Robert Beynon 1880 - 1916

Robert Beynon was born in 1880 in Aberaman, a small village near to Aberdare in Glamorgan, Wales. Robert was the eldest of 9 children born to Morgan and Jane Beynon (Nee Jones). Robert's father was a miner and the family continued to live around the Aberaman area in the 1881 and 1891 census. By the 1901 census Robert aged 21, had followed his father and was working in the mines as a Colliery Haulier. Robert still lived at home and the family were now living in the village of Abercwmboi.

Robert had met Margaret Edwards and the couple had a their 1st child in the summer of 1902 (Between July and September), a daughter they named Margaret Maud Edwards Beynon. On the 4th of October 1905 Robert and Margaret married at the Register Office in the county of Glamorgan and Brecon. Robert gave his address as 26 Milton Street, Cwmaman, Aberdare, while Margaret's address was given as 21 Green Street, Aberdare.

Robert Beynon and Margaret Edwards Marriage Certificate October 1905

By the 1911 census Robert and his wife Margaret were living at 80 John Street in Aberdare with their family, Margaret age given as 10, Catherine aged 5, Morgan aged 2 years 9 months and Frederick aged 1 year 4 months. The census return show that Robert and Margaret had had 5 Children and that 1 had died. Unfortunately I have not found a record giving year of birth, name or sex so far in my research. The family had a boarder named David J Edwards aged 25 (unsure if related to Margaret so far) and a visitor named Ellen Beynon aged 21, who was one of Robert's younger siblings.Robert was still working at the mine as a Colliery Houlier and everybody in the household could speak both Welsh and English. In January 1912, Robert and Margaret suffered the loss of another child when son Morgan, died aged 3.

Great War Service

The First World War began for the British at 11pm on the 4th of August 1914 and men up and down the country began to volunteer in there thousands for Army Service. Unfortunately Robert's Army Service records appear to be one of those that was destroyed by a fire at the store where they were kept, during a German bombing in 1940. Robert's Medal Index Card is the only record so far, that I have and this shows that he served with the 13th Battalion Welsh Regiment, was ranked as Private and was Regimental No: 32926.

The Welsh Regiment Cap Badge

The 13th (Service) Battalion Welsh Regiment (2nd Rhondda) had formed at Cardiff in October 1914 and after training had landed at Le Havre,France in December 1915. Private Robert Beynon would have joined the 13th Battalion in or after January 1916, as his Medal Index Card show that he was not entitled to the 1914-15 Star, which was awarded to those men who had served in any theatre of war between the 4th of August 1914 and the 31st of December 1915 were not eligible for the 1914 Star.

British Expeditionary Force 1916

The 13th Battalion Welsh Regiment came under the orders of the 114th Brigade in the 38th (Welsh) Division and in January 1916 the Division took over the Neuve Chapelle sector of the front line, relieving the 19th Division. The 38th Division continually held the 11th(XI) Corps line from Givenchy in the south to Picantin to the north. During this period there was little to report except the steady progress in obtaining an ascendancy over the enemy such as patrolling No Man's Land and carrying out raids on the German trenches.

The most successful raid was carried out by the 15th Battalion (London Welsh) Royal Welsh Fusiliers from the 113th Brigade and was mentioned by the General Headquarters despatches as being the 3rd best raid carried out at that point in the war. A raiding party while out in No Man's Land came across an enemy wiring party just finishing their work. Captain G. Owen, Commanding the raid, altered his plan on the spot, and with his raiding party followed the Germans back into their lines where they set about them. The Germans were taken by surprise and the greater portion of them were killed whilst trying to get grenades out of a grenade store.

By the middle of February the 33rd Division joined the 11th Corps and the whole Corps moved to the south, with the 38th (Welsh) Division taking over at Festubert where for a time the Division had all of its Brigades (113th, 114th, 115th) in the line together. At Festubert the ground was low-lying and waterlogged and the front line consisted of a series of isolated posts called 'Islands' each held by 10-20 men. These posts were all that remained of a once continuous front line which elsewhere had been washed away. On the islands themselves the parapets were barely bullet-proof and dug-out accommodation was almost non- existent. Communication trenches were flooded and the islands could only be reached across open ground. As the German front line was only 200 yards away, and on slightly higher ground, the islands were unapproachable by day. 100 yards behind the islands was a rudimentary support trench, again barely habitable, and further back the old British line of 1915, where most of the front line fighters were garrisoned, though even this was broken down in places and lacking in dug-outs. In these miserable conditions, the Welsh Division spent most of its time draining the land and improving the defences. The 38th Division moved to the slightly drier but more active line at Givenchy.

