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17th (1st Glamorgan) Battalion, Welch Regiment    17th (1st Glamorgan) Battalion, Welsh Regiment was raised in Cardiff in December 1914 as a Bantam Battalion. After initial training close to home they joined 43rd Division at Rhyl, they moved to Rhos in January 1915 and to Prees Heath in July where they transferred to 119th Brigade, 40th Division. In September they moved to Aldershot for final training and proceeded to France in June 1916 and the division concentrated near Lillers. They went into the front line near Loos and were later in action in The Battle of the Ancre on the Somme. In 1917 they saw action during The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, The capture of Fifteen Ravine, Villers Plouich, Beaucamp and La Vacquerie abd The Cambrai Operations, including the capture of Bourlon Wood in November. In early 1918 the army was reorganised and on the 9th of February 1918 the 17th Welsh were disbanded in France with troops transferring to other units. 21st Jan 1915 Good Billets  According to my grandfather, Idris Howells, the 17th Battalion, Welsh Reg were already in Rhos-on-Sea by 21 January 1915. In his letter home from the Cardrona boarding house, Rhos, he says that he has "...sent 8 leters since I have been here..." The men were put up in boarding houses: Cardrona in Everard Road, Rhos and Moorehouse, Colwyn Crescent, Rhos. He says it is "a lovely billet up here. Plenty of food and good food too. We have porridge and fried bacon for breakfast and two or three courses for dinner and sometimes cold meat for either tea or supper and boiled Cocoa. Second helpings of everything if you can eat it." 16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme 1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets 11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment 10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens 9th February 1916 Call Ups 2nd Jun 1916 On the Move 3rd June 1916 On the Move 4th June 1916 On the Move 5th June 1916 On the Move 6th June 1916 In Billets 7th June 1916 Orders 8th June 1916 Preparations 9th Jun 1916 Orders   9th Jun 1916 On the March 9th June 1916 Orders Received   9th June 1916 On the March   10th June 1916 Instruction 11th June 1916 Instruction 12th June 1916 Instruction 13th Jun 1916 Orders   13th June 1916 Instruction 14th June 1916 Instruction   15th June 1916 In Billets 16th Jun 1916 Training 17th Jun 1916 Orders 17th June 1916 Training 18th June 1916 Instruction   19th Jun 1916 Instruction   20th Jun 1916 Orders 20th Jun 1916 Instruction   21 Jun 1916 Orders 21st June 1916 Instruction   22nd June 1916 On the March   23rd Jun 1916 Baths 27th Jun 1916 Training 28th Jun 1916 Inspection 30th Jun 1916 Training 1st Jul 1916 In Billets 2nd Jul 1916 On the Move 3rd Jul 1916 On the Move   4th Jul 1916 Trench Work 6th Jul 1916 Trench Work   7th Jul 1916 Reliefs Complete   8th Jul 1916 In the Line 9th Jul 1916 Trench Work 10th Jul 1916 Quiet 11th Jul 1916 Reliefs Complete   12th Jul 1916 Working Party 13th Jul 1916 Working Parties 14th Jul 1916 Working Party 15th Jul 1916 Reliefs   16th Jul 1916 Enemy Artillery   17th Jul 1916 Patrols   18th Jul 1916 Patrols   19th Jul 1916 Reliefs Complete   20th Jul 1916 Orders   23rd Jul 1916 Working Parties   24th Jul 1916 Working Party   25th Jul 1916 Working Parties   26th Jul 1916 Working Parties   27th Jul 1916 Working Parties   28th Jul 1916 Working Parties   29th Jul 1916 Reliefs 30th Jul 1916 Relief Completed   31st Jul 1916 Grenades   1st Aug 1916 Grenades   2nd Aug 1916 Trench Work   3rd Aug 1916 Trench Work   4th Aug 1916 Trench Work   5th Aug 1916 Under Fire   6th Aug 