The Carmarthenshire Battalion was one of the early units raised in 1914 as a result of Lord Kitchener's expansion of the regular army for the duration of the Great War. This book profiles the 'Carmarthen Pals', a battalion which fought with great distinction during many of World War One's most significant campaigns.
How the experience of war impacted on the town, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Carmarthen were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. A record of the growing disillusion of the people, their tragedies and hardships and a determination to see it through. By the time that war erupted in Europe in August 1914, Carmarthenshire had moved from its rural roots into a new industrial age, with great coalfields around the Amman and Gwendraeth Valleys, and the coal, tin and steelworks around Llanelli and Kidwelly. This industrialisation had changed the county forever, with towns like Ammanford, Llanelli and Kidwelly transforming themselves from their original small villages into sprawling towns. The population of the county had surged, so the Great War would see vast numbers of men from the county enlist into the armed forces and head for war, many never to return. 'Carmarthen in the Great War' covers the lives and deaths of many of the brave young men that left the county, interspersing their tales with stories from the home front, which show how the war changed life in the county forever.As featured in the Carmarthen Journal and Wales On Sunday.
Fast-paced and fact-packed, this compendium revels in the history, places and people of Wales’ largest county. Carmarthenshire’s rich heritage is explored within, including sport, industry, religion, education and the arts. This whistle-stop tour through the ‘Garden of Wales’ covers both celebrated characters and murky pasts, taking in the county’s breathtaking castles, nature reserves and famous landmarks along the way. From the county gaol and asylum to school strikes and industrial riots, this is a book you won’t want to put down.
Soon after the outbreak of the Great War, following many years of part-time soldiering as cavalry troops on home defense duties, the members of various British Yeomanry regiments were asked to volunteer for overseas service. In 1916, officered by well-known members of the landed gentry, two of the Welsh Yeomanry regiments, the Pembroke Yeomanry and the Glamorgan Yeomanry, were amongst many who embarked for foreign service for the first time ever in their history. Spending the next twelve months in Egypt during the campaign against the Senussi tribesmen, the two regiments merged to form the 24th (Pembroke and Glamorgan Yeomanry) Battalion, Welsh Regiment, which joined the 74th (Yeomanry) Division to take part in the historic offensive into Palestine that ultimately led to the liberation of the Holy City of Jerusalem after 400 years of Ottoman rule. In May 1918, after two years of hard campaigning in the Palestinian deserts, the 24th Welsh embarked for France with the rest of the 74th Division, joining the Allied forces in the victorious 100-day offensive against the Germans. Welsh Yeomanry at War sheds new light on the battalions almost forgotten campaign in Palestine, which saw many of its troops killed and buried in the Holy Land, and also tells the enthralling story of its short but arduous period in France.
Telling the stories of the battles, the aircraft, the weapons, the soldiers, the poets, and the many heroes, Norman Ferguson delves deep into the history of the 'Great War'. Through anecdotes and statistics, and drawing on letters, speeches and official reports, this comprehensive miscellany is a compelling guide to the ‘Great War’.
It takes a different view of the history of Wales, examining a panorama of different emotions and experiences – laughter, happiness, fear, anger, adventure, lust, loneliness, anxiety – to give an entertaining and exciting new history to Wales. a wide range of sources are used to present the ambitions and anxieties which drove and destroyed Welsh people The book’s literary style and the fact that it follows earlier successful studies by the author should ensure an audience.
An exciting and fast-paced narrative of over 100 gallant officers who died during the First World WarPacked with incredible stories of individual heroism and sacrificeAssiduously researched, rich in detail and lavishly illustratedForeword by John Bercow, Speaker of the House, and introduction by The Hon. Ian R. K. Paisley MP, Freeman City of London Led by Lions: MPs and Sons Who Fell in the First World War tells the story of over 100 men who went to war and did not return. Many MPs fought in the war and in some instances, they pulled strings to get there. Casualties amongst them were high, but the loss of their sons outweighed their own sacrifice. In this book, Neil Thornton dispels the popular belief that the country’s politicians sat in safety while callously sending the nation’s youth to their deaths. Their own sacrifices, together with those of their sons, are described here in poignant detail, including such names as Tom Kettle, William Gladstone and Raymond Asquith. Others such as Valentine Fleming – father of James Bond author Ian Fleming – and Thomas Agar-Robartes feature alongside them. Recommended for the Victoria Cross for the rescue of casualties under heavy fire, Agar-Robartes’ act would cost him his life, but he would earn the respect of every man under his command. This lavishly illustrated book is a tribute to those MPs and their sons who went to war – never to return.
The Welsh at War trilogy is the culmination of over twelve years of painstaking research by the author into the Welsh men and infantry units who fought in the Great War.These units included the four regular regiments the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, South Wales Borderers Welsh Regiment and Welsh Guards as well as the Territorial Monmouthshire Regiment, the Yeomanry regiments: the Denbighshire Hussars, Pembroke Yeomanry, Montgomeryshire Yeomanry, Glamorgan Yeomanry and Welsh Horse Yeomanry and their amalgamation into service battalions for the regular regiments during 1917.Welsh troops fought with great courage in every theater of the war the Western Front, Aden, China, Gallipoli, Egypt, India, Italy, Salonika and in Palestine and in addition to the casualties suffered during these campaigns, many men gained recognition for acts of gallantry.The three volumes, split chronologically, cover all of the major actions and incidents in which each of the Welsh infantry regiments took part, as well as stories of Welsh airmen, Welshmen shot at dawn, Welsh rugby players who fell, Welsh gallantry winners and the Welshmen who died in non-Welsh units, such as the Dominion forces and other units of the British armed forces.The Welsh at War records the gallant work of Welsh units and servicemen during the period between the arrival of the 38th (Welsh) Division in France during December 1915 until the aftermath of the Battle of Arras in the summer of 1917, covering: the campaigns in Mesopotamia, Salonika, Egypt and Palestine; the Battle of Jutland; the Somme offensive; the German Withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line; the Battle of Arras; the Battle of Messines Ridge; and the build up to the Third Battle of Ypres.
Welsh at War From Mons to Loos and the Gallipoli Tragedy is the culmination of twelve years of painstaking research by the author into the the Welsh men and infantry units who fought in the Great War.These units included the four regular regiments the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, South Wales Borderers Welsh Regiment and Welsh Guards as well as the Territorial Monmouthshire Regiment, the Yeomanry regiments, the Denbighshire Hussars, Pembroke Yeomanry, Montgomeryshire Yeomanry, Glamorgan Yeomanry and Welsh Horse Yeomanry and their amalgamation into service battalions for the regular regiments during 1917.Welsh troops fought with great courage in every theater of the war the Western Front, Aden, China, Gallipoli, Egypt, India, Italy, Salonika and in Palestine and as well as the casualties who were suffered during these campaigns, many men gained recognition for acts of gallantry.The book covers all of the major actions and incidents in which each of the Welsh infantry regiments took part from the opening of the war in 1914 until the end of 1915, as well as stories of Welsh airmen, Welshmen shot at dawn, Welsh rugby players who fell, Welsh gallantry winners and the Welshmen who died in non-Welsh units, such as the Dominion forces and other units of the British Armed Forces.While chronicling a history of the war through the events and battles that Welshmen took part in, the stories of individual casualties are included throughout, together with many compelling photographs of the men and their last resting places.