Battalion on the 2/11/1914. He was quickly promoted due to his previous experience and transferred to the RFA on the 2/10/1915 as a Sergeant. He was demobbed in January 1919. In May 1916 he was severely reprimanded for an improper reply to an officer and his rank was reduced to Corporal and his pay stopped for 2 months. He didn't regain his rank as Sergeant again until November 1917. He claimed to have fought at the Somme and alongside the Guerkas of which he was very proud. Apart from that he spoke very little about the war.
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