1916 Gas   7th Aug 1916 Trench Work   8th Aug 1916 Trench Work   9th Aug 1916 Retaliation   10th Aug 1916 Relef   11th Aug 1916 Patrols 12th Aug 1916 Cellars   13th Aug 1916 Reliefs   14th Aug 1916 In Billets 16th Aug 1916 Reliefs   19th Aug 1916 In Billets 20th Aug 1916 In Billets 21st Aug 1916 In Billets 22nd Aug 1916 In Billets 24th Aug 1916 Reliefs Completed 25th Aug 1916 Wire   26th Aug 1916 Trench Work   27th Aug 1916 Under Fire   28th Aug 1916 Relief   29th Aug 1916 Storm   30th Aug 1916 Heavy Rain   31st Aug 1916 Trench Work   1st Sep 1916 Reliefs Complete 2nd Sep 1916 Shelling 3rd Sep 1916 Enemy Active 4th Sep 1916 Patrols 5th Sep 1916 Patrol   6th Sep 1916 Reliefs 8th Sep 1916 Brigade Reserve 9th Sep 1916 In Reserve 11th Sep 1916 Reliefs Completed 12th Sep 1916 Training 16th Sep 1916 Training 17th Sep 1916 Billets 18th Sep 1916 Reliefs 19th Sep 1916 Reliefs Complete 20th Sep 1916 Patrols   21st Sep 1916 Patrols   22nd Sep 1916 Under Fire   23rd Sep 1916 Reliefs   24th Sep 1916 Tower Demolished 25th Sep 1916 Trench Raid   25th Sep 1916 Trench Raid 25th Sep 1916 Patrols 26th Sep 1916 Artillery Active 27th Sep 1916 Reliefs 28th Sep 1916 In Reserve 1st Oct 1916 Reliefs Complete 2nd Oct 1916 In Support 5th Oct 1916 Reliefs 6th Oct 1916 Shelling   7th Oct 1916 Shelling   8th Oct 1916 Orders   9th Oct 1916 Reliefs Completed 10th Oct 1916 In Billets 11th Oct 1916 Orders   12th Oct 1916 Reliefs   13th Oct 1916 Working Parties   15th Oct 1916 Working Parties   16th Oct 1916 Reliefs 17th Oct 1916 Shelling 18th Oct 1916 Shelling 19th Oct 1916 Orders 20th Oct 1916 Reliefs Completed   21st Oct 1916 Intelligence 22nd Oct 1916 Trench Work 23rd Oct 1916 Patrols 24th Oct 1916 Patrols 25th Oct 1916 Patrols 26th Oct 1916 Enemy Aircraft   27th Oct 1916 Patrols 28th Oct 1916 Patrols 29th Oct 1916 Reliefs 30th Oct 1916 Preparations 31st Oct 1916 On the Move 1st Nov 1916 On the March 2nd Nov 1916 On the March 3rd Nov 1916 At Rest 4th Nov 1916 On the March 5th Nov 1916 On the March 14th Nov 1916 Training 15th Nov 1916 On the March 16th Nov 1916 Training 17th Nov 1916 On the March 18th Nov 1916 On the March 19th Nov 1916 Training 22nd Nov 1916 On the March 23rd Nov 1916 On the March 24th Nov 1916 On the March 9th Dec 1916 Training 10th Dec 1916 On the Move 11th Dec 1916 Training 12th Dec 1916 Training 18th Dec 1916 Training 25th Dec 1916 In Camp 26th Dec 1916 On the March 27th Dec 1916 Relief Complete 28th Dec 1916 Harsh Conditions 29th Dec 1916 Rations 30th Dec 1916 Artillery Active 31st Dec 1916 Reliefs 4th Jan 1917 Reliefs 7th Jan 1917 In Camp 8th Jan 1917 Reliefs 9th Jan 1917 Artillery Active 10th Jan 1917 Artillery Active 11th Jan 1917 Shelling 12th Jan 1917 Reliefs 13th Jan 1917 In Reserve 14th Jan 1917 In Reserve 15th Jan 1917 In Reserve 16th Jan 1917 Reliefs 17th Jan 1917 Trench Work 17th Jan 1917 Deserter 21st Jan 1917 In Reserve 22nd Jan 1917 Reliefs 25th Jan 1917 Reliefs 26th Jan 1917 Trench Work 27th Jan 1917 Reliefs 30th Jan 1917 In Camp 1st Feb 1917 In Camp 5th Feb 1917 Training 6th Feb 1917 Baths 7th Feb 1917 Innoculations 8th Feb 1917 Inspection 9th Feb 1917 Preparations 10th Feb 1917 On the March 11th Feb 1917 Reliefs Completed 12th Feb 1917 Working Parties 15th Feb 1917 Reliefs 16th Feb 1917 Artillery Active 17th Feb 1917 Shelling 18th Feb 1917 Communication Lost 19th Feb 1917 Reliefs Completed 21st Feb 1917 Reliefs 22nd Feb 1917 Reorganisation 23rd Feb 1917 In Camp 24th Feb 1917 In Camp 25th Feb 1917 In Camp 26th Feb 1917 Working Parties 27th Feb 1917 Training 28th Feb 1917 Working Party 1st Mar 1917 Concert 2nd Mar 1917 Regimental Dinner 3rd Mar 1917 Working Parties 4th Mar 1917 Working Parties 5th Mar 1917 Training 