Worth a Look

 I've recently discovered a Facebook page dedicated to 'war memorials and military graves in the UK'. Some regular fascinating posts and of course you can join if you want to put up your own photo's. I've contributed a couple so far and fully intend to post more. Have a look if you're interested, using the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WarMemorialsUK/?multi_permalinks=1112889309145146%2C1112198662547544&notif_id=1605722533023141&notif_t=group_activity

Also, a reminder that my book 'Sites of Remembrance: the war memorials of Shropshire' is still available for only £14.95 inc free postage and packing. Drop me an email if you would like a copy or you can use the Paypal 'Buy Now' button here on the blog.

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A Rare Survival

Meifod is a village just north of Welshpool.  Its main memorial is an unusual one, consisting of a copper sheet set into the outside of the church wall. One of the names listed is that of Charles Watkin Williams Wynn, only son of the ‘Big House’ in Meifod. 

He left Eton College early to sign up during the fir wave of patriotic enthusiasm at the outbreak of the First World War. After a few weeks’ training, he was gazetted as a Second Lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards. He was killed at Ypres in October 1914 only three days after he had joined his regiment at the front, aged 18. He also has a memorial inside the church. The striking symbolic relief above its inscription incorporates two figures looking up at a cross. Attached to the wall next to it is a rare survival, a wooden battlefield cross with his name stamped on a small metal tab on it. Although over a century old now, these crosses seem to bring back the horrors of the battlefield with startling immediacy. During battles such as Ypres, men were killed by the thousand each day and were buried nearby in hastily created cemeteries with the graves often marked by these wooden crosses. Later, when the Red Cross’s Ambulance Unit (later to become the Imperial and then Commonwealth War Graves Commission) set about the huge task of identifying as many of the bodies as possible and re-interring them in the formal cemeteries we recognise so well today, the wooden crosses were offered to the families of the deceased. Some were buried in local churchyards, others – like that of Charles Williams Wynn – placed on display inside the church.

In her autobiographical work ‘Testament of Youth’, Vera Brittain described the emotions the arrival of the cross could generate: “It’s such a queer feeling to have it here, when it’s been above him all that time … I am sorry in a way that they have removed it … It’s a strange world – where the symbols of people count so much because they’re all one has left”.

Brecon remembers the Falklands War

Despite its long military connections, the small city of Brecon had no memorial to the Falkland Islands war. This was rectified however with the dedication of a memorial stone and bench on 30 September 2017 in Brecon Peace Gardens. The ceremony was well attended by veterans of the conflict and by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, the Mayor of Brecon and the MP for the constituency.  The new memorial commemorates the 255 British servicemen and three Falkland Islander civilians who lost their lives during the 1982 Falklands conflict. The memorial bench was unveiled by Mr J Blair of the Royal British Legion (Brecon Branch) and the stone by Mr Alan Huckle, former Governor of the Falkland Islands (2006-10) and chairman of the Falkland Islands Association. 

Unveiling of the Falklands memorial

The memorial stone came from a local Welsh quarry near Builth Wells and the plaque was handcrafted from Welsh slate. The whole project was led by Mrs Jules Hore, a 1982 veteran who served in the Queen Alexandra Nursing Corps, and her husband, Drew Hore, formerly of the 6th battalion Light Infantry. Funds were raised in part from the Falklands 35th anniversary ‘Ride of Respect’ in which some 600 motorcyclists rode from Brecon to Cardiff on 18 June 2017 carrying the wreath of metal poppies which was laid at a service attended by the First Minister of Wales.

Brecon has a strong connection to the 1982 Falklands conflict since the 5th Brigade, which included a battalion of the Welsh Guards and the Gurkha Rifles, centred its pre-combat training in the area. There is also a close connection with the Parachute Regiment and the SAS. Thirty-six Welsh men were killed in the Falklands in 1982, mainly from the Welsh Guards and the SAS. The Gurkhas lost one man. Overall, 777 British Service personnel

were wounded in action during the conflict and many in the Task Force have since suffered from post-traumatic stress disorders; according to records, some 250 Falklands veterans have since taken their own lives. The erection of these memorials helps to keep memories of their sacrifice alive.

ABERHAFESP REMEMBERS

Aberhafesp war memorial

 The village of Aberhafesp lies about midway between Caersws and Newtown, stretching out along each side of a busy country lane. Its church – dedicated to St Gwynnog – stands at the top of a gentle rise and in early Spring is surrounded by swathes of snowdrops. The village war memorial stands near the entrance gate and is of an unusual and elegant design. Standing beside it you can enjoy beautiful views of the rolling Mid-Wales hills.


Attached to its base is a modern looking slate plaque inscribed with nine names and a brief description of how they came to meet their death near the village. It says: “In memory of the R.A.F. (V.R.) airmen who died as a result of a crash at Glascoed Farm on 23^rd January 1944. The Handley Page Halifax Bomber No DG 358 of 116 Heavy Conversion Unit from Faldingworth was struck by lightning.” The men range in age from 18 to 31 and come from places as far apart as Islington and Aberdeen. The plaque was laid in place in 1995 to mark fifty years since the end of the Second World War.

The 1995 plaque

Faldingworth was an airfield near Lincoln and the Bomber was on a training flight having it seems turned and begun its journey home. The weather however was appalling with torrential rain and high winds making for the worst possible flying conditions. Exactly what happened will never now be known, but the official report spoke of a stormcloud, lightning strike and also mentioned engine failure. The resultant crash at Glascoed Farm left all nine crew members dead. Recent years have seen a book published about the accident to go alongside the slate plaque and a beautiful framed tribute inside the church as witness that the men have not been forgotten locally and live on very much in the village’s communal memory. Their names I think are worth recording here:

Halifax Bomber

                        Paul Bennett, Pilot

                        Albert Clark, Air Gunner

                        Norman Fisher, Bomb Aimer

                        ER Gawler, Flight Engineer

                        John Gibb, Flight Engineer

                        David Ramsey, Flight Engineer

                        John Spriggs, Navigator

                        William Wareham, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner

                        William Wyatt, Air Gunner