Drum Major Sergeant Griffiths - Waterloo Commemoration - Gilwern

A short remembrance service will be held at 6.30pm on Thursday 18th June, at St.Elli's Church, Gilwern, Monmouthshire, at the grave of Thomas Griffiths, a former Royal Welsh Fusilier of 26 years service who fought at the battle of Waterloo. He was the Drum Major Sergeant at that battle.

The 18th will be the 200th anniversary of the great battle of Warterloo, which signaled the end of the Napoleonic Wars of 1803 - 1815 and made way for the British Empire to become the foremost world power for the next century. Hopefully a wreath will be laid by member of The Royal Welsh, an antecedent of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. The medals of Thomas Griffiths (now in private ownership) will also, it is hoped, be on display.

There is an open invitation to anyone who would like to attend this small ceremony. The organisers are hoping someone from the regiment might like to lay a wreath.

More detail on Thomas:
Thomas Griffiths was born in Carnavon in 1778 and became a Cordwainer. He enlisted in the 23rd Regiment of Foot in Norwich on 30th September 1807 at the age of 29 with the rank of Drummer. He was promoted Corporal in April 1908. By 16th january 1809 he had reached the rank of sergeant and was present under Maj Gen William Carr Beresford at the Battle of Corruna, Northern Spain for which he later received the Military general Service Medal with Bar 'Corruna'.

On 25th September 1810 he was promoted to Drum Major Sergeant . It was in this rank that he fought at the Battle of Waterloo in the 4th Brigade of Lt. Colonel Hugh Henry Mitchell, fighting in actions near Hougoumont Farm on the 18th June.

He subsequently served in Gibraltar and was finally discharged as unfit for further service due to chronic rheumatism on 12th November 1831 after 26 years and 44 days with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. The next recorded evidence for him is when he appears living with his Daughter in law Jane Evans in the Toll House in Llangenny in the 1851 census. In the 1861 census he is still living with his daughter in law but at a cottage near the Crown Inn, Blackrock, Clydach.

The ledger stone in St.Elli's church bears testament to the owners undoubted pride in his service of 26 years with the colours.




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