6th Mar 1917 Route March 7th Mar 1917 On the March 8th Mar 1917 Reliefs Complete 9th Mar 1917 Shelling   10th Mar 1917 Artillery Active   11th Mar 1917 Gas Shells   12th Mar 1917 Artillery Active 15th Mar 1917 Reliefs 16th Mar 1917 Orders 17th Mar 1917 On the March 18th Mar 1917 In Camp 19th Mar 1917 In Camp 20th Mar 1917 Reliefs 21st Mar 1917 Orders 22nd Mar 1917 Orders   23rd Mar 1917 Shelling   24th Mar 1917 Holding the Line   25th Mar 1917 Working Parties   27th Mar 1917 Working Parties   28th Mar 1917 Working Parties   29th Mar 1917 Working Parties   30th Mar 1917 Working Parties   31st Mar 1917 Working Parties   1st Apr 1917 Working Parties   2nd Apr 1917 Working Parties 3rd Apr 1917 Bathing 4th Apr 1917 Recce 5th Apr 1917 Instruction 6th Apr 1917 Training 7th Apr 1917 Relief Complete 8th Apr 1917 Working Parties 9th Apr 1917 Working Parties 10th Apr 1917 Working Parties 16th Apr 1917 Working Parties 17th Apr 1917 Reliefs 18th Apr 1917 In Reserve 20th Apr 1917 Relief   21st Apr 1917 Reliefs 22nd Apr 1917 Outposts 23rd Apr 1917 Preparations 24th Apr 1917 In Action   25th Apr 1917 Advance   26th Apr 1917 Machine Gun Silenced 27th Apr 1917 Patrol 28th Apr 1917 Recce   29th Apr 1917 Reliefs 30th Apr 1917 Reliefs   3rd May 1917 In Reserve 4th May 1917 Moving Forward 5th May 1917 Attack Made   6th May 1917 In Support   7th May 1917 Working Parties   8th May 1917 Working Parties   9th May 1917 Working Parties   10th May 1917 Working Parties   11th May 1917 Rockets   12th May 1917 Working Parties   13th May 1917 Working Parties   14th May 1917 Reliefs Complete   15th May 1917 Patrols   16th May 1917 Patrols   17th May 1917 Patrols   18th May 1917 Patrols   19th May 1917 Patrols   20th May 1917 Patrols   21st May 1917 In the Trenches   22nd May 1917 Trench Raids   23rd May 1917 In Reserve 24th May 1917 In Reserve 25th May 1917 In Reserve 26th May 1917 In Reserve 29th May 1917 In Reserve 30th May 1917 In Reserve 31st May 1917 Working Parties 1st Jun 1917 Working Parties 2nd Jun 1917 Working Parties 3rd Jun 1917 Reliefs   4th Jun 1917 Working Parties   5th Jun 1917 Working Parties   6th Jun 1917 Working Parties   7th Jun 1917 Working Parties   8th Jun 1917 Trench Work   9th Jun 1917 Patrols   10th Jun 1917 Trench Work   11th Jun 1917 Reliefs 12th Jun 1917 Reliefs Completed   13th Jun 1917 Patrols   14th Jun 1917 Patrols   15th Jun 1917 Reliefs   16th Jun 1917 Patrols   17th Jun 1917 Patrols   18th Jun 1917 Patrols   19th Jun 1917 Trench Raid 20th Jun 1917 Reliefs 21st Jun 1917 Baths 22nd Jun 1917 Training 23rd Jun 1917 Training 24th Jun 1917 Working Parties 25th Jun 1917 Field Day 26th Jun 1917 Sports 27th Jun 1917 Reliefs   28th Jun 1917 Trench Work   29th Jun 1917 Working Parties   30th Jun 1917 Working Parties   1st Jul 1917 Working Parties 2nd Jul 1917 Working Parties 3rd Jul 1917 Working Parties 4th Jul 1917 Working Parties 5th Jul 1917 Reliefs Complete 7th Jul 1917 Patrols 8th Jul 1917 Patrols 9th Jul 1917 Patrols 10th Jul 1917 Patrols 11th Jul 1917 Trench Raid 12th Jul 1917 Patrols 13th Jul 1917 Reliefs   14th Jul 1917 Working Parties   15th Jul 1917 Working Parties   16th Jul 1917 Working Parties   17th Jul 1917 Working Parties   18th Jul 1917 Working Parties   19th Jul 1917 Working Parties   20th Jul 1917 Working Parties   21st Jul 1917 Reliefs 22nd Jul 1917 Patrols 23rd Jul 1917 Wire 24th Jul 1917 Under Shellfire 25th Jul 1917 In the Trenches 26th Jul 1917 Patrols 27th Jul 1917 Patrols 28th Jul 1917 Patrols 29th Jul 1917 Reliefs   30th Jul 1917 Working Parties   31st Jul 1917 Training & Baths   1st Aug 1917 Training   2nd Aug 1917 Reliefs   3rd Aug 1917 Reliefs   4th Aug 1917 Training 5th Aug 1917 Training 6th Aug 1917 