Erros and Omissions


Leslie Lewis' grave
Bethel Welsh Congregation Chapelyard, Tycoch
Tracing your family history is often hampered by misinformation and incorrect spelling of names.

So a certain amount of caution has to be taken in order that you don’t go off on a wild goose chase.

Whilst I was home during the Christmas period, I carried out some research work and went to a few of Swansea’s cemeteries. On a visit to Bethel Welsh Congregational Chapelyard in Tycoch, where I was trying to locate a specific grave, (more about this grave will be featured in a future article), the headstone of Leslie Lewis caught my eye and I duly photographed it (right).



The main inscription reads “In loving memory of Leslie. Son of Frederick & Margaret Lewis. Bank Villas, Evans Terrace. Killed by Enemy Action. Jan 17. 1941 aged 17 years”.



I conferred with the Commonwealth War Grave Commission website (cwgc.org) for further information, and it stated that the year was 1940. I then turned to freebmd.org.uk where the date of death given was 1941.

Sadly, the Commonwealth War Grave Commission did display the wrong date, 17th January 1940, (pictured left).



“The Blitz”, article published in the February 2016 edition of Bay, describes the first air raid on Swansea, to be 27th June 1940, when the Germans dropped six high explosive bombs over St. Thomas and a further four on Kilvey Hill. The only damage was to a house on Danygraig Road. That ruled the January 1940 date out.

The article can be accessed via www.theswanseabay.co.uk.



Family photo of Leslie Lewis, his mother and two unknown girls, circa 1939
kind permission, Paul Lewis

Swansea was bombed many times. 1st September 1940 was the biggest raid. Between this date and January 1941, there were sporadic raids. Friday, 17th January, Swansea received its first warning at 7.10pm, with the all clear sounded at 4.06am the following morning. Swansea which was covered in a blanket of snow was attacked by 88 aircraft over the course of 9 hours, 178 High Explosives and over 7,000 incendiary bombs were dropped. St. Thomas, Hafod and Bonymaen were the worst affected areas with 97 people being injured and a further 55 deaths.
The youngest to be killed was 13-month-old Frances Pearce, and the eldest 71 year old Daniel Lodwig. All those civilians that were killed are commemorated in registers kept at St. George’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey.



After I posted the photograph of Leslie Lewis’ gravestone on Face Book, I had a response from Paul Lewis, a family member, who furnished me with further information on that fateful night.

17th January 1941, Frederick, Leslie’s father who was a fire warden, was out on patrol and his mother Maggie, was comforting an elderly neighbour, when the house took a direct hit. Sadly, it took three days to recover Leslie’s body which had been blown up the chimney in the blast.



This year marks the 77th anniversary of the Swansea Blitz.


The Commonwealth War Grave Commission obtained names and details of civilian casualties from lists that were drawn up by the local councils at the time. So when researching, do take care with dates.



Copyright – The Bay Magazine – February 2018

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reader Feedback

Image
Following April’s article Per Ardua ad Astra , two readers have been in touch. Mary Johnstone contacted me via email regarding her father, Hubert John Lewis who served with the RAF Hubert was born in 1923 and was 16 at the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. He was employed as an Apprentice Metallurgical Chemist and was living with his parents, Philip and Beatrice Lewis at 24 Elwy Crescent, Swansea. (Left) Herbert John Lewis (Right) With his crew and ground crew with kind permission Mary Johnstone Joining the RAF in 1942, 19 year old Hubert undertook his training at RAF Juby, in the Isle of Man. He joined the No 5 Bombing and Gunnery School where training was undertaken on the Handley Page Hereford aircraft. On completion of training, Air Gunner Sergeant Lewis was a Pilot Officer for a period of 6 months, which followed automatic promotion to Flying Officer. Hubert served with the 102 Squadron, based at RAF Pocklington, Yorkshire, which
Read more

History of Pantomime

Image
The classical appearance of the Harlequin character in the commedia dell’arte of the 1670s, complete with battle or ‘slapstick’, two thin slats of wood, which make a ‘slap’ when striking another actor As this month’s magazine is the Christmas edition I thought we should look at the history of pantomime and why children and adults alike, enjoy this very British festive fun . Pantomimes are usually based on well-known fairy tales. Included in the performance is slapstick comedy and dancing, with added songs for good measure. This year, the 107th annual pantomime at the Swansea Grand Theatre will be the return of Peter Pan, which was first performed here at Christmas 1997/98. Starring is Coronation Street’s Tristan Gemmill , ( Robert Preston ) who plays Captain Hook and Swansea’s own Kevin Johns as Mrs Smee. I will return to Peter Pan at the end of the article. The story of pantomime begins with the 16th century Italian tradition of Commedia dell’arte “ comedy of t
Read more

Remembrance Never To Be Forgotten

Image
November marks the centennial anniversary of the guns on the Western Front, falling silent. The impression of the First World War are often tinged with shades of brown, from the sepia tint of old photographs and the flickering films, which were marking major achievements during the conflict such as the First Day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916, but also images of seemingly inescapable mud. Looking at the weather records, I tried to establish what kind of day it was on 11 th November, 1918.  It was a cool and wet autumn, where rain had swept across the UK and northern Europe, which obviously affected military operations. There is a wide interest in the state of the weather with the British public, on whether one should take a coat or umbrella and it seems that in Swansea it always rains! Weather reports date back to 1766, when the England and Wales Precipitation Series were first published. Back to remembrance. Swansea certainly does have some ve
Read more