Thomas Abraham

• 18 Torlais Street, Newbridge, Monmouthshire

• English
• Welsh

Family Thomas Abraham was born in Nelson, Glamorgan in 1896 to William and Alice Abraham. In 1901 the family was living at 20 Shingrig Road in Nelson, Thomas had two older sisters, Emily and Winifred and two younger sisters, Clarice and Lilian. William Abraham was a coal miner (hewer) who was bi-lingual (English/Welsh) as were all of the children, William’s wife Alice was the only one not to speak Welsh. William Abraham died in 1901 and by the time of the 1911 Census Alice was married to George Hughes who was 10 years her junior. Together with George, Alice had three further children – Theresa Ethel, Frederick George and Florence Nelly. In 1911 the family was living at 18 Torlais Street Newbridge, Mon. and the fifteen year old Thomas was working as a Collier Boy. Military Thomas enlisted in the army and served as a Private (13882) with the 5th (Service) Bn. South Wales Borderers. After training, the Battalion arrived at Le Havre in France on 16/07/1915 as part of the 38th Brigade of the 19th Division. It soon became the Divisional Pioneer Battalion, and as such combined the duties of trench digging and mining with bombing and fighting. The 5th Bn. fought at Loos in September 1915 and spent the winter repairing roads, constructing tramways, improving trenches, and in mining in close proximity to the enemy. In 1916 the battalion saw numerous actions on the Somme, losing 220 men in the last ten days of July. March 1917 saw the 5th Bn. moved up to Ypres to prepare for the attack on the Messines Ridge, their duties were to consolidate any captured positions and assist in preparing passage for the guns following the infantry, both of which resulted in the battalion engaging in fierce fighting. For their part in the successful Battle of Messines Ridge the battalion gained two MCs, two DCMs and two MM which shows the value of their work as both Pioneers and Infantrymen. The battalion was heavily employed in the summer and autumn of 1917 during the third Battle of Ypres and at Passchendael. In the great German attack of March 1918 the battalion fought a memorable action inflicting heavy losses on the enemy by determined counter-attacks and withdrawing steadily to positions which it had dug on previous days but at the cost of 150 casualties. Thomas was fatally wounded on 29th April.