Training 7th Aug 1917 Reliefs 8th Aug 1917 In the Trenches 9th Aug 1917 Patrols 10th Aug 1917 Patrols 11th Aug 1917 In the Trenches 12th Aug 1917 In the Trenches 13th Aug 1917 In the Trenches 14th Aug 1917 In the Trenches 15th Aug 1917 Reliefs   16th Aug 1917 In Reserve   17th Aug 1917 Working Parties and Training   18th Aug 1917 Working Parties and Training   19th Aug 1917 Working Parties and Training   20th Aug 1917 Working Parties and Training   21st Aug 1917 Working Parties and Training   22nd Aug 1917 Working Parties and Training   23rd Aug 1917 Reliefs 24th Aug 1917 Patrols 25th Aug 1917 Patrols 26th Aug 1917 Patrols 27th Aug 1917 Reliefs Completed 28th Aug 1917 Patrols 29th Aug 1917 Patrols 30th Aug 1917 Patrols 31st Aug 1917 Patrols   1st Sep 1917 In Reserve   2nd Sep 1917 Working Parties   3rd Sep 1917 Working Parties   4th Sep 1917 Working Parties   5th Sep 1917 Working Parties   6th Sep 1917 Working Parties   7th Sep 1917 In Reserve   8th Sep 1917 Reliefs 9th Sep 1917 Patrols 10th Sep 1917 Patrols 11th Sep 1917 Patrols   12th Sep 1917 Patrols   13th Sep 1917 Patrols   14th Sep 1917 Patrols   15th Sep 1917 Patrols   16th Sep 1917 Reliefs   17th Sep 1917 In Reserve   18th Sep 1917 Working Parties   23rd Sep 1917 Working Parties   24th Sep 1917 Reliefs 25th Sep 1917 Shelling 26th Sep 1917 Patrols 27th Sep 1917 Patrols 28th Sep 1917 Patrols 29th Sep 1917 Patrols 30th Sep 1917 Patrols 1st Oct 1917 Patrols 2nd Oct 1917 Reliefs   3rd Oct 1917 In Reserve   7th Oct 1917 Reliefs   7th Oct 1917 Orders 8th Oct 1917 On the Move 9th Oct 1917 Inspection 10th Oct 1917 On the Move   10th Oct 1917 Orders   11th Oct 1917 On the Move   12th Oct 1917 In Billets 13th Oct 1917 In Billets 14th Oct 1917 Church Parade 15th Oct 1917 Training 16th Oct 1917 Training 21st Oct 1917 Church Parade 22nd Oct 1917 Training 23rd Oct 1917 Training   24th Oct 1917 Inspection 25th Oct 1917 Training 26th Oct 1917 Training 29th Oct 1917 On the March 30th Oct 1917 Training 31st Oct 1917 Training 1st Nov 1917 Training 2nd Nov 1917 Training 3rd Nov 1917 Training 4th Nov 1917 Church Parade 5th Nov 1917 Training 9th Nov 1917 Training 10th Nov 1917 Training 11th Nov 1917 Church Parade 13th Nov 1917 Training 15th Nov 1917 Training 16th Nov 1917 On the March 17th Nov 1917 On the March 18th Nov 1917 At Rest 19th Nov 1917 On the March 20th Nov 1917 At Rest 21st Nov 1917 On the March 22nd Nov 1917 On the March 23rd Nov 1917 Attack Made   25th Nov 1917 In Action   25th Nov 1917 In Action 26th Nov 1917 On the March 27th Nov 1917 On the Move 28th Nov 1917 In Billets 2nd Dec 1917 On the Move   3rd Dec 1917 In the Trenches   4th Dec 1917 In the Trenches   6th Dec 1917 In the Trenches   7th Dec 1917 In the Trenches   8th Dec 1917 Reliefs   9th Dec 1917 Working Parties   10th Dec 1917 Working Parties   11th Dec 1917 Working Parties   13th Dec 1917 Working Parties   14th Dec 1917 Reliefs   15th Dec 1917 In the Trenches 16th Dec 1917 In the Trenches 17th Dec 1917 In the Trenches 18th Dec 1917 In the Trenches 19th Dec 1917 In the Trenches 20th Dec 1917 Reliefs 21st Dec 1917 In Camp 23rd Dec 1917 In Camp 24th Dec 1917 In Camp 25th Dec 1917 In Camp 26th Dec 1917 Reliefs 27th Dec 1917 Patrols 28th Dec 1917 Patrols 29th Dec 1917 Patrols 30th Dec 1917 Patrols 31st Dec 1917 Patrols 1st Jan 1918 Relief Completed   2nd Jan 1918 Praise 3rd Jan 1918 Trench Work 4th Jan 1918 Trench Work 5th Jan 1918 Reliefs 6th Jan 1918 Artillery Active 7th Jan 1918 In the Front Line 8th Jan 1918 Patrols 9th Jan 1918 Reliefs 10th Jan 1918 In Camp 11th Jan 1918 In Camp 12th Jan 1918 Baths 13th Jan 1918 Reliefs Completed 14th Jan 1918 Patrols 15th Jan 1918 Wet 16th Jan 1918 Snipers 17th Jan 1918 Reliefs