Private Arthur Villeneuve was born in Peckham, south London on 16^th June 1896, the eldest child of Albert and Amelia Villeneuve (nee Wells), which was also the place of his parents’ birth.

We can trace the family’s ancestry back to the French Huguenots living in Berlin.

Arthur’s father, Albert, was employed by the Salvation Army Assurance Society and his job meant they lived in various parts of England, including Coventry, Rotherham and Wolverhampton. The 1911 Census shows the family, now consisting of 8 children, living in Northampton and Arthur is employed in the office of the Temperance Hall Company.

By the time of the First World War, they had moved from Northampton to Pontypridd in south Wales. Arthur was employed by Mr Hopkin Morgan, a JP and owner of bakeries, as a clerk as he had studied commercial subjects in Northampton.

Arthur was a member of the Salvation Army and played in the band at Pontypridd.

Arthur enlisted in the Welsh Guards in June 1915, with the Service Number 1718, and initially served in France. He later served in Ypres in Flanders and wrote about the devastation he saw as the town was bombed and lay in ruins, which had a great effect upon him. He was often on guard duty.

Arthur was killed by a shell whilst on guard duty, together with a fellow soldier, Private Henry Weaver (1720) on 8^th April 1916, aged nearly 20 years. They are buried side by side in Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, situated on the edge of town. Arthur was a popular member of his regiment as shown in the condolence letters sent by the chaplain, his corporal, fellow soldiers, his friends, and members of the family. The corporal wrote after Arthur’s death that he was the best man in his regiment during training.

We have been able to visit the Ypres Reservoir Cemetery a number of times to lay flowers on his grave, and also of his friend, Henry Weaver.  

Arthur is commemorated at the Ynysangharad Memorial Park, Pontypridd, on the Roll of Honour dedicated to all those who served and died in conflict. His name is engraved on a black granite plaque on the Memorial Wall and there are 821 names remembered there.

I wrote a book about the life of Arthur Villeneuve entitled ‘The Young Man in the Photograph’ published by Writing the Past.  A copy of the book has been given to libraries/archives where Arthur lived: Northampton, Pontypridd and Southwark. A copy of the book has also been donated to the Welsh Guards Museum in Oswestry and the Flanders Field Museum library/archives in Ypres, Belgium. This Museum has a focus on World War One, and I have been able to visit both places in the past year.