Tag: Boer War

Some Corner of a Foreign Field – part 2

by David Collier

MARY PROSSER, née Roberts

A fortuitous online discovery revealed that at least one  native of Troedyrhiw had travelled as far as the San Francisco Bay area of California in the nineteenth century. An American calling himself ‘AlphaRoaming’ had written on his blog:- “I’m based in Silicon Valley and get out in the wilderness as often as possible. Back a few weeks ago I carpooled with a retired friend from San Jose up to Antioch, California to visit Northern California’s former coal mining district.’ He had posted this image of a headstone found in Rose Hill Cemetery in the Mount Diablo Coalfield, Contra Costa County, California.


The inscription states:-

MARY
WIFE OF WILLIAM PROSSER
DIED SEPT 24 1876
AGED 52 Y’RS
NATIVE OF TROEDYRHIW,
MERTHYR

 

From the late 1850’s  until the turn of the century a low grade coal was extracted from the mines in this area and small towns, principally Nortonville, Somersville and Stewartville, grew up to house the workers and their families. The inhabitants were a diverse mix including significant numbers of Welsh and Italian immigrants. These settlements did not outlast the closure of the coal mines and the silica sand extraction industry that followed and their locations are now officially classified as ‘ghost towns’. Close to Somersville is the burial ground now known as Rose Hill Cemetery but formerly called the Protestant or ‘Welsh’ cemetery. This is where Mary Prosser was laid to rest in 1876 following a long period of ill health due, in all probability, to one of the diseases such as smallpox, typhoid, scarlet fever and diphtheria that were all too prevalent at the time.

Rose Hill Cemetery, Black Diamond Preserve, Contra Costa County, Ca.

It is believed that nearly 250 individuals are at Rose Hill but, sadly, the site was long neglected and subjected to vandalism including the theft of gravestones and ironwork so that now less than  half of the original number of plots can be positively identified. Apart from Prosser other names with proven or likely Welsh origins found at Rose Hill include Davies, Davis, Edwards, Evans, Gething, Howell, Howells, Hughes, Humphreys, James, Jenkins, Jones, Morgan, Morris, Rees, Richards, Thomas, Vaughn, Waters and Williams.

Fortunately, this historic site and its artefacts are now being conserved and protected by the staff and volunteers of the Black Diamond Regional Preserve so that we and future generations can continue to appreciate it.

In 1979, Somersville gained fame as the site of the largest historical archaeology excavation ever done in the U.S. at the time. The Public Broadcasting System examined the project in a documentary series on archaeology, Odyssey: Other People’s Garbage.

The Rose Hill Cemetery aspect of this initiative seems to share many of the aims of  the Saron Graveyard Project in Troedyrhiw but, unlike the latter, enjoys the advantages that come from being part of a larger well funded project.

Pursuing research into the background of Mary Prosser and how she came to live in the U.S. and finally die and be interred in this small part of California has revealed some additional information but has also thrown up a number of puzzles that are still to be unravelled. This is an item printed in the deaths column of a Welsh language newspaper some months after Mary’s death:-

From Y Gwladgarwr (The Patriot) 29 December 1876

This item seems to:-

  1. confirm that Mary died on 24 September 1876 at 52 years of age, the wife of William Prosser;
  2. reveal that she died in Somersville after suffering greatly with an illness for over a year;
  3. confirm that Mary was born in Troedyrhiw, Merthyr;
  4. state that she emigrated to America in 1848 from Brynmawr which was (at that time) in Brecknockshire (and is now within Blaenau Gwent);
  5. state that by 1857 she was living in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania;
  6. explain that her brother, Thomas Roberts, who lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, would like to contact Mr Prosser;
  7. make it likely that she, her husband and their families were Welsh speaking;
  8. make it likely that her maiden name was Roberts.

A search in available records for a marriage between a William Prosser and a Mary Roberts prior to the date of emigration (1848) yields only one likely result.

(Ancestry.com gives the same result but with an 1843 date)

This marriage took place in the parish of Llanelli/Llanelly on the edge of which is Brynmawr – the starting point for Mary (Roberts) Prosser (and possibly her husband?) to emigrate to the U.S.

