People

Taken from https://ww1.wales/post-ww2-war-memorials

Tudor Samuel Thomas, Gunner, 1796246, Royal Artillery. Tudor was born near St. Clears on 1 March 1910, the son of Samuel and Mary Thomas. He was raised in Aberdare following the early death of his father, as his mother parents had moved there to work, but returned to Carmarthenshire, and lived with his wife Maria at Felinfach, Talog. Tudor enlisted into the Royal Artillery following the outbreak of war and embarked for the Far East with 48 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery from the Clyde on 6 December 1941, bound for Batavia, Java. The Japanese invaded Java on 28 February 1942 and following heavy fighting the Allied Commanders signed the surrender document on 12 March. Tudor was taken prisoner by the Japanese during this brief campaign in the Dutch East Indies and was later transported to Japan, where the prisoners were used as forced labour, as a result of lack of Japanese manpower. He died in a Prisoner of War Camp in Omine, Nagasaki, on 9 January 1943, aged 32. His remains were originally interred near his camp but in 1946 were re-interred in Yokohama War Cemetery.

Taken from https://ww1.wales/post-ww2-war-memorials

William Jones, Private, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. William resided at Cwmcarn, Talog. He served with the 2nd Battalion, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, which had served during the war attached to 80 Brigade, 27th Division. After the Armistice, the battalion was sent to Fermoy, in Southern Ireland. On Sunday 7 September 1919, William was one of a group of soldiers who were heading to attend a Church Service, when several cars pulled up, and the soldiers were fired upon by Sinn Fein activists. William was killed by the gunfire, which struck him in the chest. A resulting court case refused to treat the incident as murder, which prompted a riot by other members of his battalion, who went on the rampage in Fermoy, causing damage to around sixty shops. William was buried with full military honours at Blaenycoed Congregational Chapelyard, Cynwyl Elfed. Presently he is commemorated on the Brookwood (United Kingdom 1914-1918) Memorial, England. His brother Evan had been killed during the Great War.

Evan Jones, Private, 202746, Welsh Regiment. Evan was the son of William and Elizabeth Jones, of Cwmcain, Talog, Carmarthen. At the outbreak of war, Evan was residing in Llandeilo, and he enlisted at Llanelli into the 9th Battalion, Welsh Regiment. The Battalion formed at Cardiff on 9 September 1914, and was attached to 58 Brigade, 19th (Western) Division, crossing to France in July 1915. It saw its first action at the Battle of Loos. They then moved to the Somme in 1916, and attacked on the second day of the Offensive, capturing the village of La Boisselle. In June 1917 the Division fought at the Battle of Messines, and throughout the Passchendaele offensive. That winter they moved to positions north east of Bapaume to rebuild and rest, but on 21 March 1918, the area was hit by the desperate German Spring Offensive, which was aimed at winning the war before the full power of the American Army could be organised and brought into action. The 19th Division suffered terrible casualties, and were moved to positions near Messines, south of Ypres, but they were hit here again when the Germans switched their attack to Flanders, and Evan was Killed in Action around the time of the Battle of Bailleul, on 16 April 1918, aged 22. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium.

James Jenkins, MM, Sergeant Major, 871225, Canadian Railway Troops. (Meidrim). James was born at Talog on 26 July 1880, the son of Mrs. A. Jones, later of Wolfscastle Inn, Llanfyrnach. He was working in Canada as a shell maker before the war, but enlisted at Winnipeg in February 1916, joining the Canadian Railway Company, earning the Military Medal in France.

Video about the sad story of the young Emily Phillips who lived at Castle Inn, and court cases against Thomas Williams of Fachddu for child maintenance. Emily died in 1911, aged 25. With thanks to “Bethena” for permission to use this interesting video.