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Sorted by date of death

Margaret Jane Meredith

Place of birth: Erwood

Service: Farm servant

Death: 1916/02/23, Grugwyllt Farm, Margam, Poisoning / Gwenwyno

Notes: Margaret Meredith had been a farm servant at Grugwyllt Farm, Margam for ‘about a year’. She was 27 or 28. On the evening of February 23rd 1916 she ate yew leaves in an attempt to procure an abortion, and died of poisoning. She had a soldier lover, but had not seen him for a year. She was also said to be seeing a man from Cwmafon. A longer account of the inquest in the Brecon County Times shows that the coroner questioned her employer, Caradoc Jones, a widower, about her condition. He denied responsibility. The verdict was ‘death was due to poisoning by taking yew leaves while temporarily insane’.

Reference: WaW0298

Newspaper headline

Headline to the report of the inquest of Margaret Jane Meredith. Cambria Daily Leader 25th February 1916.

Newspaper report

First part of the report of the inquest into Margaret Meredith’s death. The full report can be found in the Cambria Daily Leader, 25th February 1916, p.6.

Ethel Roberts

Place of birth: Wrexham

Service: Child

Death: 1916/03.09, Moss, Wrexham, Explosion / Ffrwydrad

Memorial: Holy Trinity Church, Gwersyllt, Wrexham, Denbighshire

Notes: Ethel, aged one, died when a souvenir shell brought home by her uncle exploded, killing her and fatally injuring her sister and two cousins. Her uncle Private John Bagnall was seriously injured as well as her mother Sarah Roberts and her aunt Mary Bagnall. The children were buried in two graves in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Gwersyllt, where a memorial to the four girls was dedicated in March 2016.

Sources: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wrexham-remembers-four-children-killed-11027982

Reference: WaW0220

Newspaper report

Report of the shell explosion that killed four girls and injured three adults, North Wales Chronicle 10th March 1916

Newspaper Report

Report of the explosion giving the names of the victims.

Memorial

Memorial to Sarah Bagnall, Ethel Roberts, Mary Roberts and Violet Williams at Holy Trinity Churchyard, Gwersyllt, dedicated March 2016.

Mary Frances Roberts

Place of birth: Wrexham

Service: Child

Death: 1916/03/09, Moss, Wrexham, Explosion / Ffrwydrad

Memorial: Holy Trinity Church, Gwersyllt, Wrexham, Denbighshire

Notes: Mary, aged four, died when a souvenir shell brought home by her uncle exploded, killing her sister and fatally injuring her and her two cousins. Her uncle Private John Bagnall was seriously injured as well as her mother Sarah Roberts and her aunt Mary Bagnall. The children were buried in two graves in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Gwersyllt, where a memorial to the four girls was dedicated in March 2016.

Sources: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wrexham-remembers-four-children-killed-11027982

Reference: WaW0219

Newspaper report

Report of the shell explosion that killed four girls and injured three adults, North Wales Chronicle 10th March 1916

Newspaper report

Report of the explosion giving the names of the victims. Abergavenny Chronicle 17 March 1916

Newspaper report

Memorial to Sarah Bagnall, Ethel Roberts, Mary Roberts and Violet Williams at Holy Trinity Churchyard, Gwersyllt, dedicated March 2016.

Sarah Hannah Bagnall

Place of birth: Wrexham

Service: Child

Death: 1916/03/09, Moss, Wrexham, Explosion / Ffrwydrad

Memorial: Holy Trinity Church, Gwersyllt, Wrexham, Denbighshire

Notes: Sarah, aged 1, died when a souvenir shell brought home by her father exploded, killing or fatally injuring her and her three cousins. Her mother Mary Bagnall was seriously injured as well as her father and aunt Sarah Roberts. The children were buried in two graves in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Gwersyllt, where a memorial to the four girls was dedicated in March 2016.

Sources: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wrexham-remembers-four-children-killed-11027982

Reference: WaW0217

Newspaper report

Report of the shell explosion that killed four girls and injured three adults, North Wales Chronicle 10th March 1916

Newspaper report

Report of the explosion giving the names of the victims. Abergavenny Chronicle 17 March 1916

Newspaper report

Memorial to Sarah Bagnall, Ethel Roberts, Mary Roberts and Violet Williams at Holy Trinity Churchyard, Gwersyllt, dedicated March 2016.

Violet Williams

Place of birth: Wrexham

Service: Child

Death: 1916/03/09, Moss, Wrexham, Explosion / Ffrwydrad

Memorial: Holy Trinity Church, Gwersyllt, Wrexham, Denbighshire

Notes: Violet, aged seven, died when a souvenir shell brought home by her uncle exploded, killing or fatally injuring her and her three cousins. Her uncle Private John Bagnall was seriously injured as well as her aunts Mary Bagnall and Sarah Roberts. The children were buried in two graves in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Gwersyllt, where a memorial to the four girls was dedicated in March 2016.