If we could now link this Mary Roberts to Troedyrhiw we would have strong evidence that we have identified the person that lies buried in Rose Hill Cemetery. Thus far it has not been possible to do this but we are hopeful that ongoing enquiries will eventually be successful.

SOME CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

South Africa, British Columbia and California are all many thousands of miles from Troedyrhiw. To travel from the village to any of these places by modern means of transport would normally be a quite straightforward if rather tiring venture but undertaking the same journeys in the nineteenth century would have been full of potential hazards. That our forebears were willing to take such risks, whether to fulfil their duty or in pursuit of better lives, and to put up with all of the hardships that they would undoubtedly face upon arrival at their destination is testament to their determination and resilience and leaves us much to admire.

John W. Williams, as we have seen, suffered a fatal accident while mining for gold in British Columbia. He must have been part of the early Welsh emigration to Canada attracted by the Cariboo Gold Rush that began in 1858. As with other miners that suffered similar fates he is likely to have been buried near to the place where he died with no permanent marker showing the location of his final resting place. It appears from census records that, sadly, he had left a wife and two children behind in Troedyrhiw while he went away to seek his fortune.

Evan J. Williams found himself to be embroiled in what, at the time, was the largest deployment of British troops since the Crimean War. Between 1899 and 1902  half a million soldiers had been sent to take part in the conflict in South Africa and amongst the 55,000 British casualties there were some 22,000 fatalities of which 12,000, including Trooper Williams, had died from diseases such as dysentery, typhoid and intestinal infections.

As many as 2 million Americans can trace their ancestry back to Welsh born immigrants.  In the middle of the nineteenth century many were recruited, because of their skills, to work in the coal mines and ironworks of Pennsylvania. This probably  explains why Mary Prosser and her husband William came to Tamaqua from Brynmawr in 1857. We don’t know why the couple later decided to move to California. It could have been that William’s presumed skills as a ‘hard-rock’ miner were in demand in the goldfields at that time and, when this didn’t work out, he turned to the type of work that he knew best in the recently opened coal mines of the Mount Diablo area. He and his wife could not have suspected that the harsh realities of life in an environment where infectious diseases were rife and medical care was rudimentary or non existent were to prove so costly for Mary.

Some links

https://friendsofsaron.wordpress.com/Information on the progress of the Saron Graveyard Project, Troedyrhiw and the history of the village.

http://www.southport-land.com/PDFs/EBRPD_brochure_Rose_Hill_MOD3.pdf  Information Rose Hill Cemetery and the Black Diamond Preserve.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_zmCD4Eojg Youtube clip including footage of archaeological dig at Somersville, Contra Costa County, California.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58d29e6ccd0f6829bdf2f58f/t/59531edbb6ac500ba29e2421/1498619614340/MOV_The_Cariboo_Gold_Rush_Story.pdf Information on the Cariboo Gold Rush from the Museum of Vancouver.

https://www.southafricawargraves.org/ Information on the South Africa War Graves Project.

Some Corner of a Foreign Field – part 1

by David Collier

How did our forebears live their lives in their home communities and what happened to those that moved away, sometimes to far distant lands, in search of better lives or because duty called them for military service?

A small but dedicated group have been working for some years to rescue the graveyard of the former Saron Welsh Independent Chapel in Troedyrhiw from the effects of many years of neglect.

Saron Chapel, Troedyrhiw

From an early stage in this project members of the team began to photograph the surviving headstones and monuments and to transcribe the memorial inscriptions.  These, together with memorial type, language, lettering and symbolism revealed interesting information about our forebears (those buried and the people that buried them) and their lives over a period running from the 1830’s up to the early 1980’s. Such findings combined with the results of further research provide details for particular individuals and families  including names, dates and places of birth, dates of death together with ages and causes, relationships, occupations, economic status, military service, tragic events, religion, cultural and leisure pursuits.

An intriguing aspect of these enquiries has been the discovery of a significant number of Troedyrhiw people who once emigrated or were deployed to places far from home. Quite a few of these were never to return. The following three examples have been chosen to illustrate this.

