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Tom was killed in the War. I am trying to find out where and how.
In 1901 he was living at Highgate Ffestiniog, 15 years old and described as a Draper's apprentice.Also living there were David Davies the father, Maggie aged 19, Ellen ( Nell) aged 17, and Jane aged 13. An older sister Elizabeth died in 1899 and an older brother Ellis ( born in 1880) has moved away.
I don't know where Tom enlisted or in what regiment. He has disappeared from the 1911 Census and if he was by then living away he could have enlisted wherever he was living. We know that Ellis became a teacher in Bluecoats school in Liverpool and wonder if he and Thomas may have lodged together there but we can't find them. I have just returned from Ypres and in the large book of names of every British soldier who died in the Great War I found the name Tom Davies and Cheshire Regiment.
Can you help me
1. Find out where and how Thomas died
2. In order to find this out it would help to know where he lived when he enlisted and what regiment he was in
3. I would asdo like to know where Ellis trained as a teacher.
With thanks

For the benefit of helpers:

1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census

Highgate, Festiniog, Ffestiniog, Merionethshire, Wales

David Davies Head Widower Male 48 1853 Slate Quarry Man Festiniog, Merionethshire, Wales
Maggie Davies Daughter Single Female 19 1882 - Festiniog, Merionethshire, Wales
Ellin Davies Daughter Single Female 17 1884 - Festiniog, Merionethshire, Wales
Thomas Davies Son Single Male 15 1886 Draper's Apprentice Festiniog, Merionethshire, Wales
Jane Davies Daughter Single Female 13 1888 - Festiniog, Merionethshire, Wales


and:

1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census

Pant Llwyd, Festiniog, Merionethshire, Wales

David Davies Head Widower Male 38 1853 Slate Quarryman Merionethshire, Wales
Lizzie Davies Daughter - Female 14 1877 - Merionethshire, Wales
Ellis Davies Son - Male 12 1879 - Merionethshire, Wales
Maggie Davies Daughter - Female 9 1882 - Merionethshire, Wales
Ellen Davies Daughter - Female 7 1884 - Merionethshire, Wales
Thomas Davies Son - Male 5 1886 - Merionethshire, Wales
Jane Davies Daughter - Female 3 1888 - Merionethshire, Wales
Ann Jones Servant Widow Female 33 1858 Domestic Servant Anglesey, Wales

DAVIES, THOMAS
Service Number 185

Died 03/07/1916

Aged 22

1st Bn.
Welsh Guards

Son of David and Margaret Jane Davies, of 8, Victoria Terrace, Sea Side, Llanelly.


Buried at LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY

Location: West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Number of casualties: 10121

Cemetery/memorial reference: VIII. B. 43A.

https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/435094/davies,-thomas/

Census 1881, for name of his mother, Jane:

1881 England, Wales & Scotland Census

Pant Llwyd, Festiniog, Ffestiniog, Merionethshire, Wales

>>>David Davies Head Married Male 28 1853 Quarryman Festiniog, Merionethshire, Wales
>>>>Jane Davies Wife Married Female 26 1855 Quarryman Wife Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, Wales
Lizzie J Davies Daughter Single Female 4 1877 - Festiniog, Merionethshire, Wales
Ellis Davies Son Single Male 2 1879 - Festiniog, Merionethshire, Wales

Tom (Thomas) in 1911?


1911 Census For England & Wales

102 and 103 High Street Merthyr-Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, Wales

Isaac Williams Boarder Single Male 33 1878 Drapery Manager Ciliau Devon
Thomas Howells Boarder Single Male 17 1894 Drapery Assistant Merthyr Cardigan Glam
Arthur Probert Boarder Single Male 22 1889 Drapery Assistant Pentre Rhondda Glam
Alfred Thomas Harper Boarder Single Male 24 1887 Drapery Assistant St Dogmaels Glam
>>>>>>>>Thomas Davies Boarder Single Male 25 1886 Drapery Assistant Festiniog Pembrokeshire
Hedley Osborne Boarder Single Male 16 1895 Drapery Apprentice Cardiff Glam Monmouthshire
Gwladys Davies Boarder Single Female 21 1890 Drapery Assistant Cilfynydd Glam
Elizabeth Jane Roberts Boarder Single Female 23 1888 Drapery Assistant Pontlottyn Glam
Harriet Francis Boarder Single Female 17 1894 Drapery Assistant Aberdare Glam
Margaret Davies Boarder Single Female 36 1875 Drapery Assistant Brecon Breconshire
Celia Jones Boarder Single Female 29 1882 Book Keeper Gray Breconshire
Elizabeth McKay Boarder Single Female 67 1844 Housekeeper Edinburgh Edinburgh
Annie Griffiths Boarder Single Female 22 1889 Servant Merthyr Glam
Maggie Davies Boarder Single Female 18 1893 Servant Troedyrhiw Glam
Beatrice Chappell Boarder Single Female 25 1886 Millener Bridgend Glam