Completed 18th Jan 1918 Bathing 19th Jan 1918 Mud 20th Jan 1918 Enemy Artillery 21st Jan 1918 Reliefs 22nd Jan 1918 Sniping   23rd Jan 1918 Artillery Active   24th Jan 1918 In the Trenches   25th Jan 1918 Reliefs   26th Jan 1918 In Reserve 27th Jan 1918 Inspections   28th Jan 1918 In Camp 29th Jan 1918 Relief Complete 30th Jan 1918 Patrols 31st Jan 1918 Artillery Active   1st Feb 1918 Artillery Active 2nd Feb 1918 Reliefs 3rd Feb 1918 Working Parties 4th Feb 1918 Working Parties 5th Feb 1918 Reorganisation 6th Feb 1918 Inspection 7th Feb 1918 Reorganisation 8th Feb 1918 Draft 9th Feb 1918 On the Move   10th Feb 1918 Reorganisation 11th Feb 1918 Route March 12th Feb 1918 Inspection 13th Feb 1918 Lectures 14th Feb 1918 Bathing 15th Feb 1918 Bathing 16th Feb 1918 Reorganisation If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about 17th (1st Glamorgan) Battalion, Welch Regiment? There are:5760 items tagged 17th (1st Glamorgan) Battalion, Welch Regiment available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with 17th (1st Glamorgan) Battalion, Welch Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. Beynon Ernest William. Pte. (d.24th April 1917) Holland Frederick E.W.. Pte. (d.24th April 1917) Howells Idris. Pte. Hughes MM. James Davies. Sgt. Jones William Arthur. Pte. (d.18th April 1916) Merrett Ernest Nelson. Pte. (d.27th July 1917) Phillips Richard Thomas. L/Cpl. (d.24th Apr 1917) Thomas MM. Edmund. Thompson Arthur. Pte. (d.07/05/1917) All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records of 17th (1st Glamorgan) Battalion, Welch Regiment from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Looking for help with Family History Research?    Please see Family History FAQ's Please note: We are unable to provide individual research. Can you help? The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Announcements 19th Nov 2024     Please note we currently have a massive backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 264989 your submission is still in the queue, please do not resubmit. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to the Great War. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great battalion regiment artillery Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.    Edmund Thomas MM. 17th (1st Glamorgan) Battalion Welch Regiment Edmund Thomas was decorated with the MM, and was subsequently taken prisoner of war in April 1918 whilst serving with the 18th Battalion. A Canton boy from Cardiff, he later served in the Home Guard during the Second World War. Add to this record.   Pte. Frederick E.W. Holland 17th (1st Glamorgan) Battalion Welch Regiment (d.24th April 1917) Mum's family, the Hollands, were told that their son, Fred Holland was missing, killed in action. Two of his sisters and one of his brothers each named one of their children after him. Fast forward to 2016 and his sister Dolly's family received a letter regarding a service to have his remains to be reburied in Fifteen Ravine Commonwealth Graves Cemetery, outside the French village of Villers Plouich. Having believed that their uncle's body was never found Des and Tony Fowler went to the ceremony and were thrilled and amazed to hear how Shaun McGuire, whose passion was trying to locate missing deceased Welsh war service personnel, was walking through the cemetery along a line of The Welch Regiments headstones, when he noticed that the 30 headstones all commemorated men who died on the same date 24th of April 1917. Of the 30, 29 had their names inscribed on them but one did not. He researched the regiment's action on this date and found that there were 30 casualties during an attack on the Hindenburg Line and these were their graves. He gave his information to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission who, after investigation, confirmed that this was the grave of Pte. Fred Holland who had later died of his wounds. He was given a full military service. All thanks to Shaun McGuire who I believe currently lives in Shewsbury. Tony Fowler Add to this record.   