Remembrance Sunday

Of course, the big event in Pembroke this week was Remembrance Sunday, a day when the whole nation joins together to remember those who made the supreme sacrifice. Following the tradition of years, a procession began at Elm Tree Square led by Pembroke's Silver Band and made its way down Main Street to gather around the cenotaph for the laying of the wreaths and the service led by Canon Roger Jones.

Pembroke's War Memorial

Pembroke's fine memorial, built to the memory of those fallen in WW1, dates back to 1924. Built of silver-grey granite at a cost of £500, it is a replica of the national cenotaph at Whitehall and was made by T. W. Colley & Sons, Monumental Masons, of Pembroke. Sir Frederick Meyrick, of Bush, donated the plot of land to the Pembroke Corporation. Canon David Bowen led the service and the cenotaph, inscribed with the names of 87 local men, was unveiled by General Sir Francis Lloyd, first commander of the Welsh Territorial Division.

There does appear to have been something of a competition for the design of Pembroke's war memorial. I came across this design for a memorial sited on the old Elm Square. Situated in the middle of Main Street, on the St. Mary's/St. Michael's boundary, this was traditionally a meeting place where people would gather under the old Elm which finally met its demise due to Dutch Elm disease.

The road dips slightly at this point; this was the extent of the original town - the eastern suburb being a later addition. The town stocks were once sited here and some say the gallows! I am not convinced about that.

Commemorating WW1

Next year will be the centenary of the start of WW1 and we will be organising events to commemorate this. On February 8, we will be holding our Saturday morning meeting in the Town Hall with the intention of inviting the community and other heritage organisations to take part. Simon Hancock, who has done a great deal of research into Pembrokeshire in WW1, will be talking to us and there will be an exhibition of material collected to date. There will be more detail nearer the time, so watch this space.

Here is an opportunity get involved. Now beyond living memory, there are still memories of parents and grandparents who lived at that time and it is important that these are recorded to keep the memory alive.

One Pembroke Story

Your memories will help build up a picture of Pembroke at this time: the following account was provided by Mr. Tony Thomas.

"My father, Captain William Evan Thomas, was in the Glamorgan Yeomanry prior to World War One and he took part in training camps which were held at Penally for some years before the war. There, men would be trained in trench warfare in the practice trenches which are still there, now a listed monument.

He joined up in 1914 but, having had bad health from childhood, was passed unfit for service except in this country. He served in the Army Service Corps (now the Royal Army Service Corps) and, on January 1915, received his commission as second Lieutenant. I still have the document signed by the King, as all commissions were in those days. As an officer, he was given a bank order for £50 to buy his uniform in a particular shop in London.

My father was knowledgeable about agricultural matters and horses. This led to him serving in Pembrokeshire and South Wales where he organised the purchasing of hay, straw and corn from farmers to be sent to France. Horses were also purchased: each army unit there had 6,000 horses and these needed a lot of feeding,

The Pembrokeshire War Agricultural Committee

Immediately following the war, my father was appointed chief executive officer of the Pembrokeshire War Agricultural Committee. Farming in the county was under strict control during and following the war so as to combat food shortages and everything was organised. A record of every farm was kept and farmers were given instructions on which crops were to be grown and given a programme.

In about 1920, the Government decide to disband the War Agricultural Committees and return farming to private enterprise. My father lost his job but, an enterprising man, he opened an auctioneering and estate management business at Penfro House. Shortly afterwards, he had a cattle mart built on the land of Messrs. T. W. Colley adjoining the cattle pens at Pembroke Railway Station. This was known as the station mart and operated until 1939 when the Ministry of Food took over meat rationing and transferred business to the Council owned mart at Orchard Buildings."

Major Roch: a Pembroke Hero

Tony also told me that after WW1 there was an influx of ex-army officers into the area - including Major J. A. Roch, Major John Francis, Captain Blois Brook in Narberth and others in Tenby and Haverforwest, who came to set up as auctioneers. Major Roch and Captain Thomas both had businesses in the Main Street but there was no rivalry and Tony greatly respected Major Roch, whom he often helped out at auctions. Major Roch won the Military Cross for considerable bravery during the War and this was recorded in a copy of the Western Mail which Tony showed me, dated April 18, 1918.

'Lieut John Aldridge Roch, who has been awarded the M.C., is a son of Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Roch, of Pembroke. He led his pack transport through heavy enemy barrages and gas to the gun positions, so that his company were never on any occasion short of ammunition, rations or water. His transport lines were bombed on three occasions, resulting in the loss of five horses and ten men. His coolness and prompt action saved much suffering to wounded men and horses.'

A man we must remember.

Fields of Poppies

The British Legion are launching an initiative to encourage communities to grow poppies in an act of commemoration for next year's centenary. On behalf of Pembroke Town Council's regeneration committee, Clr. Mel Phillips approached Marshall of Pembroke Dock B&Q for poppy seeds so that Pembroke can participate in this. B&Q have come up trumps with manager, Brett Jones, promising Pembroke Town Council 30 packets of poppy seeds, each containing 2,800 seeds making a total of 84,000 to be planted around Pembroke. Should make quite a show!

The poppy will always be a symbol of remembrance and it all stemmed from the poem In Flanders Fields written by Canadian physician Lt. Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write the poem after presiding over the funeral of a friend, Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres where the German army launched one of the first chemical attacks in the history of war. It became one of the most popular poems the war and its references to the red poppies that grew over the graves of fallen soldiers resulted in the poppy becoming one of the world's most recognised memorial symbols for soldiers who died in conflict. It begins:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

Contact

If you have any stories or photographs for this column, please contact me, Linda Asman, on 01646 622428, email [email protected]">[email protected] and visit our website http://www.pembrokeandmonktonhistory.org.uk">www.pembrokeandmonktonhistory.org.uk