JOHN W. WILLIAMS

It is likely that John Williams, a native of Troedyrhiw, having honed his mining skills in local collieries, decided to emigrate to the goldfields of Canada to ‘seek his fortune’. The inscriptions on the headstone of his family grave in Saron Graveyard, Troedyrhiw can now only be read with difficulty. They include the following:-

IN MEMORY OF
JOHN W. WILLIAMS
LATE OF TROEDYRHIW
HE DIED MAY 3 1877
AT 52 YEARS OLD
BURIED AT OHANACAN BRITISH COLUMBIA

‘Ohanacan’ would appear to be a reference to the Okanagan region of British Columbia. A Canadian newspaper published 18 May 1877 refers to a miner named Williams who was killed at the beginning of May 1877 during gold mining activities at a place called Mission Creek.

Newspaper record of the death of a miner called Williams

The above information is supported by a report from British Columbia’s  Gold Commissioner, Charles A. Vernon for the previous year (1876). This records the gold mining activities at Mission Creek and the involvement of an experienced miner called John Williams who had spent time in the Cariboo region of British Columbia before coming to the Okanagan. Charles Vernon wrote:-

“Considerable mining and prospecting has also been done on Mission Creek this fall, with a fair average yield of gold. John Williams, an old Caribooite, has run a tunnel into the hill from the creek some 60 feet, and found a good prospect.”

EVAN J. WILLIAMS

This young Troedyrhiw man died in South Africa during the 2nd Boer War (Anglo – Boer War), 1899-1902. An inscription on the headstone of his family grave in Saron Graveyard reads:-

ALSO OF EVAN J. WILLIAMS,
SON OF THE ABOVE
WHO DIED IN SOUTH AFRICA
MAY 20, 1901. AGED 27 YEARS

The death of Trooper Williams is recorded, along with those of his comrades from the Borough who also perished during this conflict,  on the Boer War Memorial in Thomastown Park in Merthyr.

The results of an enquiry made of the South Africa War Graves Project include the following record and a photograph of this soldier’s grave marker:-

“No 278748, Trooper E. J. Williams, 4th Company, Imperial Yeomanry, died of disease on 20 May 1901 and buried in Harrismith Cemetery” (note that the date given here is slightly different from that recorded elsewhere).

To be continued……

The Changing View of Irish Immigration to the Welsh Valleys

by Roger Evans

Below is a poster from 1849, when starvation and unemployment in Ireland forced Irish workers to foreign fields.

50 years later however, at the peak of the Boer War, when Iron and Steel was in demand and labour in short supply:-

“It would appear that the stream of Irish immigrants flowing into the Merthyr and Dowlais district is destined, like the Tennysonian book, to go on forever. During the past few weeks some hundreds of big, braw, hearty sons of the Emerald Isle have left their native shores to fill up the much depleted ranks of the employed at the Cyfarthfa and Dowlais Iron Works.

Another contingent of 60 labourers came from Cork by the boat service to Newport on Tuesday night at a late hour after a journey occupying 36 hours. There was some difficulty in finding accommodation for them, but eventually this was accomplished, and Wednesday morning the men were sent on to Dowlais where they arrived about mid-day. They are all of the labouring class, and have been distributed about the works. It is rumoured that a further influx is expected before the week is out.The working staff has been so very much reduced by departures for the front, the Reservists and the Militia forces.It is certain that the fresh arrivals will be very acceptable at the present juncture and in view of the healthy and prosperous state of the iron and steel market.”

Transcribed from the Western Mail 25 May 1900.

The Boer War Memorial, Thomastown Park

by Barrie Jones

To mark 121st anniversary of the start of the Second Boer War, this article is a rewrite and update on Merthyr’s Boer War Memorial that was first published as part of an essay on Thomastown Park in Volume Twelve of the Merthyr Historian in 2001.

2001 was the 100th anniversary of the construction of Thomastown Park and the war memorial will reach its 116th anniversary in September this year.

Situated in the ‘western’ park the memorial is unique as the first memorial to Merthyr’s menfolk who gave their lives in the service of their country.

The Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 to 31 May 1902 and was the first British conflict that depended heavily upon volunteers to boost the small and heavily stretched established army.  The war under conventional terms of fighting between formed armies was over by June 1900.  A guerrilla phase followed in which the worst aspects of warfare such as scorched earth actions and concentration camps were to inflict severe hardship and suffering upon the Boer people.  The war was concluded at the peace of Vereeniging in May 1902.

