A Valley

1
Press ESC at any time to stop the presentation.
A Valley's War
By Peter SweetingEducation Outreach
OfficerTorfaen Museum Trust
2
When was this memorial unveiled in
Panteg? What does this tell you (along with
the inscription) about how people viewed the
Great War of1914-1918?
The Memorial in 2005
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
3
Reproduced by kind permission of M. Williams
4
Who does this document belong to? What job did
this person do and where did they live? Why
do you think that British citizens were
Registered during and after 1915?
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
5
When soldiers joined up to go to war they were
presented with a Small Book. Any entry in the
Small Book was supervised by a superior officer.
The contents gave general guidance and
information to the soldier, but it also contained
personal information and documentation. Such
facts as your regiment and regimental number,
postal address, height, eye colour and even
bodily marks (just in case you had to be
identified) were added. It also contained details
of your next of kin still living . This was in
case a soldier were badly wounded or killed. If
he were killed in action (K.I.A) the next of kin
would be sent the Small Book and its contents.
6
This is part of a Small Book Who did this Small
Book belong to and where was he from? What else
can you find out about this soldier?Which
Regiment did he belong to?Where was he
born?How old and how tall was he?What was
his job before the war?Does he have any
Marks?What religion did he follow?
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
7
This is part of a Small Book Who is Ernests
only next of kin still living and where does she
live?
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
8
A typical enrolment advert from WWI Why did men
volunteer to go to war? Knowing what you do
about war, would you have joined up?
Click here to enlarge
9
(No Transcript)
10
One of the men who answered the call and joined
up in South Wales.
Describe the uniform that this man is
wearing.What is the object slung across his
chest used for? What is he wearing on the lower
part of his legs? Why? What is on his cap
badge?
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
11
Which armed service do you think this gentleman
belonged to? What helped you to make up your
mind?
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
12
Many men who were swept up by the wave of
enthusiasm for war were extremely young. How old
do you think that this soldier is? Which
regiment do you think he joined?(Look at his cap
badge, his feet and what he is holding)
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
13
As more and more young men joined up to go to
war, some women fought to keep them at home. Not
everyone was convinced of the Countrys need!
Below is an extremely persuasive letter sent to a
troubled mother by the Parliamentary Recruiting
Committee.
Click here to enlarge the documents
14
Transcript
15
December 1914 Dear Sir and MadamWe desire to
draw your attention to the enclosed form, in
which you are asked to state the names of your
household who are willing to enlist for the War.
By filling in and posting the Householders
Return without delay, you will be entered in a
Register, and the nearest Recruiting Office will
arrange to attest those registered as their
services are required.There has been a generous
response to the appeal for men for the new
armies, but the numbers of recruits, though
large, does not nearly meet the Nations need. In
order to maintain and reinforce our troops abroad
and to complete the new armies which we hope
within a few months to throw into the field, we
and all the best the Nation can give us of its
youth and strength.
16
If we are to repair as far as may be humanly
possible the immeasurable wrongs inflicted on our
Allies, if we are to avoid for ourselves the ills
which they have suffered, if we are to maintain
for our children all that we hold dear honour,
freedom, our way of life as a Nation we must
fight with the courage and endurance which was
for us the struggle of the past.Every man,
therefore, who is eligible will ask his own
conscience whether, in this emergency, it is not
his duty to hold himself ready to enlist in the
forces of the brave.The difficulties and
dangers which confront us have never been so
great we await the issue with confidence,
relying on the spirit and self-sacrifice of our
fellow countrymen to prevail.We are your
obedient servants W.W.Asquith,
A.Bonnar Law, Arthur Hendusoy ? (Presidents)
17
Mrs Bowen and her friend doing their bit for
King and Country as lady porters at Cwmbran
railway station.
Can you think of any other jobs that women may
have been expected to do during the war? Why was
this?
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
18
Women munition workers employed by theBlaenavon
Works at Forge Side. Such was the quality of
their work that a high commendation came from no
less a person than David Lloyd-George, the Prime
Minister of the wartime coalition government.
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
Can you see what one of the ladies in the front
row is holding?
19
Makepieces Angels - so named because the foreman
of the nut and bolt fitting shop at the Nut and
Bolt Works Cwmbran, was Mr. Makepiece, a man of
fine character who also used to be the Captain of
Pontnewydd Fire Brigade.
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
Are you surprised by some of the ages of these
workers?
20
Not every man could be called up. Necessary
trades and skills meant that their time was
needed for the war effort.
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
What can you see within this photo that indicates
that it was taken during wartime?
21
Soldiers waiting for their train at Crane Street
Station, Pontypool.
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
22
Fox Camp
What gives you the impression that some training
camps were speedily put together?
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
23
Why do you think that it was important for
soldiers to involve themselves in everyday
activities like playing sport?
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
24
Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion Monmouthshire
Regiment in a trench near Le Bizet, France,
April 1915. What features of a trench can you
pick out?