Ellis in 1911 at Blue Coats ?

1911 Census For England & Wales

Church Road Wavertree, Wavertree, Lancashire, England

Name: Ellis Davies
Age in 1911: 33
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1878
Relation to Head: Assistn Master (Master)
Gender: Male
Birth Place: Festiniog, Merioneth
Civil Parish: Wavertree
County/Island: Lancashire
Country: England
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: School Teacher
Registration district: West Derby
Registration District Number: 455
Sub-registration district: Wavertree
ED, institution, or vessel: 40-41
Piece: 22693
Household Members:
Name

That's him in the census so if he was there when he enlisted he may have joined one of the South Wales battalions.
However the cwgc entry is not him. His parents were David and Jane and they didn't live in Llanelly/i. I have a note that he had two children Betty and Jack so he married between 1911 and whenever he left for war.

Ellis in 1901 at an Industrial School in Manchester:

First name(s) Ellis
Last name Davies
Relationship Asst Schoolmaster
Marital status Single
Sex Male
Age 22
Birth year 1879
Birth town Festiniog
Birth town as transcribed FESTINIOG
Birth place Wales
Birth place other as transcribed -
Birth county Merionethshire
Birth county as transcribed MERIONETHSHIRE
Occupation Schoolmaster
House name -
House number -
Street -
Town -
Parish South Manchester
Country England
County Lancashire
Municipal ward Ardwick
Registration district Chorlton
Other household member first name(s) -
Other household member last name -
Archive reference RG13
Piece number 3692
Folio 205
Page 1
Record set 1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census
Category Census, land & surveys

If you look at the CWGC site Malyon mentioned, you will see there are a lot of men named Thomas or T Davies who died in WWI.

Some entries have extra information such as parentage or names of a wife to help identify them, others have little more than name, rank and regiment. Again, some have age at death, some do not.

You could go through them to see if you can identify Tom.

https://www.cwgc.org/find/find-war-dead

How do you know Tom was killed in 1916?

Is there any information on the Ffestiniog WWI memorial?

His death in 1916 was noted on a family tree drawn up by his niece ( my mother in law). Yes he is mentioned on the memorial in Llan but only with the most basic of information. The online info says the details are held by the archives dept in Dolgellau. We emailed them a week ago but have not had a response however they have a restricted service and only open two days a week.
I am astounded by the speed at which you have found these census details and my failure to do so. Do you have access to other sites which allow you to search and filter according to place of birth?

From the National Archives. bear in mind Ellis seems to have already been teaching by census 1901, at the Industrial School in Chorlton, Manchester.

"Different types of teacher training were established and carried out at different times:

Before the Education Act 1902, the training of teachers was largely carried out under a pupil-teacher system .
Training schools and colleges (also called ‘normal schools’). Initially started by the charities the British Society and the National Society in the early 19th century to train teachers in their elementary schools
Universities became involved in teacher training in 1890 when ‘day training colleges’ attached to universities were established
In 1902 the training of teachers became established as a form of higher education, enabling the new local education authorities (LEAs) to make secondary schools available for the training of pupil-teachers"

I'm not finding Ellis listed on the Teachers' Registration Council Registers 1914-1948.

I found them on FindMyPast, and put in a date of birth - went for the more unusual names at times like Maggie and Lizzie, and for the 1901 censuses and earlier looked for Festiniog - I still got a lot of entries but skimmed by year and location.

Ellis was easier to find as slightly more unusal, and you'd already informed us he went into teaching, which made him easier to identify in 1901, and 1911.

