British Soldiers at Mons, August 1914
Sunday (August 24) marks the 100th anniversary of the death of PC Albert Appleton, the first police officer from the predecessor forces of South Wales Police to be killed in the First World War.
He was amongst the first British casualties of the war. At the outbreak of war in August 1914 many police officers from across Wales fought for their country and by the end of the war 90 had died from the South Wales police area alone, with many more wounded.
Albert, a Swansea policeman, was the first of these officers to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country when he was killed in the battle at Mons in Belgium, seeking to halt the advance of the German armies into France. The Lance Corporal was killed on August 24, during fierce fighting. He was only 25 years of age.
According to an article in the South Wales Weekly Post, Albert was called to serve at the commencement of war on August 4, 1914 and had “a send off at Landore Police Station.” One of his fellow officers had said that Albert “would return with the VC”. The report states that Albert “replied with much gusto that Victoria Cross or no it would be a glorious death to fall fighting the country’s cause.”
Albert was born in Staines, Middlesex in 1889 to Henry and Harriet Appleton. He became a regular soldier and served before the First World War in India as a Private and was a musician in the 2nd Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment.
On leaving the Army he joined Swansea Borough Police on March 8, 1913 and was stationed at Landore Police station where he also lived. His activities as a constable are referred to in local newspaper articles which report that with the help of a colleague he rescued an 11-year-old boy from a slag tip near Morriston after he had become overcome by fumes.
On another occasion he is also reported to have arrested a 64 year old woman for stealing four pairs of shoes from a shop in Woodfield Street in Morriston. Fining her £5, the Court Chairman described her as an “incorrigible character” due to her previous appearances before the court and her six convictions for larceny. In keeping with his previous service in the Army, Albert was also a member of the Police Band, playing the clarinet.
At the outbreak of war Albert joined the 1st Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment which was mobilised as part of the 5th Division of the British Expeditionary Force. The Battalion was then based in Northern Ireland and on August 14 sailed on the SS Antony from Belfast to Le Havre in France where it arrived on August 16. The Battalion then moved south and took part in the battle at Mons where Albert was killed. The South Wales Weekly Post report concluded by saying “his companions have lost a good pal” and Albert had been engaged to a woman from Swansea and they had intended marrying at the end of 1914.
At its meeting on September 29, 1914 the Swansea Watch Committee expressed regret at Albert’s death and passed a vote of sympathy with his relatives and appreciation of his services. Albert is buried at the Communal Cemetery in the village of Houdain Lez Bavay in Northern France. His is the only Commonwealth War Grave in the Cemetery.
South Wales Police Chief Constable, Peter Vaughan, said: “During the First World War many police officers from our predecessor forces; Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea, Cardiff, Neath and Glamorgan, found themselves serving King and Country, on battlefields far away from home and the communities they had previously served.
“PC Appleton was the very first officer out of 90 from South Wales to lay down his life for his country. Often it is the individual stories, like that of PC Appleton, which help to bring the enormity of war into perspective and allow us to fully appreciate the sacrifices that were made to preserve the freedom of this country.”