Givenchy with its many mines, constant trench mortaring and the numerous springs that required frequent repairs to the trenches and was considered the hardest part of the line to hold, as standing in a trench a man could be blown up from below or be struck by some terror from the sky such as bomb, grenade or shell and continual exposure to mud and water all took a steady toll.

By the end of March 1916 the 39th Division newly arrived from England had joined 11th Corps bringing its strength up to 5 Division all of which were New Army also called Kitchener's Army. April, May and early June saw the 38th (Welsh) Division carry out a number of raids on the German lines, some successful some not, depending on how effectively the defensive barbed wire had been cut beforehand. Even when the wire was successfully cut and the German trenches entered, there still remained a hazardous return to the British line amidst retaliatory fire from rifles and machine guns, and it was at this stage that most casualties were suffered.

On the 10th of June 1916 whilst holding the line near Neuve Chapelle the Division received orders to proceed south to the Somme sector. The 38th (Welsh) Division was relieved by the newly arrived 61st Division on the 11th of June and began its move south.

On the 15th of June the Division arrived at a new training area, land lent by the French authorities, just to the east of St. Pol. The training programme which General H.Q. had issued a few weeks earlier, laid down orders that divisions were to train not only to attack on a large scale against enemy trenches and strong points, but also to follow through once the enemy defences had been broken. Divisions therefore practised in the passing of a fresh body of attacking troops, through the troops which have carried out the first assault and have reached their objective. The second attack was be carried out on the same principles, the assaulting columns going straight through to the objective in successive lines.

The Somme Offensive July 1916

The 38th (Welsh) Division moved further south to Rubempre where it joined the 2nd Corps, then Commanded by Sir Claude Jacob K.C.B., D.S.O. It was here that verbal orders were received that the Division as part of 2nd Corps was to be prepared to follow the cavalry in the event of a breakthrough and take over Bapaume from them.

The fail of the centre and left of the British attack on the 1st of July 1916 altered the plans for the 38th Division, which then marched north towards Acheux and the south to Treux where the Division eventually joined the 15th Corps, Commanded by Sir Henry Horne K.C.B., and on the 5th of July the 38th (Welsh) Division relieved the 7th Division in the village of Mametz, and was ordered to prepare for the capture of Mametz Wood, the largest wood on the whole of the Somme battlefront.

Battle Of Mametz Wood July 1916

The task that lay before the 38th (Welsh) Division was one of some magnitude. So difficult had it been thought to capture that in the orders for the attack launched on the 1st of July, General H.Q. had left out Mametz Wood in their orders, although British troops were to have moved forward to the east and west of the wood.

Nearly a mile wide and over a mile deep, Mametz Wood was made up of thick trees and dense undergrowth. The wood was heavily fortified with machine guns, trenches and mortars and was defended by the well-trained and elite Lehr Regiment of Prussian Guards. Moreover it was capable of being reinforced easily, the German 2nd line system being only 300 yards from the northern edge.

The Battle of Mametz Wood began on 7 July 1916. The wood was intended - by the Generals, at least - to be taken in a matter of hours. In the event the battle lasted for five days as the Germans fiercely resisted the assaults of the Welsh Division.

The 115th Brigade made an attack on the eastern edge of the wood with 2 separate attacks made at 8am and 11am by the 16th (Cardiff City) Welsh Regiment and the 10th (1st Gwents) South Wales Borderers Regiment but neither were successful owing to heavy machine gun fire not only from the wood but also from some small copses to the north named Hatiron and Sabot. The fire from these enfiladed the attack which failed to reach the wood. On the first day of fighting for the wood, over 400 casualties were sustained.

The first real test for the volunteer soldiers of the Welsh Division had ended in ignominy and recrimination. Field Marshal Douglas Haig laid the blame for the failed attack squarely at the door of the Welsh Division for not advancing “with determination to the attack”. Major-General Philipps, the Commanding Officer of the Welsh Division, was held responsible for the failures of 7-9 July and was relieved of his Command.

He was replaced by Major-General Watts who decided on the 9th of July 1916 to attack the wood with the full weight of the Division and this was to be carried out at 4.15am on the 10th of July. The task of capturing the eastern part of the wood was allotted to the 114th Brigade and the western part to the 113th Brigade with the 115th Brigade in reserve near Minden Post and Mametz.

At 3.30am on the 10th of July a heavy artillery barrage opened fire on the southern edge of the wood, whilst a smoke barrage was fired onto the eastern and south-western part of the wood. The smoke barrage was successful in drawing the enemy fire and the Infantry advanced at 4.15am with the 13th Battalion (2nd Rhondda) Welsh Regiment, with Private Robert Beynon in the ranks, attacking on the right, the 14th (Swansea) Welsh Regiment attacking in the centre and the 16th Royal Welsh Fusiliers on the left.

