War Memorials in Anglesey
War Memorials on Anglesey in North Wales – The lasting tributes to our brave men and women that gave up their lives for Freedom.
Anglesey, Holyhead War Memorial
As with most villages and towns in the United Kingdom, on Anglesey we have erected memorials to the brave men and women who gave their lives in two world wars. Many war memorials are to be found in the village and town squares or greens, others on a plaque – or a window – in the churches or the chapels.
Some memorials are to individuals belonging to the Anglesey Gentry, and are quite elaborate, e.g. the Town Clock at Llangefni, dedicated to a life lost in the Boer War. There is a spectacular individual memorial in Llansadwrn Churchyard, again to a life lost during the Boer War, which I find amazing.
As with the rest of Great Britain during the great war and WWII, Anglesey gave up its youth to defend the right of freedom in the face of oppression, and because Anglesey has such a merchant naval tradition we also lost older men and women of ages that would not normally serve in the Forces. Many did not return, and these cold concrete or marble memorials are all that is left of their memory. We see these memorials in the towns, we see them in the villages, and we see them in the chapels and the churches, and I will, because I have photographed many Church and Chapel memorials, put high resolution images on the relevant village or town memorial pages.
Lives of Anglesey men and women were snuffed out in far off lands, like so many candles extinguished, proof that war is such a disgraceful and evil waste of life. Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, all with their futures stolen from them.
There are personal tragedies, such as the three Thomas brothers of Brynddu, Llanfechell. And the fallen were not restricted just to the working classes, Major R.G.Williams Bulkeley M.C. Welsh Guards, remembered on the Beaumaris memorial, wais a member of one of the premier families of Anglesey.
To their eternal memory, I would like to add their names and other details, in loving memory of these men, women, boys and girls who “gave their tomorrows for our todays”. So proudly they marched off in their ignorance of the carnage and horror that lay ahead. God bless them all.
Armenia Chapel once stood at the corner of Armenia Terrace in Holyhead but is now sadly demolished. Within the Chapel were two memorials, one to the fallen, and the other – the roll of honour – listed all the men and women from the area that served
St Seiriol’s Church in Holyhead on the Isle of Anglesey was once a beautiful Church that towered over the town horizon, now sadly demolished. I remember at the time that they were trying to raise money for roof repairs, and then it was decided that it was
St Cybi’s Church is in Holyhead, on the Island of Anglesey, and is a Grade I listed building. There are very few memorials to the fallen in the Church, in fact I believe there is just one. This is a memorial window (above) to Captain Harry Adeane
The two world wars affected Holyhead more than they did most other towns in Great Britain, simply because it is a ferry port town, and the ferries were commandeered by the Admiralty during the conflicts, for use in the war effort. The subsequent loss of several of
H.M.S. Thetis was a very early submarine in the days when submarines were very much a new concept, and it was being prepared for the war that was expected to follow in the near future. This Group 1 T Class submarine was experimental, and with the loss
Anglesey, Holyhead, SS Scotia leaving Holyhead for Dublin North Wall when she was a ferry between Holyhead and Dublin – she was later requisitioned by the Royal Navy and became H.M. Transport Scotia, although in some writings it is erroneously (I believe) referred to as H.M.S. Scotia.
Early on the morning of Friday the 3rd of November 1916, Captain Patrick O’Neill of the coal carrier Retriever steered his ship out of Garston’s Coal Docks near Liverpool, heading for Newry in Northern Ireland, with a crew predominantly from the destination town. Due to the extreme
Holyhead continues to remember the servicemen and women who ‘gave their today for our tomorrows’, and the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the armistice -at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month i.e. November 11th – (known as remembrance day or remembrance
At the end of WWI villages, towns and cities across Great Britain wanted to remember the millions of our people that had paid the ultimate price for our freedom, and Holyhead was no different. A War Memorial Committee was voted in, and house to house collections helped
The photographs of the plaques listing Holyhead’s men and women that gave their lives during World War One (WWI) and World War Two (WWII) below are taken from the main War Memorial. There are interesting stories associated with Holyhead and the War, and stories about some of