Some of those who died in 1916. I have not listed where the age or other details eliminate them as your Tom:


SerjeantDAVIES, THOMAS

Service Number 1329

Died 18/07/1916

1st/1st
Royal Garrison Artillery



PrivateDAVIES, T

Service Number 38891

Died 26/10/1916

25th (Tyneside Irish) Bn.
Northumberland Fusiliers



PrivateDAVIES, THOMAS

Service Number 27256

Died 29/11/1916

3rd Bn.
Northamptonshire Regiment

Husband of Elsie Davies, of Horse Shoe Inn, Earls Barton, Northampton.



Lance CorporalDAVIES, T

Service Number 14276

Died 08/05/1916

13th Bn.
The King's (Liverpool Regiment)


Lance CorporalDAVIES, T

Service Number 13712

Died 26/09/1916

9th Bn.
Welsh Regiment


CorporalDAVIES, THOMAS

Service Number 19125

Died 10/07/1916

13th Bn.
Welsh Regiment


PrivateDAVIES, THOMAS

Service Number 22084

Died Between 14/09/1916 and 17/09/1916

3rd Bn.
Grenadier Guards

GunnerDAVIES, T A

Service Number 51109

Died 26/07/1916

30th Siege Bty.
Royal Garrison Artillery



Lance CorporalDAVIES, T

Service Number 10789

Died 04/04/1916

2nd Bn.
South Wales Borderers



PrivateDAVIES, THOMAS

Service Number 13119

Died 04/09/1916

1st Bn.
Devonshire Regiment



CorporalDAVIES, THOMAS

Service Number 13736

Died 03/07/1916

9th Bn.
Royal Welsh Fusiliers


PrivateDAVIES, THOMAS

Service Number 14255

Died 07/09/1916

9th Bn.
Royal Dublin Fusiliers


PrivateDAVIES, T

Service Number 11024

Died 07/11/1914

2nd Bn.
Royal Welsh Fusiliers

SapperDAVIES, THOMAS JOHN

Service Number 82577

Died 07/12/1916

R.T.C.
Royal Engineers


PrivateDAVIES, T W

Service Number 10364

Died 08/04/1916

2nd Bn.
Royal Welsh Fusiliers


Lance CorporalDAVIES, THOMAS WILLIAM

Service Number 24151

Died 05/03/1916

3rd Div. Signals
Royal Engineers



PrivateDAVIES, T G

Service Number 21873

Died 01/09/1916

14th Bn.
Royal Welsh Fusiliers


PrivateDAVIES, THOMAS PRYCE

Service Number 8179

Died 06/10/1916

4th Bn.
Royal Welsh Fusiliers



Lance CorporalDAVIES, THOMAS REES

Service Number 24748

Died 12/07/1916

17th Bn.
Royal Welsh Fusiliers

In 2004, someone called Alison Arnold was researching a Thomas Davies -

could he be your man ?? 1918, not 1916.

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/8087-soldiers-from-blaenau-ffestiniog/
(See her post dated 9 January 2004)


Surname Davies

First name Thomas

11th Bn Cheshire Regiment

260071

Killed in Action 15 March 1918

Arras Memorial Bay 5 and 6

Born Ffestiniog

Enlisted Ffestiniog

Formerly 228276 Monmouth Regiment




CWGC doesn't even give as much info as that about him :-


Private DAVIES, THOMAS

Service Number 260071

Died 15/03/1918

11th Bn.
Cheshire Regiment

The same man, from Ancestry:

Thomas Davies
in the UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919
Name: Thomas Davies
Birth Place: Festiniog, Merioneth
Death Date: 15 Mar 1918
Death Place: France and Flanders
Enlistment Place: Tredegar, Mon.
Rank: Private
Regiment: Cheshire Regiment
Battalion: 11th Battalion
Regimental Number: 260071
Type of Casualty: Killed in action
Theatre of War: Western European Theatre
Comments: Formerly 228276, Mon. R


His effects were to go to his widow Maggie. <<<<<<<<<<

Thomas Davies
in the UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929
Name: Thomas Davies
Gender: Male
Death Date: 15 Mar 1918
Rank: Private
Regiment: 11th Cheshire
Regimental Number: 26071

Pure conjecture - - but this marriage would fit with your Thomas perhaps having been in Merthyr in 1911:

Marriages Sep 1913 (>99%)
Davies Thomas Robinson Merthyr T. 11a 1570
Robinson Maggie Davies Merthyr T. 11a 1570