Discover your ancestors in these records of initial recruits of the Swansea Pals, a local battalion officially known as the 14th (Service) Battalion, Welsh Regiment. The records may reveal your relative’s name, service number and rank. Their next of kin details will help you to add more branches to your family tree.
Discover your ancestors in these records of initial recruits of the Swansea Pals, a local battalion officially known as the 14th (Service) Battalion, Welsh Regiment. The records may reveal your relative’s name, service number and rank. Their next of kin details will help you to add more branches to your family tree.
Each record comprises a transcript of the original documents from the West Glamorgan Archives. The amount of information listed varies, but the records usually include a combination of the following information about your ancestor:
• First name(s)
• Last name
• Year
• Service number
• Rank
• Place
• Next of kin
• Relationship
• Next of kin address
• Country
The record set comprises 931 records.
The West Glamorgan Archives holds the nominal roll of initial recruits in the series TC/26/40.
Members of the Glamorgan Family History Society have transcribed the nominal roll for Findmypast
The Swansea Pals in World War 1
The Mayor of Swansea recruited these men at the start of World War 1 in response to Lord Kitchener’s appeal for volunteers in 1914.
The Swansea Pals departed for the Western Front in December 1915 and became part of the 38th Welsh Division. The battalion participated in the attack on Mametz Wood in France during the First Battle of the Somme. One hundred men were lost and 300 more wounded in a single day. By the end of the First World War, over 600 of the Swansea Pals had been killed.