An indication that the war was over in all but name was that some four months before the signing of the peace treaty prominent Merthyr townsfolk were planning a memorial to those that had died in the service of their Queen, King and Country.

Memorial Committee

At a public meeting held on the 17 January 1902, a resolution was passed that a suitable memorial to perpetuate the memory of former townsmen who had fallen in the war in South Africa be erected.  An application for consent of the Council to erect a memorial on the Recreation Ground, later known as Thomastown Park, was made by the secretary of the Committee, Mr W. T. Jones.  Mr Jones of 25, Tudor Terrace, Merthyr Tydfil was an accountant practising from offices at 50 High Street.  His letter of application, dated 22 January was read at the Council meeting on the 5 February 1902 and was granted subject to a suitable site being available.

Chairman of the committee was Dr. C. Biddle and the vice-chairman was Mr. William Griffiths, High Constable of Merthyr Tydfil, and over the next two years the committee set out to raise the funds to build and erect the memorial.

Fund Raising

The overall cost of the memorial was £300, the majority of which was got by public subscription.  Fund raising was slow and by the spring of 1904 was somewhat off the fund’s target.  At which time the Police, Yeomanry and Volunteers came forward offering to organise an assault at arms and concert at the Drill Hall, Merthyr.

The event held on the night of Wednesday 11 May 1904 was well attended and raised £75 towards the memorial.  The evening’s proceedings demonstrated the strong military background of members of the police force and the overall strength of support towards the erection of a memorial to the men that had died in the war.

The District Council, at a total cost of £123 carried out the foundation work for the memorial.  They presented an account for the work, less the Council’s contribution of £25 towards the memorial, in the November following the unveiling ceremony.

The Memorial

The site chosen for the memorial was in the western park on the Thomastown Tips overlooking the town and with the memorial’s overall height of thirty five-foot it is clearly visible from the town below.  (George) Washington Morgan, a local sculptor and monumental mason of Penyard House, was commissioned to design and build the memorial.  Built from Aberdeen granite in the shape of an obelisk, fifteen feet tall, standing on a pedestal carved from the same material the memorial stands on a foundation designed by Mr C M Davies and Mr T F Harvey, District Council surveyor.  The foundation comprises a Pennant stone base twelve feet square upon which the granite pedestal rests.  The base surrounded by kerb and railing stands on a grass clod embankment giving added height to the memorial.  Application had been made to the War Office to have two South African guns to place each side of the obelisk but without success.

Thomastown Recreation Ground in the 1920s. Photo courtesy of Carl Llewellyn

The pillar has a wreath carved just above the front of the Pedestal, under which is the motto ‘Gwell Angau na Chywilydd’, (Better Death than Dishonour).  On the front of the four faces of the pedestal is carved the words ‘A tribute to Merthyr men who died in the South African war, 1899-1902.’  The other three sides contain the forty-two names of ‘Merthyr’ men who died in the war:

  1. Charles M Jenkins, Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry
  2. Trooper John Gray, 18th Hussars
  3. Trooper Dominick Dasey, 19th Hussars
  4. Gunner Thomas Williams, Field Artillery
  5. Thomas W Davies, Imperial, Yeomanry
  6. Trooper Evan J Williams, Imperial Yeomanry
  7. Trooper Caradoc I Evans, Protectorate Regiment
  8. Arthur J Jenkins, Grenadier Guards
  9. Evan Evans, Welsh Fusiliers
  10. Frederick Barnett, Welsh Fusiliers
  11. John J Davies, Welsh Fusiliers
  12. Edwin Mansell, South Wales Borderers
  13. William Reardon, South Wales Borderers
  14. William Lewis, South Wales Borderers
  15. David J Moses, South Wales Borderers
  16. J Walsh, South Wales Borderers
  17. Edward Davies, South Wales Borderers
  18. John Rees, South Wales Borderers
  19. Edward Owens, South Wales Borderers
  20. Daniel Sullivan, South Wales Borderers
  21. Sydney Rees, South Wales Borderers
  22. Thomas Davies, South Wales Borderers
  23. William James, South Wales Borderers
  24. Edwin Jones, South Wales Borderers
  25. William Wayt, South Wales Borderers
  26. Michael Flynn, South Wales Borderers
  27. Thomas Fouhy, Welsh Regiment
  28. Timothy O’Shea, Welsh Regiment
  29. Dennis Donovan, Welsh Regiment
  30. Samuel Thomas, Welsh Regiment
  31. Henry Pollard, Welsh Regiment
  32. Cornelius Mahoney, Welsh Regiment
  33. Henry Davies, Welsh Regiment
  34. Morgan Roberts, Welsh Regiment
  35. Thomas Rule, Welsh Regiment
  36. Lewis Williams, Welsh Regiment
  37. John M Ball, Welsh Regiment
  38. John Hayes, Welsh Regiment
  39. Samuel Broadstock, Gloucester Regiment
  40. Patrick Cronin, Manchester Regiment
  41. Daniel Jones, Imperial Light Infantry
  42. William F Howell, R.A.M.C.

