|
The South Wales Borderers
|
If you enjoy this siteplease consider making a donation.
Site Home
Events
Features
Submissions
Got a Question? Please add it to:
Information
Research your own Family History.
World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar greatThe South Wales Borderers
The South Wales Borderers can be traced back to 1689.
Battalions during the Great War.
- 1st Battalion
- 2nd Battalion
- 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 1/1st Brecknockshire Battalion
- 2/1st Brecknockshire Battalion
- 4th (Service) Battalion
- 5th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers)
- 6th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers)
- 7th (Service) Battalion
- 8th (Service) Battalion
- 9th (Reserve) Battalion
- 10th (1st Gwent) Battalion
- 11th (2nd Gwent) Battalion
- 12th (3rd Gwent) Battalion
- 13th (Reserve) Battalion
- 14th (Reserve) Battalion
- 15th (Service) Battalion
- 51st (Graduated) Battalion
- 52nd (Graduated) Battalion
- 53rd (Young Soldier) Battalion
Announcements
Do you have any friends or relatives who are over 95 years old?Please could you ask them if they have any recollections of childhood during The Great War or in the years immediatley after the war? We would like to preserve these memories before it is too late. We are also looking for recollections from the previous generation, please do ask elderly relatives if they recall any tales of life during the Great War told to them by older family members or friends and enter their recollections so that they can be preserved in our archive.
Looking for help with Family History Research? Please read our Family History FAQ's
Thanks to everyone who attended our event
We are now on Facebook. Like this page to receive our updates, add a comment or ask a question.
If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page.
Please note we currently have a large backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site.
Those known to have served with The South Wales Borderers during the Great War.
Select a story link or scroll down to browse those stories hosted on this site.
- Pte. John Bernard Coggins Read their Story.
- Private H Collins Read their Story.
- Pte. Thomas Davies (d.25th Jan 1915) Read their Story.
- Pte. George Richard Featherstone (d.18th Aug 1917)
- L/Cpl. J. Poole (d.7th Jun 1917)
- Pte. George Reid (d.5th Nov 1917) Read their Story.
- Pte. Thomas "Tukker" Walsh Read their Story.
- Pte. Daniel Williams DCM, MM.
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add,, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.
Private H Collins South Wales Borders
I am trying to find information about a relative of mine. The information I have about him is as follows:- A rather faded discharge notice which is from the No 1 Infantry Records, Shrewsbury. The notice is for H Collins - No 229023 of the South Wales Borderers - Monmouth Regiment. The notice is dated 2/6/20. The discharge notice accompanies a Will issued by the Army Pay Office 24th January 1917. It would appear that H Collins (my grandmother's brother) was transferred to the Monmouth regiment on 20th January 1917. His will is dated 26th January 1916. I hope someone can give me some information on him or at least point me in the right direction
Pte. Thomas Davies 1st Btn. South Wales Borderers (d.25th Jan 1915)
Thomas Davies was my grandmother's brother, I am trying to piece together details, such as when and where he signed up and any other specific information.
Pte. George Reid 7th Btn. South Wales Borderers (d.5th Nov 1917)
George S Reid was born in Cardiff in 1889 and was killed in action on 05/11/1917, he was with the South Wales Borderers, 7th Battallion during The Great War. He is buried in Doiran Military Cemetery in Greece/Macedonia.He appears in the 1891 Wales Census age 2 yrs and is in the 1901 Wales Census age 12yrs resident at 27 Eleanor Street, Cardiff.He is listed with his parents John Reid born in Govan, Scotland and Mary Reid nee Murray born in Scotland.His father came to Cardiff to work in the Cardiff Dry Dock as a Boilermaker. George came from a large and loving family, with two step sisters and a step brother from his fathers 1st marriage; William, Maggie and Mary Anne and siblings, Jennnie, Joseph, Edith, Mary, Christina, Jessie and John. George S Reid will live forever in the hearts of his family. We honour and respect his memory.
Pte. Thomas "Tukker" Walsh South Wales Borderers
Thomas Walsh was born in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny around 1896 his Mother and Father were Mary Ann Walsh nee Deady and John Walsh from Cloughabrody, he inlisted in the South Wales Borderers and fought in France. According to my Great grand mother my Great Uncle was injured in fighting at Ypres and was gassed which meant he suffered from breathing problems. I am currently trying to find my Uncles Army records.
