Lewis William MARLES-THOMAS (1876-1917)

Lewis William Marles-Thomas (1876-1917) was a pupil at Christ College, Brecon, from 1888-1890.  His name is mentioned in a letter written by Mela Brown Constable to her fiancé, Cyril Sladden.  Cyril would not have known him, but Jack Sladden would have been a contemporary.

Lewis Marles-Thomas was born at Llandyssul, Cardiganshire, in 1876, the son of the late Reverend William Marles-Thomas and his wife, Mary.  His father, who died in 1879, has been called “the founder of modern Unitarianism in Wales”.

He was in the Mercantile Marine and was Second Mate on SS Daleby (West Hartlepool), an Admiralty transport, when the vessel was sunk by a torpedo fired by German submarine U-70 in the Atlantic, approximately 180 nautical miles forth-west of Fastnet on 29th April 1917.  She was en route from Huelva to Garston with a cargo of copper and silver ore.

Lewis Marles-Thomas is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, which stands on the south side of the gardens of Trinity Square.  It commemorates the men of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who have no grave but the sea.  He is also named on the Aberystwyth war memorial.