Officers of a neighbouring Division described the attack as 'one of the most magnificent sights of the war', wave after wave of men were seen advancing without hesitation and without a break over a distance which in some places was nearly 500 yards. The 14th Welsh speedily cleared their portion of the wood, with Captain Wilson distinguishing himself by bayoneting in solitary combat a burly German, and bringing down with a shot, a sniper in a tree.

Lieutenant Hawkins did equally good, by charging down on 2 separate enemy machine guns, both of which he captured, although he was wounded the 2nd time.

Private Robert Beynon and the 13th Battalion Welsh Regiment on the right encountered severe resistance and had to be reinforced by the 15th (Carmarthen) Welsh Regiment. A party from the 15th Battalion managed to break through to the Germans but eventually had to pull back, with one Company returning with only 7 survivors. The 13th, 14th and 15th Welsh formed a line just to the south of the most southern cross ride (path), eastward from its junction with the main ride.

The 16th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers had not kept close enough to the British artillery barrage and they were met by heavy rifle and machine gun fire and were twice repulsed with their gallant Colonel R. Carden being killed. The 16th were also reinforced by the 15th Battalion Welsh Regiment and both Battalions entered the wood and arrived at the southern side. 'Wood' support trench was still held by the Germans, who enfiladed with machine gun fire and prevented any further advance into the wood.

The Royal Engineers and the Pioneers (19th Welsh) were ordered up and a trench was dug along the southern ride. By 1pm 'Wood' support trench had been cleared by the 13th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers. The troops were now reorganised and the 10th South Wales Borderers and the 17th Royal Welsh Fusiliers were sent to reinforce the 114th Brigade.

At 4pm a further advance was made, which brought troops to northern end of the wood. The 10th South Wales Borderers captured the eastern portion of the wood in gallant style and the Germans who fled towards Sabot copse, suffered heavily from the British machine guns in Caterpillar and Marlborough woods. The 15th Welsh Regiment east of the central ride and the 15th and 17th Royal Welsh Fusiliers to the west, fought their way to within 40 yards of the northern edge of the wood but were held up by heavy rifle and machine gun fire from the Germans 2nd line. Preparations were then made to hold a line some distance behind the wood. During the night of 10th/11th of July 1916 the 11th South Wales Borderers and the 16th Welsh Regiment were brought up to the line and the 113th and 114th Brigades were withdrawn.

On the 11th of July at 3.15pm the 115th Brigade advanced and cleared the northern edge of the wood and in the evening the 38th (Welsh) Division was relieved in Mametz Wood by the 21st Division and moved to Coigneux. This ended the 38th Division's fighting in the Battle of Somme and during it's first time in battle, had captured 352 German prisoners including 4 Officers and pushed the Germans back about a mile in the most difficult of conditions.

The 38th (Welsh) Division paid a heavy price during it's first time in the fighting with about 4000 men killed, wounded or missing. Private Robert Beynon aged 36 years, was recorded as Missing in Action after the fighting on the 10th of July 1916 and for official purposes this was declared his date of death.

The ferocity of the fighting was described by Emlyn Davies, who served with the 17th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and had entered Mametz Wood during the afternoon: “Gory scenes met our gaze. Mangled corpses in khaki and in field-grey; dismembered bodies, severed heads and limbs; lumps of torn flesh half way up the tree trunks; a Welsh Fusilier reclining on a mound, a red trickle oozing from his bayoneted throat; a South Wales Borderer and a German locked in their deadliest embraces – they had simultaneously bayoneted each other. A German gunner with jaws blown off lay against his machine gun, hand still on its trigger.”

The War Poets, Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves both serving as Officers in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, fought at the Battle of Mametz wood. Robert Graves wrote about what he saw when he returned to the wood after the battles end,

"It was full of dead Prussian Guards, big men, and dead Royal Welch Fusiliers and South Wales Borderers, little men. Not a single tree in the wood remained unbroken."

Private Robert Beynon is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial on Pier and Face 7 A and 10 A and was awarded the British War and Victory Medals.

The Thiepval Memorial, The Somme, France

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. The memorial also serves as an Anglo-French Battle Memorial in recognition of the joint nature of the 1916 offensive and a small cemetery containing equal numbers of Commonwealth and French graves lies at the foot of the memorial.

Mametz Wood still stands today, surrounded by farmland. Overgrown shell craters and trenches can still be made out. A Memorial to the 38th Welsh Division stands overlooking the wood and takes the form of a red Welsh Dragon, tearing at barbed wire on top of a 3 metre plinth. The memorial was constructed by the South Wales Branch of the Western Front Association following a public funding-raising appeal and erected in 1987.

Robert Beynon is my 1st Cousin 4x removed from my Grandfather Charles Dixon's side of the family.

Lest We Forget

Lee Thomas

July 2013