Heroes of recalled in
THE heroes of one of the bloodiest battles of World War One are being remembered across the county as the centenary approaches.
In Maesteg a new exhibition detailing the lives of the 32 men from the Llynfi Valley who died at the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium has opened at the town council offices.
In Nantymoel, in the Ogmore Valley, preparations are under way for the unveiling of a memorial paving stone to a valley soldier who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross after single-handedly taking a German gun placement.
On Sunday, the Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan Kate Thomas will unveil the stone at the memorial shelter in Nantymoel in memory of Corporal James Llewellyn Davies of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who was 31 when he succumbed to his wounds the day after the brave act which won him the highest honour for gallantry that a British and Commonwealth serviceman can achieve.
The stone will be unveiled in the presence of family members including his grandson Ken Davies, 78, a former goldminer and teacher and member of the local historical society.
James’ son William John was Ken’s father.
For many years a lifesize portrait of the Ogmore Valley’s only VC was in the Berwyn Centre, but it was lost when the centre was demolished as it had been painted directly on to the wall.
Llynfi Valley historian and member of Maesteg British Legion, Roy Meredith, has spent a year researching the lives of the men from the valley who died, cross-referencing details from the council’s book of remembrance, with online records and archived copies of the Glamorgan Gazette.
The Valley Remembers exhibition is on at the town council offices until Friday.
And at 11am on Monday, July 31, the day the battle started a century ago, three poppy wreaths will be laid on the war memorial in Maesteg in memory of the men who never came home.
Roy explained that some are only remembered by name on war memorials in Belgium as their bodies were never found.
Through his research Roy has discovered that the 32 who died served in 13 regiments, including Irish regiments as many had come over from Ireland to find work.
One of those men is Jeremiah Cosgrove, from County Wexford.
Having come to Maesteg in 1911 he enlisted in the 2nd battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. He