Reproduced by kind permission of the South Wales
Borderers Museum
25
Behind the line, after the Battle of the Somme
1916. South Wales Borderers officers and men.
Many Ponty boys are in this photo.
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
26
When not actually fighting, the men often turned
their hand to art, using the raw materials around
them.
This photograph shows Belgian soldiers making
trench art vases out of shell cases on the Yser
front line, north of Ypres in Belgium.
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
27
Trench Art Today the old with the new!
Located in the middle of the Somme battlefield,
the Golden Madonna and Child was hit by shellfire
in 1915 and leaned at a precarious angle until
1918. It is commemorated here in a 1990s mural.
The basilica at Albert in 1999
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
28
People of all ages were urged to contribute to
helping the Boys at The Front. Who has this
certificate been awarded to and what for?
Reproduced by kind permission of Torfaen Museum
Trust
29
Sponsorship is nothing new! This picture shows
the ship, HMS Pontypool that the people of
Pontypool adopted during the First World
War.The people of Pontypool adopted another
ship H.M.S. Kittiwake - during the Second
World War too!
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
What do you think was involved in adopting a
warship?(What would the people of Pontypool have
had to have done?)
30
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
A gift from the Eastern Valleys. A Motor
Ambulance donated by the inhabitants of
Monmouthshire as a gift to His Majestys Army.
31
This photograph shows a captured German Gun
outside Pontypool Town Hall.
Why do you think that captured German weapons
were displayed in public areas where they could
be seen by everyone?
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
32
Many civilians had fled from Northern France and
Belgium and came to live in Great Britain to
escape the horrors of war. This photograph shows
Belgian refugees at Blaenavon.
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
33
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
What is happening in this photograph?
34
Do you remember looking at pages from Ernest
Paynes Small Book? Here is another of Ernests
official documents. What is a certificate of
discharge? What rank had Ernest reached by the
time he was discharged?
35
When was Ernest finally discharged from the
army? Now that Ernest had served his country in
the army, did that mean that he would not be
called up to go to war in future?
36
The Regimental Colours return to Pontypool June
7th 1919.
Monmouthshire Regiments Colours
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
Why do you think that this would have been such a
happy and proud, yet also an extremely sad moment
for the people of Pontypool and South Wales?
37
(No Transcript)
38
The unveiling of Blaenavon Memorial
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
Look at the size of the crowd in Blaenavon who
turned up to witness the unveiling of the
memorial to honour the local soldiers who fell
during the Great War of 1914-1918.
The Memorial in 2005
39
The unveiling of Blaenavon Memorial
Reproduced by kind permission of W.G. Lloyd
What does the unveiling of memorials such as
this, the size of the crowds and the range of
different people who turned up, tell you about
the impact that the First World War had on local
communities?
The Memorial in 2005
40
Reproduced by kind permission of M. Williams
41
There are other memorials and reminders of the
war across the World and particularly in Europe
where most of the fighting took place. Sanctuary
Wood, near Ypres in Belgium, has been kept as a
museum since 1919. In 1914 the wood was where men
who had been separated from their regiments came
to rest before rejoining the fight. The wood was
captured by the Germans in 1918.
More pictures of Sanctuary Wood
Reproduced by kind permission of P. Sweeting
42
Reproduced by kind permission of M. Williams
Why do you think that the trenches zig-zagged
across the landscape?
43
These photographs give you some idea of
conditions in the trenches
Can you think of some key words to describe these
conditions?
Reproduced by kind permission of M. Williams
44
A shattered tree stump within Sanctuary
Wood. What does this tell you about the terrible
damage that was inflicted upon men, animals and
the landscape during the First World War? What
could have caused such damage to the trees within
these woods?
A tragic memorial to shattered lives!
Reproduced by kind permission of P. Sweeting
45
Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium is the largest
Commonwealth war cemetery in the world with
11,953 burials. The back walls record the names
of 34,927 soldiers with no known grave.
Reproduced by kind permission of P. Sweeting
46
The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres
contains the names of 54,896 officers and men
from the Commonwealth forces who fell on the
Ypres Salient before the 16th August 1917. Every
evening at sundown buglers from the town play The
Last Post and Reveille in memory of the fallen.
Reproduced by kind permission of P. Sweeting
47
This entrance to Pontypool Park is found opposite
the Town Hall.It is known as the Memorial Gate.
Reproduced by kind permission of M. Williams
48
Reproduced by kind permission of M. Williams
The Memorial Gate.On the pillars on either side
and on plaques on the railings are listed the men
from the local area who fell during The Great War
and the Second World War.
49
Reproduced by kind permission of M. Williams
50
They shall not grow old as we grow old, Age
shall not wither them nor the years condemn At
the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Memorial to fallen Welsh soldiers at Mametz Wood
END
Reproduced by kind permission of P. Sweeting