Western Front Association - North Wales Branch

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Western Front Association - North Wales Branch

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North Wales branch of the Western Front Association

01/11/2026

On this day in Royal Welch Fusiliers history....

Private Rhys Pugh Gittens received a gunshot wound to the shoulder whilst serving with the 14th Btn. He had enlisted at Shrewsbury in November 1915 and embarked for France on 10th December 1916, joining the Lewis Gun detachment of the 14th Btn in the north sector of Ypres.

Rhys survived the Battle of Passchendaele and was demobilised on 21st January 1919. Sadly, he succumbed to tuberculosis and did on 25th January 1920, aged 31.

Like several CWGC headstones in Wales, his is uniquely carved from slate, rather than the more traditional Portland stone.

19/07/2026

Remembering Private Ivor Jones of Llandudno who died 110 years ago today, of wounds received during the Battle of Mametz Wood.
Ivor was born and brought up in Pontllanfraith, Monmouthshire, and at the outbreak of the First World War enlisted in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He came up to Llandudno to be with the 16th battalion which was formed in the town in November 1914.
While in Llandudno Ivor met local girl Ann Harrison Williams of Craig-y-don and they married at Llandudno’s Holy Trinity Church in November 1915, shortly before he left for the Western Front in December that year. At the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, Ivor was wounded during the offensive on Mametz Woods - an assault primarily carried out by men of the 38th (Welsh) Division - and was admitted to a Casualty Clearing Station with severe injuries to his leg. He was later evacuated to a military hospital at Rouen where he succumbed to his injuries on 15th July 1916. The 22-year-old is buried at St Sever Cemetery and commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. In May 1916, Ann gave birth to their daughter Elizabeth May but tragically Ivor died before getting the opportunity to meet her.
We Will Remember Them.

27/06/2026

There will be a short service of remembrance on Wednesday, 1st July, at Llandudno war memorial to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. The service will commence at 0730, the time the men went 'over the top', with 25 blasts of a trench whistle - one for each of Llandudno's Battle of the Somme fallen.

There were over 19,000 British casualties on the first day alone and by the time the offensive ceased in November 1915, Commonwealth casualties stood at over 420,000.

29/04/2026

My 5 minutes of fame (well about 3 actually)
https://fb.watch/GO1UyFjRDf/

Address

Llandudno

Website

http://www.nwwfa.org.uk/

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