Perrins | Hubert Raymond
Biography
Hubert Raymond Perrins is born on 15th November, 1923, He was the youngest of 5 children born to Thomas and Harriet Perrins at 36 Freeman Street in the Brynhyfryd area of Swansea. Hubert had been named after his uncle, Hubert Perrins, who had died shortly before his birth on 12th October, 1923 aged 22. His siblings were, William Glanville known as Glyn, born 29th June, 1910; Thomas Frank Perrins known as Frank, born 24th August, 1912; Edna May born 8th October, 1914 and Winifred born 17 June,1920.
Hubert attended Brynhyfryd Infants and Junior Schools, a five-minute walk from their house in Freeman Street, from 5 to 11 years of age. Like all children of his age when he was 11 he transferred to the senior school in Manselton and left when he was 15 years old.
At the time of his enlistment Hubert had been working as a labourer in the barmill department for Messrs. Baldwins a tinplate works based in nearby Landore. Hubert’s father and other relatives also worked there.
Hubert was an accomplished musician having learnt to play the guitar and loved to play during his spare time for family and friends.
Like all the family he regularly attended Wesley Methodist church in Eaton Road, Brynhyfryd. His father supplied the church with flowers, mainly chrysanthemums, grown in a greenhouse in the back garden of their home and his mother helped to clean the church and arranged the flowers ready for the daily services. Hubert also taught Sunday school for the children at the church every Sunday when not working.
Family history
Hubert’s great grandfather, William Perrins (1823 – 1903) and his wife Jane, nee Abraham, (1821 – 1905) had married in1846 in Littlehempston in Devon and had one daughter Mary Elizabeth (1847 – 1849) before moving to Chepstow where they had another 2 daughters, Jane (1849 – 1850) and Mary Ann (1850 – ) and then finally to Swansea soon after. William was a railway labourer whilst in Chepstow. By 1861 they had moved to the Brynhyfryd area of Swansea where William found work as a labourer in the nearby copper and smelting works. From 1853 William and Jane had a further 5 children – William (1853 – 1923) who was Hubert’s grandfather, John (1859 – 1936), Richard (1860 – 1941), Sarah Ann (1863 – 1933), Abraham (1867 – 1939). Most of the family remained in and around the Brynhyfryd/Cwmbwrla/Manselton area with William and Jane’s sons also working in Copper and Tinplate works.
In 1901, William and Jane were living at 12 Caerowland Street, Manselton with their youngest son Abraham. William’s occupation had been a Copper smelter in a local foundry which was also the occupation of Abraham.
Hubert’s grandfather had married Ann Beynon, Hubert’s grandmother, on 16th April, 1879 in Swansea and from 1879 until 1904 had 10 children – William John (1879 – 1935), Mary Ann (1881 – ), Thomas, Hubert’s father (1883 – 1967), Robert (1885 – 1955), Sarah (1887 – ), Gilbert (1889 – 1979), Emma (1891 – ), Sophia (1893 – 1960), Hubert (1901 – 1923), Edward (1904 – 1904).
By 1921 the family had moved to a rented accommodation at 36 Freeman Street. William was by this time widowed, and his son Thomas, Hubert’s father, and his family had moved in with him. Hubert’s grandmother, Mary, Harriet’s mother, was also living with them.
The family remained at 36 Freeman Street, Hubert’s sister Edna and her husband, having moved in with Thomas and Harriet after Hubert’s death and remained there until the house was sold in 2012 shortly after Edna’s death.
Military career
Very little is known by the family about Hubert’s service in the Royal Artillery. It isn’t known at what point Hubert joined his regiment. However, the 33 Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery landed on Sword Beach on D-Day as part of 3 Division. They were involved in heavy fighting in Normandy and in the bombardment fired before Operation Goodwood on 18 July 1944. At the beginning of September, they left for Belgium and Holland, acting as right-flank protection for Operation Market-Garden, the attempt to smash a way across the Rhine by way of Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem. The Allied advance was outrunning its supplies, and for a while the Division had to eat German rations: “The honey biscuits and frozen vegetables were approved, but the meat was not popular”. After the failure of Market-Garden, in October 1944, 3 Division was involved in the successful capture of the village of Overloon, a costly and bloody battle. For the next four months, 3 Division held the bank of the River Maas from Cuijk to Vierlingsbeek. However, on 28 October 1944, German counter-battery fire struck 33 Field, with over a hundred shells raining down on the 25-pounder gun positions. Hubert was one of their ten casualties killed that day. He was injured but died later that day from wounds sustained.
He was temporarily buried on the Rieterdreef in Overloon (near Huysmans) with a total of five of the ten fatalities of the volcano hit on 28 October 1944; D. C. Langham-Mason, G. R. Olsen, A. C. Pearce and Aylmer Penrose. In May 1947, they were all reburied in Overloon War Cemetery on Plot I, Row E.
Hubert’s parents, with the aid of the Royal British Legion and residents of Overloon, were able to visit his resting place. His sister, Edna and her son, daughter in law and granddaughter also visited his grave in 1987. Hubert is also commemorated on his parents’ grave in Morriston Cemetery in Swansea. His guitar remains with and is cared for by the family.
