The small village of Trecwn lies about 2.5 miles due south of the busy Port of Fishguard. Trecwn is probably best known for its ‘secret’ Royal Naval Armaments Depot, and it’s miles of underground tunnels, which were used to store shells and missiles. Many thanks to Natasha de Chroustchoff for supplying the photograph of the War Memorial, which is set in the wall of Mamre Chapel. The memorial commemorates four local men killed in WW1. The original name of this community was Llanfair Nant-y-Gof. Trecwn was the name given to the RNAD establishment and by which the village subsequently became known. As of 5 December 2009, the plaque has been removed from the Chapel, and restored, before being rededicated outside St. Giles Church, Letterston.
The Great War, 1914-1918
David John Davies, Mate, Mercantile Marine. David was the son of Henry Morgan Davies and Elizabeth Davies (nee Richards), of White Gate, Trecwn. He enlisted into the Mercantile Marine, and was a Mate aboard SS Holmtown, a London registered Steamship. On 6 February 1918, Holmtown was sailing from Rouen for Penarth Docks in ballast, when she was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-59 east of the Shambles Light Vessel, and sank with the loss of all hands. David was 19 years old, and is remembered alongside his fellow crewmen on the Tower Hill Memorial, London. David doesn’t seem to be commemorated locally.
William Lewis Howells, Gunner, 102610, Royal Garrison Artillery. William was born at Trecwn, the son of William and Martha Howells. He married Charlotte Morris in 1908, and the couple resided at Llanfair Cottage, Trecwn, where they raised their four children. William enlisted at Letterston into the Royal Garrison Artillery on 11 December 1915. He spent the next twelve months in England, before joining the BEF in France in December 1916, and was posted to the 121st Heavy Battery, RGA. William was wounded in action at Arras on 25 April 1917, and admitted to Hospital at Rouen, where he remained until 9 June 1917. He was then posted to the 2nd (London) Heavy Battery, RGA, which was at Ypres. William was killed in Action at Ypres during the Battle of Passchendaele on 22 August 1917, aged 37, and was buried on the battlefield. His body was later exhumed, and reburied in Ypres Town Cemetery Extension, Belgium. Due to the devastation of Ypres during the war, the exact location of William’s grave within the cemetery is unknown, and he is remembered on Special Memorial 6. He left four children, Martha, David, Thomas and Daniel.
David Thomas Jones, Private, 1111, East Surrey Regiment. David was born at Trecwn, the son of John and Rachel Jones. The family later resided at Hendy Farm, Blaenffos. David had married prior to the war, and was the Husband of Ann Jones, of Church Cottage, Tonmawr, Pontrhydyfen, Glamorgan. David enlisted at Neath into the Army and was posted to the 7th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, which was attached to 37 Brigade, 12th (Eastern) Division. The Division landed at Boulogne on 31 May 1915, and took over the line at Ploegsteert Wood. They then moved south and fought in the Battle of Loos, and the subsequent actions of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, and remained there until March 1916. David was wounded whilst in the line north of Loos, and was evacuated to the Military Hospital at Bethune for treatment. Sadly he died of his wounds here on 22 February 1916, aged 37. David is buried at Bethune Town Cemetery, France. David is commemorated at Crymych, but is not named on the Trecwn Memorial.
Thomas Morse, Sergeant, M/321457, Army Service Corps. Tom was born at Manorowen, Pembroke, the son of Thomas and Mary Thomas Morse. The family later resided at Durbach Farm, Durbach. Tom was a traction engine-driver before the war, and attested to serve with the Motor Transport arm of the Army Service Corps in December 1915, being called up in May 1917. Not much is known of Tom’s service in the War, but it is doubtful if he made it to France, serving instead with ‘V’ Company, ASC at Cambridge. Sadly, Tom became ill with pneumonia towards the end of the war, and died at Colchester Military Hospital on 26 October 1918, aged 32. He is buried in Fishguard (Hermon) Baptist Burial Ground. His service papers show that money was being stopped from his wages for an illegitimate child, the son of Martha Nicholas, of Jordanston, Pembroke, born on 23 July 1913. No more is known of Tom’s son.
William Price, Private, 282278, Lancashire Fusiliers. William was the son of Thomas and Martha Price, of Carndifo, Trecwn. He enlisted at Carmarthen into the 2/7th Lancashire Fusiliers, which was attached to 197 Brigade, 66th Division. The Division fought through the Battle of Passchendaele during the Autumn of 1917, before moving south to the St. Quentin area. Here, the Division was practically wiped out during the German Offensive of March 1918, and was forced to be disbanded. It was on the first day of this German Offensive, on 21 March 1918, that William was Killed in Action when his battalion was almost wiped out. He was 30 years old, and is remembered on the Pozières Memorial, France.
Thomas Henry Williams, Private, 267123, Welsh Regiment. Thomas was born at Abercastle on 9 December 1886, the son of John and Margaret Williams, of Skeddy, Fishguard, and the husband of Mary Anne Williams, of Park Cottage, Dwrbach. He enlisted at Fishguard on 30 May 1916 into the 17th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, a Bantam Battalion which formed part of 119 Brigade, 40th Division. The Division landed in France during June 1916, and fought on the Ancre, before moving toward the Hindenburg Line following the German withdrawal in early 1917. Thomas joined the Battalion on 7 December 1917, when the Division was in the thick of the Battle of Cambrai. This is where John was sadly killed in Action, aged 30, on 27 December 1917. He is buried in St. Leger British Cemetery, France. Sadly, he left behind his widow Mary Ann, and eight children, one of whom, William John Williams, was sadly killed during World War Two.
World War Two, 1939-1945
Peter Angus Bradley, Flying Officer, 152389, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Peter was the son of Mr and Mrs T Bradley of Trecwn. Very little information has presently been found about Peter, but he was commissioned as a Flying Officer on 11 June 1943, and was killed on 6 March 1944. He has no known grave, and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey. Peter is not commemorated locally.
William John Williams, Lance Serjeant, 3957562, Welch Regiment. William was the son of Thomas Henry Williams and Mary Ann Williams, of Dwrbach. His father was killed during WW1, so Mary moved the family to Llanteg, Puncheston. William served with the 4th Battalion, Welch Regiment, which was a Territorial Battalion, attached to the 53rd (Welsh) Division. The division spent the early years of the war on home service in Northern Ireland and England, before landing in Normandy at the end of June 1944. It then took part in the break-out from the Normandy beach-head, and the subsequent drive through Northern France, through Belgium and Holland towards Germany. William was killed during heavy fighting in the Reichswald Forest on 25 February 1945, aged 32. He is buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany. William is not commemorated on the memorial, but his father is. William is the man stood in the middle of the photograph.