Lieutenant C. M. Jenkins was the son of Thomas Jenkins J.P., farmer, of Pantscallog House, Pant.  Charles was a railway engineer and had been living in the Transvaal for eleven years before he enlisted in Major Thornycroft’s Imperial Mounted Infantry in October 1899; “All my pals are in it, and I must take a hand as well”.  Charles was killed at the battle of Colenso, Natal, on 15 December 1899, aged 32 years old.

The Unveiling Ceremony

After strenuous fund raising the memorial was complete and ready for its official unveiling on Thursday afternoon, 8 September 1904.  In keeping with military tradition the ceremony was planned to precision and comprised both military parade and music.  On the week leading up to the ceremony plans of the ground showing the entrance gates to be used by the various participating groups was on display in prominent office and shop windows about the town.

The ceremony must have looked most impressive with some six hundred officers and men of the volunteer detachments, South Wales Borderers, of Cefn Coed, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil and Merthyr Vale and the Glamorgan Yeomanry.  Witnessing the event was a large assembly of the general public under the supervision of the local police.  Lord Windsor, in his capacity of Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan, accompanied by Mr Forest, Deputy Lieutenant, Mr. W. W. Meredith, High Constable, and Mr. J. M. Berry, Chairman of the Public Works Committee, arrived at the recreation ground in a brougham.  Lord Windsor was met at the entrance of the gates to the ground by the Memorial Committee and was afforded the honour of a guard of one hundred men under the command of Lieutenant D. C. Harris, Merthyr Tydfil Volunteer detachment of the South Wales Borderers.

After speeches from both the High Constable and Dr. Biddle the buglers of the 3rd Volunteer Battalion Welsh Regiment sounded ‘The Last Post’.  Lord Windsor then unveiled the obelisk to great applause and after an appropriate speech concluded by asking Councillor J. M. Berry to accept the memorial on behalf of the Parish of Merthyr.  Councillor Berry accepted the monument and assured Lord Windsor and subscribers that the town would do its utmost to keep it as a sacred trust.

The memorial still stands but is in much need of repair and refurbishment.

The Memorial shortly after it was unveiled. 

Gold King to Merthyr M.P. – William Pritchard Morgan

William Pritchard Morgan was born in Usk in 1844, son of William Morgan, an eminent Wesleyan preacher, who died when the young William was just eight years of age.  Following his education, he was articled to Robert James Cathcart, a solicitor in Newport, but in 1867, following a ‘lively quarrel’ with Cathcart, Morgan left the firm, and indeed the country, emigrating to Queensland in Australia.

In Australia, he took advantage of the skills he had learned in Newport and gained a reputation as a mining lawyer. He also became largely interested in gold-mining ventures in North Queensland, investing money whenever he could. Within twenty years, William Pritchard Morgan was a millionaire.

In 1885 he returned to England and established the mercantile firm of W. Pritchard Morgan & Co. in Queen Victoria Street, London. Fascinated by the many reports that gold had been found in Wales, however, he bought a mansion on a mountain in Dolgellau – and began digging.  Convinced he could succeed where others had failed Morgan, by force of both his personality and his money, set about transforming the mining of gold in Wales. Shortly after taking over the Gwynfynydd mine in Dolgellau in 1887 Morgan’s faith was vindicated when he hit a large pocket of gold. So fabulous was this discovery that he declared to the whole of Britain there was enough gold in Wales to pay off the national debt. His mine, he said, was going be one of the richest in the world – and as there were fifty other sites in North Wales there was every reason to believe that gold would be found in huge quantities.

