John Edmund MATHIAS,
2nd Lieutenant.,
5th Battalion, Welsh Regiment

Born - Nelson, Glamorgan on 24th December, 1878

Died -  2nd October, 1916 at Kinmel Park, Flintshire aged 37yrs (drowned)
Buried at Llanfabon Cemetery, Nelson

Commonwealth War Graves Commission show the date of death as 11th October, 1916.

John Edmund MATHIAS was the son of William Henry MATHIAS, J.P. and Alderman, and Rachel MATHIAS who came to the area from Porth in the Rhondda Valleys.
John also had a brother called William Thomas MATHIAS.

William Henry MATHIAS was born on 5th January 1845 and died on 8th May 1922. Rachel was born a Thomas, in Mynyddislwyn, Monmouthshire on 19th January, 1843 and died on 1st July 1914.

They are all buried together in a large family grave (below) which is situated in Llanfabon (Old) Cemetery, Nelson.

John Edmund and William Thomas are not the only children of William Henry and Rachel Mathias. In all, they had eight children. In addition to the above, they are:

James - was born in 1867
Lizzie - was born in 1870
Richard - was born in 1872
Mary - was born in 1874, and
Rachel L - was born in 1876
Emily - born in 1885

In 1891, William Henry was listed as being a railway contractor, James was a civil engineer and Richard was a medical student.

James later married an Eveline Jones and had five known children:
Dorothy - b.1897
Frederick William - b.1898; d.1955 - served as Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps and was awarded the Military Medal,
Mary Gwendoline - b. 1900, but died in 1907
Patrick Richard P. - b.1904; d.1981 and,
Rachel Eveline S. - b.1910; d.1996.

James and Eveline made their home at The Hollies, Nelson.

Some of the family information has been kindly provided by Miranda Mitchley