Gallantry

THE GALLANT MEMBERS OF MERTHYR

Merthyr Tydfil is famous for many things, from Richard Trevithick building the world’s first steam locomotive to being the iron and steel capital of the world under the Crawshay family. But towards the end of 1914 and the declaration of war by Great Britain on Germany following the invasion of Belgium, thousands of men and women from Merthyr Tydfil answered the Nations call.

These ordinary people signed up not knowing what was in store, but over the coming years, they produced acts of bravery on an unimaginable scale. These acts on the battlefields from France to Egypt to Turkey have largely been forgotten about or lost over the years.

At the conclusion of the First World War, Merthyr was the holder of no less than* 1 Victoria Cross, 1 Distinguished Service Order, 26 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 6 Military Crosses, 45 Military Medals, 1 Croix de Guerre and 1 Serbian Gold medal.

Every year on November 11th, hundreds of people attend Remembrance Services to show their gratitude to the heroes who served, with some paying the ultimate sacrifice with their life. But I have always been struck by the lack of formal memorial list and the lack of information on these individuals. I have always wanted to add faces to the names, stories to the dates and ensure that future generations will always be aware of what the soldiers did before us.

This is their story.

*figures are being amended as further information becomes available.

Click on the medals below to learn about the recipients from Merthyr