Gwynfynydd Gold Mine

Morgan’s announcements sent the national press into frenzy. Story after story appeared and every development at Gwynfynydd was enthusiastically reported which in turn brought any array of visitors, from royalty to hordes of sailors who hiked up the mountain on their days off. Morgan became a celebrity and earned the sobriquet ‘The Welsh Gold King’, and with his new found fame pursued his passion for politics.

In October 1888 a vacancy occurred in the representation of Merthyr Tydfil in the House of Commons.  Morgan thereupon became a candidate in the Independent Liberal Party and was returned by a very large majority over the Official Liberal nominee, Richard Foulkes Griffiths.

At that time, the Merthyr Tydfil Constituency had two M.P.s, the second member for the district being David Alfred Thomas, Viscount Rhondda, standing for the Official Liberal Party. The two M.P.s clashed from the outset, but the major political issue between them was attitude to the Second Boer War, supported by Morgan who was on the Liberal imperialist wing of the party. Morgan was also in favour of Welsh disestablishment, making a lengthy parliamentary speech on a resolution in 1891, but his views on disestablishment differed from those of Thomas.

During the campaigning for the 1900 election, Keir Hardie, representing the new Independent Labour Party had launched his bid to become the junior member for Merthyr. Such was the animosity between William Pritchard Morgan and David Alfred Thomas, that Thomas actively supported Keir Hardie. Hardie duly defeated Morgan, becoming one of the first Labour Members of Parliament.

Following his defeat, Morgan retired from politics, and in the words of his contemporaries became a ‘Will of the Wisp’, flitting from place to place, and transferring his mining interests from Wales to the Far East. He reaped the rewards of his investments, living in comfort into his old age, dying on 5 July 1924.

A caricature of William Pritchard Morgan as M.P. for Merthyr

Merthyr’s Heritage Plaques: John Collins

by Keith Lewis-Jones

John Collins V.C., D.C.M., M.M.
Plaque sited in the foyer of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery
Memorial Plinth in the grounds of St. Tydfil’s Church, Merthyr Tydfil

John Collins was born in West Hatch, Somerset in 1880 and came to Merthyr when he was about ten years old.

He  fought  in  the  Boer  War  and  also served in India. In 1914 he joined the Welsh Regiment.

He won his Victoria Cross whilst serving in Palestine with the 25th Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers. The citation states:

“…although isolated and under fire from snipers and guns, he showed throughout a magnificent example of initiative and fearlessness.”

Known as Jack the V.C., he died in 1951 and is buried in Pant Cemetery.

Keir Hardie: Leader of the Labour Party – part 1

by Carolyn Jacob

A rhyming note sent by Keir Hardie to Tom Mackley in reply to some birthday congratulations, 15 August 1912:

Dear Comrade, if you flatter so,
You’ll make an old man vaunty:
I’m six and fifty years, ‘tis true
And much have had to daunt me.
But what of that? My life’s been blest,
With health and faith abiding;
I’ve never sought the rich man’s smile,
I’ve never shirked a hiding.
I’ve tried to do my duty to
My conscience and my neighbour,
Regardless of the gain or loss
Involved in the endeavour.
A happy home, a loving wife,
An I.L.P. fu’ healthy;
I wadna’ swap my lot in life
Wi’ any o’ the wealthy

At this time when we are still remembering the centenary of the end of a dreadful and pointless war we should note that the MP for Merthyr Tydfil, Keir Hardie was totally opposed to this conflict. He died in 1915 broken hearted because World War I had destroyed his great dream of brotherhood. His life is proof that faith, courage and belief can ‘move mountains’. Keir Hardie did not select Merthyr Tydfil, he said that ‘A Welsh speaking Welshman’ should fight Merthyr for the ILP. He believed all Celts were socialists by instinct. Merthyr Tydfil chose Keir Hardie. While Hardie fought an unsuccessful campaign to be elected in Preston, local supporters battled for him in Aberdare and Merthyr. It was possible then to stand in more than one constituency. The election results came out on different days, the newspapers announced that Keir Hardie had been defeated yet again and the next day his victory and election in Merthyr Tydfil was reported. He quickly adapted to Wales, learnt to sing the National Anthem in Welsh and campaigned for Welsh Disestablishment.

