Great War heroes are honoured
CROWDS fell silent in France and across Wales yesterday to mark 100 years since the bloody Battle of Mametz Wood.
Descendants of those killed were joined by politicians, including First Minister Carwyn Jones, at a service in northern France to mark a century since the anniversary of the week-long battle.
Mametz Wood was one of the bloodiest battles of the Somme campaign and claimed the lives of 3,993 Welsh servicemen.
Members of the Royal British Legion and Treorchy Male Voice Choir attended the service in France, which was led by Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan and included an address by Mr Jones.
Speaking at the site of the Welsh dragon memorial, facing the wood, the First Minister said Britain and France were now “united in peace, not war” as he reflected on the sacrifice of the soldiers who had fought at the site.
“It’s hard to imagine today, looking at this peaceful place, the horror of war. Today we honour them for their bravery and their courage.”
Lieutenant General Jonathon Rileysaid: “We lost as many of our people in 15 minutes here as we lost in 15 years in Afghanistan.
“It was a victory, we must not forget that, but at a high price.”
The anniversary was also marked with a series of events throughout Wales.
A ceremony in Cardiff saw the capital’s first permanent memorial to men and women from the city who lost their lives during World War I unveiled.
Hundreds of people, including descendants of those who died, watched as the city’s Lord Mayor Monica Walsh unveiled a memorial stone at Hendre Park Lake at a service led by Cardiff council chaplain Reverend Canon Stewart.
More than 1,000 trees were planted at the site as a living memorial to the dead earlier this year.
The service began with a two-minute silence signalled by a lone bugler.
The service, attended by ex-servicemen and school children, saw pupils give readings and lay poppies and wreaths they made.
A service was also held at the cenotaph in Blaenavon, Torfaen, to honour 18 people from the area killed during the battle and those who survived, while a Great War Memorial Garden was opened at Caernarfon Castle to pay tribute to the Welsh soldiers killed or wounded at Mametz Wood.