Welsh war memorial unveiled in West Flanders

A permanent memorial to the Welsh soldiers who died in the First World War was unveiled at the weekend in Langemark, West Flanders, by the Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones.

The memorial (pictured), designed by sculptor Lee Odishow, depicts a bronze dragon atop a stone plinth, made from stone transported from Pontypridd in Wales to Belgium. At the base of the memorial is soil gathered from the summits of Mount Snowdon and Pen Y Fan, as well as the home of Welsh poet Hedd Wyn. Wyn was fatally wounded near the site, on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. He is buried at Artillery Wood cemetery near Boezinge.

“This year we mark the centenary of the start of the First World War. It is timely that we should be unveiling this memorial now, as a mark of respect and remembrance for all those from Wales who faced unimaginable adversity here,” Jones said. “The sacrifices they made and the freedom for which they strived is why we must continue to pay tribute today.”

He also paid tribute to those who had campaigned for a permanent memorial to the Welsh dead, against the initial reluctance of the Welsh government. “I congratulate all involved in this very important campaign. This impressive monument is testament to the enduring need to continue to strive for peace in our own time.”

The campaign raised more than €124,000 on its own, before learning that the government would make a contribution worth more than €31,000. The ground has been donated by the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle and the garden surrounding the monument was a gift from the province of West Flanders.

Also speaking at the ceremony was 11-year-old Gwydion Rhys from Llanllechid school in North Wales, who told the story of three brothers from his area who went to war. Only one of the Jones brothers returned.

After the unveiling, a number of Welsh groups took part in the nightly Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, accompanied by the North Wales Rugby Choir. An estimated 40,000 Welsh soldiers died in the war.

“People not born yet will come here to remember the dreadful history this memorial represents,” said Peter Carter Jones, co-ordinator of the Welsh Memorial in Flanders group, which campaigned for the memorial. “We will not forget them.”

The ceremony was also attended by Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois, Langemark-Poelkapelle mayor Alain Wyffels and hundreds of Welsh people who travelled over for the event.

In related news, all the graves at the Flanders Field American Cemetery in Waregem, West Flanders, have now been adopted, under a plan introduced this year after US president Barack Obama visited the site. Those who have adopted graves were given certificates at a ceremony organised by the American Legion at the weekend.

In the Brussels municipality of Oudergem, 48 First World War dead are to be honoured by having QR codes attached to streets named after them. The dead of the municipality had 47 streets named after them in the 1920s – one street bears the name of two brothers. Now anyone scanning the QR code with a smartphone or tablet will be taken to a website featuring more information on the person concerned.

Wednesday, August 20 is the 100th anniversary of the day that the Germans marched into Brussels, the first time since the formation of Belgium that the city was occupied.

photo courtesy Twitter/@fmwales