L/Cpl. Richard Thomas Phillips 17th Btn. Welsh Regiment (d.24th Apr 1917) Lance Corporal Richard Phillips, husband to Julia Phillips, was aged 33 when he was killed in action at the Battle of Arras. He is buried in the Fifteen Ravine British Cemetery, Villers-Plouich, France. Gary Phillips Add to this record.   Pte. Idris Howells 17th Battalion "B" Coy Welsh Regiment Last year, I was lucky enough to discover seven letters on the internet dated from 21 January 1915 - Sept 1915 written by my grandfather, Idris Howells. He was writing to his wife and child in the Rhondda while training around Llandudno and Colwyn Bay before moving on to Prees Heath and later to Aldershot, in preparation to go to The Front. These letters had never been known to me before and it was quite by chance that I 'googled' him one Sunday morning and discovered that someone was trying to link them up with their long lost family. The letters must have been amongst the house clearance from the family home in the Rhondda in 1978 after my spinster aunt died (the 'child' mentioned in the letters). My father never mentioned that his father had been in the First World War and when I was young, I never thought to ask. I wonder if he even knew. We used to have holidays in Llandudno and would walk all around the Gt Orme and see all the shows at Happy Valley in the 1960s (both landmarks are mentioned in his letters) where Idris did his 12 mile route bashing. Although the letters reveal a very interesting look at the day to day life in the billet houses of Rhos and the barracks at Prees Heath from a WW1 historian's viewpoint, the most precious aspect for me is a special insight into his character by reading what he says, and how he says it. It's just like I have met him. He died in 1945 and so I never knew him. I can only say how thrilled I was that a complete stranger, who is very kind, took the trouble to post a note on the internet and then post them to me. It just goes to show how valuable personal documents and items are, and that they must be preserved and passed on, even if you don't want them yourself. MJ Meadway Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices. An Artist's War: The Art and Letters of Morris and Alice Meredith Williams Phyllida Shaw In 1914 Morris Meredith Williams was living in Edinburgh with his wife Alice, a sculptor, and earning his living from book illustration and teaching. A short man, his attempt to join the army in 1914 failed, but six months later he was accepted by the Bantam Battalion, 17th Welsh Regiment. Never without a sketchbook and pencils in his pocket, he drew at every opportunity, producing an extraordinary record of his surroundings on the Western Front. After the war some of the sketches became oil paintings while others inspired a series of war memorials in bronze, stone, wood and stained glass, most notably for the Scottish National War Memorial, on which he and Alice worked together. In this stunning book, the Meredith Williams’s art is displayed in fine style, ranging from the touching and heartfelt to the most brutal, stark images of the waste and loss of war. More information on: An Artist's War: The Art and Letters of Morris and Alice Meredith Williams Links Suggest a link

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