James Keir Hardie summarised Merthyr’s contribution to political life: ‘In the golden days to come, when poverty has been destroyed and freedom instituted, the Merthyr Boroughs will hold a warm place in the affections of the happy people as having been the pioneer constituency in heading the Revolution which led to setting up a new social order’.In the words of the Aberdare Leader, 30 October 1915, following the death of Keir Hardie.

‘Earth’s truest heroes are the men who stand Alone, undaunted in a righteous cause, Seeking no honours high or station grand, Heedless alike of blaming or applause; Careless of acclamation or reward’.

We should be proud that our MP, virtually alone in the Commons, spoke against World War 1. He stuck to his beliefs although he met a violent reaction. He would never have criticised those who gave their lives for their country but only those you sent them to their deaths. In the words of George Bernard Shaw after his death, his indomitable truth goes marching on

When he first became an M.P. they had no salary and he supported himself through lectures and writings. He believed it his duty to attend every sitting of the Commons and, if he was prevented by illness, he would send an apology to be put in the Merthyr Express for the electors.

‘It is reputed that a roofer shouted at Keir Hardie assuming he had come to work on the roof of the Commons. His reply was that he had only come to work on the Floor’.

James Keir Hardie was the first advocate of Socialism in the House of Commons and the first leader of an independent Labour group in that assembly. He wanted to eradicate poverty from the lives of the people and to make it possible for all men, women and children to have lives of worth and dignity. He campaigned for all to have good houses, good education and a better economic status. He was a lover of peace. and was elected for Merthyr Tydfil at the time of the Boer War, in the “Khaki” Election of 1900. He was as resolute in denouncing the war as he was in advocating Socialism. He was accused of being a Boer spy and of rejoicing at British defeats and other equally stupid things were said against him, but unpopularity did not silence him, nor modify the tone of his writing in the Labour Leader.

‘Keir Hardie is Labour’s greatest pioneer and its greatest hero. He became the first Labour MP, the founder of the ILP, first leader of the Labour party, pioneer editor of the Labour Leader, and a giant in the socialist movement worldwide. Miraculously, he created a new party, as ‘an uprising of the working class’.

Kenneth O Morgan, Keir Hardie, 2008

To be continued……..

Company Sergeant-Major Charlie Jones

by Ann Lewis

I remember the above photograph of a handsome soldier in uniform, in a black frame taking pride of place in my parents’ living room. He was my father’s uncle, Charlie W. Jones, born at Dowlais, son of Mary and William Jones.

He served in the South African War with the 5th Welsh Regiment, being decorated with a medal. On his return to Dowlais, he, along with several other veterans of the war, was presented with a silver watch by the Dowlais Chamber of Trade at a public meeting. He was also presented with a long service medal by the Territorial Army. To date, however, I have been unable to obtain any information about his service in South Africa.

He was subsequently employed at the Bedlinog Colliery and lived at Greenfield Terrace, Gellifaelog with his wife Annie and his three sons.

At the start of the First World War, Charlie Jones, 37 years of age at the time, was promoted to the rank of Company Sergeant Major, number 59 in the 5th Welsh Regiment, and he was sent to fight in the Dardanelles. Sadly on 21 August 1915 he was killed in action and was subsequently buried at sea. Coincidentally, his eldest son, Private David J. Jones was also in action in the Dardanelles with the 5th Welsh Regiment (Gun Section). How he felt losing his father we can only imagine.

Charlie’s name is included on the Roll of Honour on the Helles Memorial in Turkey, and also on the Roll of Honour at the Merthyr Tydfil Conservative Club.

Merthyr Tydfil Conservative Club Roll of Honour

Our family has lost touch with Charlie’s side of the family, and I have often wondered if there are any of his grand- or great-grandchildren still living in the area, and whether they would be interested in having the original photograph.

If anyone has any information regarding CSM Charlie Jones, or of any of his family, please contact me at merthyr.history@gmail.com, and I will pass the information on to Ann.