Sources: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wrexham-remembers-four-children-killed-11027982

Reference: WaW0218

Newspaper report

Report of the shell explosion that killed four girls and injured three adults, North Wales Chronicle 10th March 1916.

Newspaper report

Report of the explosion giving the names of the victims.

Newspaper report

Memorial to Sarah Bagnall, Ethel Roberts, Mary Roberts and Violet Williams at Holy Trinity Churchyard, Gwersyllt, dedicated March 2016.

Lilian Kate Jones

Place of birth: Newport

Service: Nurse, VAD

Death: 1916/06/06, Unknown/Anhysbys

Notes: Lilian joined the VAD in August 1915, aged 35. She worked at 2nd South General Military Hospital in Bristol, where she had family connections.

Reference: WaW0143

Grave of Lilian Jones

Grave of Lilian Jones, St Woolos, Newport

Welsh National Book of Remembrance

name of Lilian Jones, Welsh National Book of Remembrance

Red Cross record card

Red Cross card for Lilian Jones

Red Cross record card (reverse)

Red Cross card for Lilian Jones

Annie Alice Guy

Place of birth: Newport

Service: Nursing sister, SWH, 1916

Death: 1916/08/21, Salonika, Dysentery

Notes: Alice Annie Guy died 21st August 1916, Scottish Women’s Hospital and Serbian Army, Nursing Sister, Former Superintendent of the Devonshire Hospital, Buxton. Buried in Salonika (Lembet Road) Military Cemetery. Her name also appears on the WW1 Roll of Honour Book kept in Newport Reference Library.

Sources: http://scottishwomenshospitals.co.uk/women/

Reference: WaW0142

Newport Roll of Honour

Name of Alice Annie Guy, Newport Roll of Honour

Alice Annie Guy

Newspaper report of the death of Sister Guy

Roll of Honour

Roll of honour of members of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals who died overseas.

May (Mary) Prosser

Place of birth: Gilwern

Service: Munitions Worker, 1916 - 1917

Death: 1917-04-03, Rochdale, TNT poisoning / Gwenwyno TNT

Memorial: Recreation Ground gates; Market hall, Christchurch Govilon, Govilon, Monmouthshire

Notes: May, born 1891, was the fourth daughter of a farm labourer and his wife. She followed two of her sisters into domestic service in Rochdale. She began munitions work late in 1916, but soon became ill with ‘toxic jaundice’ and died at her sister Margaret’s home in Rochdale. She was also sister of Nellie Prosser [qv].

Sources: Ryland Wallace: May Prosser, Munitionette. AMC/WAW Newsletter, June 2016

Reference: WaW0046

Christchurch, Govilon

Name of May Prosser on memorial, Christchurch, Govilon

Govilon War Memorial

Name of May Prosser on Govilon War Memorial

Death Notice

Death notice of May Prosser, Abergavenny Chronicle, 13 Aprill 1917

Jane (Jennie) Roberts

Place of birth: Bryncrug

Service: Staff Nurse, QAIMNS

Death: 1917-04-10, HMHS Salta, Drowning / Boddi

Memorial: Cathedral Nurse, Llanelwy, Flintshire

Notes: aged 30. She died when His Majesty’s Hospital Ship “Salta” was sunk off Le Havre on 10 April 1917. She was lost at sea and her body was never recovered. Her name appears on the Salta Memorial at Ste Marie Cemetery, Le Havre, Normandy, France, and on the memorial plaques in the porch of St Cadfan's Church, Tywyn

Sources: http://www.flintshirewarmemorials.com/memorials/st-asaph-memorial/st-asaph-cathedral-welsh-nurses-ww1/roberts-jane/http://www.mawddachestuary.co.uk/warmemorials/#TywynChurch

Reference: WaW0052

Nurse Jane Robert's name on the Nurses' Memorial, St Asaph

Jane Robert's name on the Nurses' Memorial, St Asaph

Tywyn Church

Name of Jane Roberts in the memorial porch, Tywyn Church

Jane (Jennie) Roberts

Jane/Jennie’s photograph was collected by the Women’s Subcommittee of the Imperial War museum as part of its collection of women who died during the War

Ethel Saxon

Place of birth: Abertillery

Service: Staff Nurse, TFNS

Death: 1917-09-03, Karachi, Appendicitis/Llid y pendics

Memorial: War Memorial; Nurses’ Memorial; Delhi Gate, Kingsland; Liverpool Cathedral; Delhi, Herefordshire; Lancashire; India

Notes: Born 1891, her father was a builder and joiner. She worked for some time in Liverpool before serving overseas. Her parents retired to Kingsland, Herefordshire where she is memorialised; her name also appears on the Nurses’ memorial in Liverpool Cathedral, the Nurses’ memorial in York Minster and the Indian war memorial the Great Gate at Delhi.

Reference: WaW0134