Family :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

20 November - 30 December 1917. As the Battle of Third Ypres closed down the opportunity presented itself for a short but rapid attack on the German positions near Cambrai. Drawing on the considerable lessons learnt at Ypres the battle plan concentrated on better ground the combined resources of infantry, artillery, tanks and air support in what was in part a blueprint for the combined operations that are now a normal part of military thinking and planning. It was at first spectacularly successful but again the German ability to reorganise and counter attack was demonstrated to such an extent that by the end of the battle virtually all gains were lost. British casualties were about 45,000.

Detail :

War Memorial Project : "John Charles Lewis, Captain, Monmouthshire Regiment. John was born on 25 January 1886, son of John and Alice Lewis, of Troedybryn, St. Clears. He was educated at Whitland Grammar School, before enlisting into the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps, with the Army Number 8113. From here he was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, Monmouth Regiment. John was subsequently attached to the 6th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry from 21 January1917 onwards, serving with the Battalion on the Somme during the Winter of 1916/17, then at Third Ypres (Passchendaele). The Battalion moved South on 1 October 1917, entraining at Proven for Bapaume. John was promoted Captain, taking over Command of 'A' Company, 6th KSLI. The battalion took over the front line trenches at Villers Plouich on 20 October, and took part in the attack on Welsh Ridge, during the Battle of Cambrai, on 20 November 1917. John was mortally wounded whilst gallantly leading his Company that day. He was in fact listed as killed in action that day, aged 30. He was reportedly buried between Gouzeaucourt and Combles, but his body was lost in the coming battles in the area, and he is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial, Louverval, France."

Great War Forum "John Charles Lewis, Captain, Monmouthshire Regiment. John Charles Lewis was the son of John and Alice Lewis, of Troedybryn, St. Clears. He was enlisted into the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps, with the Army Number 8113. From here he was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, the Monmouth Regiment, as a 2nd Lieutenant. John was subsequently attached to the 6th Battalion, KSLI from the 21/1/1917 onwards, serving with the Battalion on the Somme during the Winter of 1916/17, then with the Battalion at Third Ypres (Passchendaele). The Battalion moved South on the 1st October, entraining at Proven for Bapaume. John was promoted Captain, taking over Command of ‘A’ Company, 6th KSLI. They took over the front line trenches at Villers Plouich on the 20th October, and took part in the attack on Welsh Ridge, during the Battle of Cambrai, on the 20th November, 1917, when John was mortally wounded whilst gallantly leading his Company. He was listed as Killed in Action that day, aged 30."

His name is recorded in the book "Carmarthen in the Great War" by Steven John: "While the fighting in Palestine was about to reach the walls of Jerusalem, in France the focus switched to a new sector east of Bapaume. A revolutionary artillery plan and the mass use of tanks, would become known as The Battle of Cambrai, the objective of which was limited. The battle was launched on 20 November 1917, the assaulting force of six infantry divisions, supported by some 430 tanks, against the Hindenburg Line defences protecting Cambrai. There were no Welsh units in action that day, although the 17th and 18th Welsh would soon take part in heavy fighting in Bourlon Wood; but several notable local men were killed whilst serving with other units. Captain John Charles Lewis, the son of John and Alice Lewis, of Troedybryn, St Clears, was mortally wounded whilst gallantly leading his company of the 6th Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) during an attack that day. His body was lost in coming battles and he is remembered on the Cambrai Memorial, Louverval..."

Masonic :

Listed as a Coal Merchant resident at St. Clears at the time of initiation in 1908. The contribution record shows his dues are fully paid up to the 1918 column, after which is recorded "Died Nov 1917."

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley