Rhondda's Heroes - the Hardwidge Brothers

Rhondda Valleys Information and History

The Heroic Rhondda Valley Family - The Hardwidge's.

These days when we walk past one of the many War Memorials we hardly take any notice, nor spare a thought for those young men who left the Rhondda Valleys in time of War never to return.

I would like to highlight one such family of young miners from Ferndale, as their story is so poignant - not least because 3 young men from the same family never returned home.

The brothers - named Hardwidge - were all miners, yet volunteered for war service, joining the Welsh Regiment.

On July 11th 1916 Corporal Thomas Hardwidge and Lance Corporal Henry Hardwidge were fighting in a battle on the Somme at Mametz Wood. Thomas was wounded by a sniper, and Henry heroically raced to his rescue to take him water. Both men were then shot and killed by a sniper. The brothers were later laid in their final resting places in adjacent graves at Flat Iron Copse Cemetery in Mametz.

Both of the brothers were married men with children, and the effect on their families would have been devastating. If enough grief had not been meted out to the Hardwidge family, on Christmas Day 1916 another brother - Morgan Hardwidge - was killed on the Somme and his name is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial - a memorial to those 72,000 young soldiers who have no known grave. Their names are also recorded on the Ferndale War Memorial.

Obituary in the Rhondda Leader	Rhondda Leader Obituary	Rhondda Leader Memorial
Mametz Cemetery	$\henry Hardwidge Memorial Stone$ Henry Hardwidge Memorial Stone	$\thomas Hardwidge Memorial Stone$ Thomas Hardwidge Memorial Stone

There is an excellent new website with high resolution old photos of the United Kingdom (including the Rhondda Valleys) at www.oldukphotos.com
If you have any old family photos or pictures of the towns and villages please scan them in at least 1280 pixels width and email them here.

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