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Leonard George Griffith
265348, Serjeant, Royal Welsh Fusiliers Reserve Battalion (Territorial Force)
Died of illness, 21 January 1918, aged 39
Buried at Llanrhos (Ss. Eleri and Mary) Churchyard
CWGC registered (Son of George William and Annie Griffith, of Llandudno. Served in the South African Campaign)
Leonard Griffith is remembered on the tablets in the Memorial Chapel at Holy Trinity Church. However, he is remembered neither on the town’s Roll of Honour nor on the War Memorial. The names on all three memorials are derived from essentially the same list so it would appear that the omissions from the Roll of Honour and the War Memorial were not intentional and the Memorial Chapel, the last to be completed, finally had Leonard’s name included. Because his home at his time of death was in Oxford Road, then he was a parishioner of the Parish of Llanrhos which explains why he was buried in the churchyard at Llanrhos. However, Leonard is on neither the Deganwy nor the “remainder of parish” sections of the Llanrhos Parish War Memorial. CWGC records indicate that Leonard’s administrator, his brother Edward, lived at Rhos-on-Sea. Perhaps he simply did not complete an application on behalf of his brother to the Llandudno District Council’s War Memorial Committee.
Leonard George Griffith (sometimes Griffiths) was born at Deganwy on 29 July 1878. He was the son of a coal merchant, George William Griffith, and his wife Annie Griffith (née Raw). The Census of Wales for 1881 records the family living at 3 East Parade, Llandudno – Leonard (3) is recorded as having a younger brother, Edward G[riffith] Griffith (1). In 1887, Leonard was recorded as a pupil at St. Beuno’s National School. By 1891, the family had moved to 1 Charlton Street, Llandudno; Leonard (13) is described as a scholar and had six siblings including Edward (12) and Norah (aka Leonora, 9). Leonard is not recorded in the Census of 1901 because he had volunteered to fight in South Africa.
The Boer War had been stretching the resources of the regular army including the 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers and on 4 December 1899, the government called for volunteers to supplement the regular soldiers. Amongst those units to provide reinforcements was the 3rd Volunteer Battalion RWF of which Leonard George Griffith, a gardener, was a private with a number of 7303. Leonard was medically examined at Wrexham on 22 January 1900 and approved to join the force. On 11 February 1900, the Volunteer Service Company of the RWF embarked at Southampton for the Cape. His engagement was completed on 15 May 1901. For his time in South Africa, which included service in the Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, Leonard was awarded the King’s South Africa Medal. A local newspaper report for December 1902 regarding the formation of the Llandudno Rifle Club records Leonard as a corporal in the 3rd VB, RWF.
George William Griffith died in 1905. The Census of Wales for 1911 records Annie Griffith, Leonard (33), Leonora (26) and another sister Lily (23) living at the same address but now known as 1 Leonard Terrace, Charlton Street.
Leonard’s mother Annie died in 1913 and on 8 August 1914, Leonard Griffith presented himself at Conwy to the 6th (Carnarvonshire and Anglesey) Battalion RWF, Territorial Force, the successor to the 3rd Volunteer Battalion for reenlistment. He was given the new regimental number of 1292. He gave his occupation as a gardener, his residence as “Anglesey House”, Church Walks, Llandudno. He gave his next of kin as his sister Leonora, also of “Anglesey House”. He was promoted to corporal on 16 September 1914 and sailed with the battalion (now the 1/6th) to Gallipoli, disembarking on 8 August 1915, being promoted to lance serjeant on the 27th day of that month. It would appear that when the battalion was evacuated to Egypt in December 1915, Leonard was posted back to the UK (unit obscured), his home service recommencing as of 3 January 1916. On 3 July 1916, he was posted to the command depot and on 9 March 1917, now an acting serjeant, to the Reserve Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers Territorial Force at Park Hall Camp, Oswestry. It was a couple of months later in May 1917 that Leonard Griffith became unwell and a medical board on 2 October 1917 found him physically unfit to serve due to tubercular laryngitis. At the time he was a serjeant and his home address was “Aston Villa”, Oxford Road, Llandudno. He was discharged on 23 October 1917 with a pension and was awarded a Silver War Badge No 251839 – by now he had been renumbered 265348 in common with the vast majority of the soldiers of the Territorial Force.
Leonard Griffith died on 21 January 1918 aged 39 at Llandudno. Leonard’s effects were received by his brother Edward Griffith Griffith, the administrator of his will. The Probate Calendar for 1918 recorded that Leonard George Griffith left an estate valued at £313 8s 9d. He was buried at Llanrhos (Ss. Eleri and Mary) Churchyard.
Known memorials:
- Memorial Chapel, Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno
Note. Commonwealth War Grave Records indicate that Leonard’s battalion was the 2/6th. This is unlikely to be the case as his service record indicates that his last posting was with the Reserve Battalion at Park Hall Camp, Oswestry (from 9 March 1917, at which time the 2/6th was at Southwold, disbanding on 8 September 1917 before Leonard’s discharge). This anomaly is probably intentional as the 2/6th Battalion would have been seen in a more heroic light than the Reserve Battalion.
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