Peasants to Puddles
My Family History - By Nicky Rowberry

David Miles - Private G/1126

This page is dedicated to the memory of David Miles who died on 9th May 1915 in France.

David Miles died on 9th May 1915 in France. He was unfortunately one of the casualties amongst the millions of men who lost their lives in World War 1. It seemed sad for him to have died and all but these bare facts remembered, so I've tried to find out at least a little about his life before his untimely death aged just 17.

David Miles was born on 15th December 1897 at 38 Quarella Street, Barry in Wales. He was the 2nd of 8 known children of David Miles and his wife Angelina Bond. His father David was a labourer on the docks when young David was born. His mother Angelina wasn't given an occupation in the censuses, but with 8 children she wouldn't have had time for any other work! In 1901 the family were still living in Quarella Street, with one more child (John). They had also taken in the children of one of David senior's sisters (I've not been able to prove which sister although Miriam seems likely) - Dorothy & Edward Miles. These children seem to have been informally adopted by David & Angelina.

David Miles started school at Cadoxton Primary School in Barry in December 1900 when he was only 3! The whole family must have moved in December 1902 as David's school records say that he left to go to Eastbrook. In the 1911 census the family are recorded as living in Eastfield House, Eastbrook, with David senior now working as a labourer at the quarry. David junior was still at school aged 13. According to De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, he was educated at Dinas Powys school which would have been only about 1/2 mile from where he lived in Eastbrook.

David almost certainly left school aged 14, i.e. about 1911/1912. According to one of the newspaper reports below, he worked selling newspapers (The Evening Express). But according to article on the People's Collection Wales he worked at Ysguborgoch farm in St Andrews Major to start with before moving with the farmer (a Mr Jones) to Hollybush farm just outside Cowbridge. Perhaps the newspaper selling was while he was at school or in his spare time. The same article suggested that as just a boy aged 16, "his prize possessions were his Raleigh bicycle and a mouth organ."

War broke out in the summer of 1914 and by 4th August Britain had declared war on Germany. Sadly David's service records don't seem to have survived, although again De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour provides useful information, suggesting he joined up on 4th September 1914, just a month after war was declared. He would only have been 16 at this point, so must have lied about his age. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website confirms that he was a Private in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment and that his regimental number was G/1126. I can't reproduce the CWGC photo of the cemetery, but to see his page please click here.

I found this splendid photograph of new recruit volunteers at the Cowbridge railway station ready to depart on 1st September 1914 on People's Collection Wales. According the reports, David didn't sign up until 3 days after this photo was taken, so is unlikely to be amongst them, but it would have been a very similar scene when he did enlist. Some of the men in this photo look like they are just boys too.

You can now look at the Medal Roll cards from the first world war online. These show a soldier's name, rank and what medals they were entitled to. Due to copyright issues, I don't think I can reproduce the image of the medal card, so instead I've transcribed it:

His medal card suggests he would have been entitled to 3 medals. The British Medal was awarded to servicemen who served in a theatre of war between 5th August 1914 and 11th November 1918. The Victory Medal (Allied Victory Medal) was awarded for service in any operational theatre over the same time frame. The Star was awarded to all those who served in any theatre of war against Germany between 5th August 1914 and 31st December 1915. The medal card also details that he was first sent to France on 11th January 1915.

You can now download most regimental war diaries from WW1 so I have looked at the diaries for the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment. When David arrived in France, the 2nd Battalion were already there and he was one of 210 reinforcements. The battalion was stationed at Guinchy which was in the Somme region. The war diaries state that these reinforcements "went straight into the trenches when they arrived from Annequin where they had been billeted the night before. They were all Kitchener's August recruits. They seemed to be a good lot." David Miles was only just 17 and may never have left Wales before and found himself in the trenches being almost immediately shelled by the Germans.

The War Diaries detail the events of the day David died. The day started with an issue of tea and rum at 3.30am - possibly the last bit of warmth and comfort he would have received. The diary then goes on to describe the battalion advancing against the enemy with much gun fire. I don't know which company David was in, so can't tell his exact role in all of this. By the end of the day 2 officers and 101 other ranks of his battalion had been killed and many more injured. David was presumably one of the 101 killed, although none of the other ranks are named. His body was never found. The fighting that day was part of the Battle of Aubers Ridge, which was considered a disaster for the British and was the worst day of the war for the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment. You can read more about that dreadful day here. David died on 9th May 1915 at Richebourg St. Vaast.

The news of his death reached Wales fairly quickly and by 18th May it had been reported in the local newspapers. The image below is taken from the Western Mail on 18th May 1915. Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. Image reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)

The next newspaper extract is from Western Mail on 22nd May 1915 and gives the added information that David used to sell the local newspaper. Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. Image reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)

The 3rd newspaper extract is from Glamorgan Gazette on 21st May 1915. This one seems more personal describing him as "only a lad". Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. Image reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)

David has no known grave but is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial in France. He is one of thousands of men listed on the memorial there for whom there is no known grave. He is also commemorated back home on the Dinas Powys War Memorial.

The final piece of documentation I could find for David Miles was the Army Register of Soldiers' Effects. This document showed that at the time of his death he had £2.5s.3d owed him, which was paid to his father. His mother subsequently received the £3 War Gratuity (his father having died by then). Not much to show for the ultimate sacrifice by a 17 year old lad.

So far I've only found one photo of David. The photo below comes from De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour. It looks like it's been taken from a newspaper, but I've not been able to find it anywhere. The entry also says that "he was a great favourite in the regt. and his officers described him as a fearless and efficient soldier". If anyone else has any more photos of David Miles, please do get in touch. E-mail: n.rowberry@btinternet.com

David's cousin/adopted brother Edward "Ted" Miles was also killed in WW1. He died of wounds on 31st December 1917 at Dozinghem. I've not been able to find much about Ted Miles, so if anyone can shed any light, I'd love to hear from them.

In researching David's final days, several sites have been invaluable, so I've included links to some of them here.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission:

The National Archives at Kew:

The British Newspaper Archive:

The National Library of Wales:

If any of the above is of further interest, please feel free to contact me at: n.rowberry@btinternet.com

Nicky Rowberry 2024

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Peasants to Puddles - My Family History. By Nicky Rowberry