Pte. John Bernard Coggins 6th Service Battalion (Pioneers) South Wales Borderers
My father, John Coggins, was shot in the neck and gassed on the 10th of April 1918 in the River Lys area during the German offensive. On recovery in Blighty he attended a Gas Instructors Course and his notes (122 pages long with coloured crayon diagrams) are currently on indefinite loan at Winterbourne Gunner (the NBC Instructors training school) and are used for training to this day. Frank Baldwin, Chairman of the Battlefields Trust, also uses them as an aid in his WW1 tours with Sandhurst cadets and the The Western Front Association has a flicker page link to them on their website.
John Bernard Coggins joined the young soldiers' unit of South Wales Borderers on 23 September 1916 Regimental Number 41722. He transferred to 6th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers) which was attached to 75th Brigade, part of the 25th Division. He was with his Unit throughout almost all the German offensives in the Spring of 1918 and eventually when his Unit became decimated he attached himself to French Canadians and was severely wounded in the neck and jaw on the 10th of April 1918.
The following action (part of the German Luddendorf Offensive) is probably when neck and jaw wound were received (extracts from the Official History of the 25th Division).
The Battle of Estaires (first phase of the Battles of the Lys) - 74th Brigade was in Divisional Reserve when the enemy attacked the British positions to the south (between Armentieres and Givenchy) on 9 April 1918. It was ordered to join the defence south of Steenwerck and held on only with difficulty.
The Battle of Messines, 1918 - The enemy attack broke through the British line at Ploegsteert and advanced along the Ypres road, endangering the garrison holding Ploegsteert Wood. Ordered to counter attack, 75th Brigade, the Royal Engineers, Machine Gun Battalion and other elements of the Division became involved in heavy fighting. With the enemy infiltrating on either side on 10 April, losses at the Catacombs of Hill 63 were serious although there were many remarkable acts as some units managed to extricate themselves and withdraw. Further retirements were forced upon the Division - which also had 100th Brigade of 33rd Division under orders - on 12 April; the forward position on this day ran through Kortepyp. The army's line of defence that ran in front of Dranoutre and Kemmel, was held by a hastily organised composite force of units and men of the Division.
The Battle of Bailleul - By the morning of 13 April, 74th Brigade was established on the high ground east of Bailleul. Coming under bombardment from 9.30am onwards and attacked by infantry two hours later, the Brigade fought a staunch defence - as did 7th and 75th Brigades nearby. Fighting continued throughout the 14th, and next day the high ground and the town of Bailleul itself fell to the Germans. The Division was by now thoroughly shattered: broken up, exhausted by continuous fighting for five days, and fragmented by heavy losses. A sad composite formation of what was left of 7th and 75th Brigades withdrew through Boeschepe on 16 April but were ordered up to the area south of Mont Noir in support of 34th Division.
The First Battle of Kemmel - By 17/18th April it had been withdrawn to Abeele. 74th Brigade came out to Proven on 20/21 April.
According to my father when he was shot, he fell into a trench where barbed wire ripped off his gas mask and he was gassed. A Canadian dragged him back to a first aid station. He was invalided home (apparently all head wounds went back to Blighty). He recovered sufficiently to rejoin his reserve Battalion of SWB and after certain moves on drafts joined as a prospective NCO of 53rd Young Soldiers' Battn (SWB). When this Unit was being prepared for service overseas the now Cpl Coggins was promoted in Battalion Orders to Sergeant but on appeal was permitted to revert to his rank of Corporal seeking early demobilization to return home to his very aged parents. He qualified as a 1st Class Anti-Gas Instructor at Western Command Course, Prees Heath, nr Whitchurch, Shropshire and Drill Instructor and when his Unit left (South Wales) for the Rhine Army of Occupation he was transferred (category B2) to North Elham in Norfolk as Senior NCO of the Guard of POWs until demobilization in 1919.
Anti-Gas Instructor 1st class 6th Jul 1918 and NCO Drill Instructor 1st class Oct 1918.
He served from Jul 1919 until 13th Nov 1919 at POW camp in North Elmham, Norfolk. Acting Corporal. Discharged 31 Mar 1920. Initially received a disability pension of 8'8d pw terminated on 7th Dec 1920 when he passed a medical.
Recomended Reading.
Available at discounted prices.
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?
If so please let us know.
Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
Links
