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1st Battalion, Welsh Guards
| Want to know more about 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards? There are:5239 items tagged 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.
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Those known to have served with1st Battalion, Welsh Guards during the Great War 1914-1918. - Bye VC. Robert James. Sgt.
- Corbett Shadrach. Pte. (d.16th Sep 1916)
- Drake Arthur John. Pte. (d.11th October 1918)
- Driscoll Herbert Joseph. Pte.
- Hoggarth John Charles. Pte. (d.6th Nov 1918)
- Hughes David. Pte. (d.27th Dec 1916)
- Hughes Jesse. Pte (d.28th Nov 1917)
- Hughes Robert John. Pte. (d.21st June 1916)
- Lewis Benjamin Thomas.
- Lewis Benjamin Thomas. Pte.
- Lovis Reginald. Pte. (d.10th Sep 1916)
- Osman George Albert. Gdsm. (d.25th October 1918)
- Rees Edward William. Pte. (d.1st Dec 1917)
- Smith Fred. Pte. (d.20th Oct 1918)
- Tibbatts John. Pte. (d.1st Dec 1917)
All 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 Add a Name to this List
Records of 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards from other sources.
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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
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Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our
Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text.
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- 19th Nov 2024
Please note we currently have a massive 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. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
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Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Pte. Herbert Joseph Driscoll 1st Btn. Welsh Guards Herbert Driscoll served with the Welsh Guards.
He was awarded a Silver War Badge.
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Pte. David Hughes 1st Btn. Welsh Guards (d.27th Dec 1916) David Hughes was my great grandfather who died in the Battle of the Somme.
He was already in the army and transferred to the Welsh Guards when it was formed.
He left behind two daughters one of which was my grandmother Marie.
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Pte. Shadrach Corbett 1st Btn. Welsh Guards (d.16th Sep 1916) Shadrach Corbett was a distant relative of mine who lived in the next village to my grandparents who were miners. He was killed at the Battle of the Somme at the age of 26 and was an only child. Other than that I do not know.
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Pte. Reginald Lovis 1st Btn. Welsh Guards (d.10th Sep 1916) Reginald Lovis died and is buried in Ypres, Belgium
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Pte. Robert John Hughes 1st Btn Welsh Guards (d.21st June 1916) Robert Hughes was the son of Thomas and Jane Hughes of Henllan, Denbighshire.
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Pte. Fred Smith 1st Btn. Welsh Guards (d.20th Oct 1918) Fred Smith served with the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards during WW1 and was killed in action on the 20th October 1918, aged 29. He is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial in France. He was the son of the late Hiram and Jane Smith, of Burnley and husband of Annie Smith, of 45, Belgrave St., Nelson, Lancs.
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Sgt. Robert James Bye VC. Welsh Guards Robert James Bye was born in Pontypridd. He was 27 years old, and a Sergeant in the 1st Btn., Welsh Guards, when the following deed took place on 31 July 1917 at the Yser Canal, Belgium during the Third Battle of Ypres for which he was awarded the VC. His citation reads:
"939 Sjt. Robert Bye, Welsh Guards (Penrhiwceiber, Glamorgan).
For most conspicuous bravery. Sjt. Bye displayed the utmost courage and devotion to duty during an attack on the enemy's position. Seeing that the leading waves were being troubled by two enemy blockhouses, he, on his own initiative, rushed at one of them and put the garrison out of action. He then rejoined his company and went forward to the assault of the second objective. When the troops had gone forward to the attack on the third objective, a party was detailed to clear up a line of blockhouses which had been passed. Sjt. Bye volunteered to take charge of this party, accomplished his object, and took many prisoners. He subsequently advanced to the third objective, capturing a number of prisoners, thus rendering invaluable assistance to the assaulting companies. He displayed throughout the most remarkable initiative."
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Pte. John Tibbatts 1st Battalion Welsh Guards (d.1st Dec 1917) John Tibbatts was born on December 19, 1897, the youngest son of Albert and Bridget, and was baptised at St Catherine of Siena Church at the beginning of 1898. We know little of his early years, other than he attended St Catherine’s School. Albert, his father, believed that school was very important and it is certain that John completed his education before beginning his working life.
At the beginning of the Great War in 1914, John, who was by then 17 years old, joined the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards Regiment. After training, he was sent to France in 1916, to fight. Life in the trenches was unbearable and it is difficult to imagine the living conditions that these young men were to endure. I can only imagine what it must have been like to live in constant fear of dying, every minute of the day. History books teach us that these soldiers had not only to fear the enemy but also their superior officers, who often gave the order to shoot onsite men who refused to move towards the opposing guns.
Many years ago I talked with my father of his experience of the war and asked the question: What was it like?
"I kept my head down, I prayed a lot, did what I was told to and I thanked God every morning that I woke up alive." I first thought it was glib response from a man who didn't wish to share or relive that traumatic period of his life. But on reflection, I realized that it was how he chose to accept his lot and still not lose the spirit to fight.
It was during the Battle of Cambrai, which began in November 1917 that tanks were first used on a large-scale, although they had been considered of little value in offensive operations, as they were prone to defects in operation. The Commander in Chief, Sir Douglas Haig, disappointed by the lack of progress in the village of Passchendale and attracted by the possibility of obtaining a profitable victory before the end of the year, decided to continue using tanks, supported by infantry. Haig described the purpose of Cambrai operations as "obtaining a local success by a sudden attack." in a place where the enemy was least expecting an attack, and, to some extent, it worked.
The assault approach was novel because artillery had not bombarded the placements beforehand. Tanks were required to pass first through the German wire followed by infantry, concealed by smoke dams (a blanket of smoke bombs)
The attack began early on the morning of 20 November 1917 and advance was remarkable. But, by the 22nd, it was decided to stop and give soldiers time to rest and reorganize, unfortunately for the Allies it also gave the Germans time to strengthen their lines. From 23 to 28 November, fighting was concentrated almost exclusively on Bourlon Wood, and by November 29, it was clear that the Germans were ready for a counterattack.
During the terrible battle of 1st December 1917, and a few days before his 20th birthday, John, like many other young men, lost his life. John is buried with 7047 other men, British and South African, and Canadian who lost their lives during the Battle of Cambrai. "Their Sacrifice is commemorated in the cemetery of Louverval, in the Cambrésis".
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