The 1901 census tells us that the family was living at 4, Gwynedd Terrace, Llandudno Junction in the District of Conway and the County of Caernarvon. The household consisted of Head, John Williams 38 (born in Llandudno). He was a Mason and Bricklayer by trade. His wife Harriet 44 was born in Pentre Lygian, Flint. Their 5 children were Mary Elen 16 who was employed as a Farmhouse Servant. Ethel H was 14, Maria 10, Lewis Andrew 3 and John E. D. 2. All the family was listed as both Welsh and English speaking.
Ten years on finds the family at 7 Caradoc Terrace Llandudno Junction. The Head of the household was John Williams 49 years old, his wife Harriet, 56, was employed as a Housekeeper. There were only two children at home, Lewis Andrew 10 years old and John Edward 12. They were both were still at school.
Sometime between 1911 and 1916 the family moved to Number 2, Cross Foxes Terrace, Glascoed, St Asaph. Lewis was a member of The Sinan Chapel.
Lewis enlisted into the Territorial Force of the County of Pembroke on 7th November 1916 His regimental number was 290315. He was discharged on 10th July 1917 for re-enlistment into the Royal Naval Division. He served a total of 246 days with the 2/1st Pembrokeshire Yeomenry.
On 6th August 1917 he was drafted to Nelson Battalion B.E.F. from 4th Reserve Battalion, Blandford.
On 16th September 1917 Lewis joined his Battalion from the Base Depot at Calais. (Xiii Corps Draft Training Depot)
He was Killed in Action on the 4th January 1918.
On www.Ancestry.co.uk under the heading Great Britain, Royal Naval Division Casualties of The Great War, 1914-1924, we see information that informs us that Lewis Andrew was in the Service Branch of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. His Unit was Nelson Bn. his rank was Able Seaman and also that he died on 4th Jan 1918, Killed in action.
His Service History is as follows- ex-290315 Private 2/1st Pembroke Yeomenry, enlisted Territorial Force 7/11/16, transferred to RNVR for RND 11/7/17: draft for BEF 6/8/17, joined Nelson Bn. 27/9/17- 4/1/18 DD. His Service number was R/3439 and under notes we see Born. 5/8/1897: Next of Kin father John, 2 Cross Foxes Terrace, Glascoed, St Asaph, N. Wales.
His Flintshire Roll of Honour card in the Archives Office in Hawarden gives his regimental details and his period of service as 1yr and 6months. This would be the time that he served with Nelson Bn.
UK. Naval Medal and Award Rolls. on www.Ancestry. co.uk shows us that Lewis was awarded The British War Medal and The Victory Medal.
Lewis is buried at Flasqueries Hill British Cemetery.
Historical Information from Commonwealth War Grave Commission.
Flesquieres village was attacked by the 51st (Highland) Division, with tanks, on the 20th November 1917, in the Battle of Cambrai, but held for a time by a German officer with a few men; it was captured on the 21st. It was lost in the later stages of the battle, and retaken on the 27th September 1918, by the 3rd Division.
Flesquieres Hill Cemetery was originally made by the 2nd Division, in 1918, behind a German cemetery (“Flesquieres Soldiers’ Cemetery No.2”); but the German graves were removed after the Armistice to FLESQUIERES COMMUNAL CEMETERY GERMAN EXTENSION (which in its turn was removed, with 583 graves, in 1924). Plots III-VIII were created on the site of the German cemetery and in them were reburied 688 British soldiers from the battlefields of Havrincourt, Flesquieres, Marcoing and Masnieres and from a few other burial grounds, including:-
ABANCOURT COMMUNAL CEMETERY GERMAN EXTENSION (Nord), in which 38 British soldiers and four men of the Chinese Labour Corps were buried in 1917-18. (The four Chinese burials were re-buried in Ayette Indian and Chinese Cemetery).
HAVRINCOURT COMMUNAL CEMETERY, from which four British soldiers were taken to Achiet-le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension and three to Flesquieres.
HAYNECOURT GERMAN CEMETERY, on the South side of the village, from which eight British graves were removed to Flesquieres and two to H.A.C. Cemetery, Ecoust-St. Mein, and 138 German to other cemeteries.
MASNIERES-CREVECOEUR ROAD CEMETERY, CREVECOEUR SUR-L’ESCAUT, where 13 New Zealand soldiers and seven of the Devons were buried in October, 1918.
MASNIERES GERMAN CEMETERY, South of Masnieres, used by the New Zealand Division for eleven burials in October, 1918.
RIBECOURT CHURCHYARD, in which four Canadian, one Australian and three British soldiers were buried in 1916-1917.
63RD DIVISION CEMETERY, between MARCOING and Villers-Plouich, made by the Royal Naval Division at the end of 1917, which contained 41 graves.
There are now over 900, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over one-third are unidentified and special memorials are erected to five officers and men from the United Kingdom and two from New Zealand, known or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials record the names of three men of the R.N.D., buried at the end of 1917 in the 63rd Division Cemetery, Marcoing, whose graves were destroyed by shell fire.
