Wales in the World Wars
History of Wales |
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Wales, as part of the United Kingdom[i], participated as part of the allies in World War I (1914–1918) and the allies in World War II (1939–1945).
Just under 275,000 soldiers from Wales fought in World War I, with 35,000 combat deaths, in particular at
In World War II, 15,000 soldiers from Wales were killed, with notable regiments such as the Royal Welch Fusiliers, had battled in the Western and south-east Asian theatres, whilst the South Wales Borderers had battled in the Mediterranean and Middle East, Norwegian and Normandy campaigns. Cardiff, Swansea and Pembroke experienced bombing raids from the German Luftwaffe during World War II, with the Cardiff Docks being a strategic bombing target for the German air force as it was a major coal port.
Just prior to World War II, a "bombing school" of
World War I
Historian
The first quarter of the 20th century also saw a shift in the political landscape of Wales. Since 1865, the Liberal Party had held a parliamentary majority in Wales and, following the general election of 1906, only one non-Liberal Member of Parliament, Keir Hardie of Merthyr Tydfil, represented a Welsh constituency at Westminster. Yet by 1906, industrial dissension and political militancy had begun to undermine Liberal consensus in the southern coalfields.[2] In 1916, David Lloyd George became the first Welshman to become Prime Minister of Britain.[3]
Fighting Welsh
The First World War (1914–1918) saw a total of 272,924 Welshmen under arms, representing 21.5 per cent of the male population. Of these, roughly 35,000 were killed,[4] with particularly heavy losses of Welsh forces at Mametz Wood on the Somme and the Battle of Passchendaele.[5]
The 1st and 2nd battalions of the Royal Welch Fusiliers served on the Western Front from 1914 to 1918 and took part in some of the hardest fighting of the war, including Mametz Wood in 1916 and Passchendaele or Third Ypres in 1917.[6][full citation needed][7] The Welsh-language poet, Hedd Wyn was part of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and was killed during the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod for a poem he wrote on his way to the frontline. Evans, who had been awarded several chairs for his poetry, was inspired to take the bardic name Hedd Wyn ("White Peace" or "Blessed Peace") from the way sunlight penetrated the mist in the Meirionnydd valleys.[8]
One of his other poems, Rhyfel ("War") is quoted in popular media[9][10];
Gwae fi fy myw mewn oes mor ddreng, |
Why must I live in this grim age, |
Of the
Mametz battle
The Welsh soldiers did not lack in courage, but had been given an impossible task. Eventually Welsh troops fought their way into the woods but were outnumbered by German defenders three-to-one. The Welsh had been trained for this type of warfare. In addition, the wood had poor visibility and was difficult to maintain one's bearings. By dawn of 12 July, the Welsh had taken Mametz Wood. The 38th (Welsh) Division was relieved and taken out of the front line.[14]
The commander over British forces at the Somme, Douglas Haig was later described as "The Butcher of the Somme" and 'Butcher' Haig.[15][16]
Frongoch prisoners of the Irish Easter Rising
Until 1916 the
World War II
For the first time in centuries, the population of Wales went into decline; unemployment reduced only with the production demands of the
Penyberth
Welsh nationalism was ignited in the lead up to the second world war, when in 1936 the UK government settled on establishing the RAF Penrhos bombing school at Penyberth on the Llŷn peninsula in Gwynedd. The events surrounding the protest, known as Tân yn Llŷn (Fire in Llŷn), helped define Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru (National Party of Wales).[23] The UK government settled on Llŷn as the site for its new bombing school after similar locations in Northumberland and Dorset were met with protests.[24]
However, UK Prime Minister
Fighting Welsh
The war saw Welsh servicemen and women fight in all major theatres, with some 15,000 of them killed. After 1943, 10 per cent of Welsh conscripts aged 18 were sent to work in the coal mines, where there were labour shortages; they became known as Bevin Boys. Pacifist numbers during both World Wars were fairly low, especially in the Second World War, which was seen as a fight against fascism.[26]
The
Of the South Wales Borderers, the 1st Battalion, as part of the 10th Indian Infantry Division, was sent to Iraq to quell a German-inspired uprising in Iraq in November 1941.[29] The battalion saw subsequent service in Iran. The battalion sustained enormous casualties in Libya near Tobruk when they lost around 500 officers and men captured or killed during a general retreat.[29] The battalion found itself cut off when the German forces outflanked them, the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Matthews, decided to attempt to escape around the enemy and break through to British lines. It turned into a disaster with only four officers and around one hundred men reaching Sollum.[29]
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the 2nd Battalion of the South Wales Bordrers was serving in
Blitz
Bombing raids brought high loss of life as the German Air Force targeted the docks at Swansea, Cardiff and Pembroke.[26]
The Cardiff Blitz between 1940 and the final raid on the city in March 1944 approximately 2,100 bombs fell, killing 355 people.[35]
Cardiff Docks became a strategic bombing target for the Luftwaffe as it was one of the biggest coal ports in the world.[36][37] Consequently, it and the surrounding area were heavily bombed. Llandaff Cathedral, amongst many other civilian buildings caught in the raids, was damaged by the bombing in 1941.[38]
Prisoner of war camp
Notes
- ^ United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland before 1922, including all of Ireland.
References
- ^ John, Arthur H. (1980). Glamorgan County History, Volume V, Industrial Glamorgan from 1700 to 1970. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 183.
- ^ Davies (2008) p. 461
- ^ "David Lloyd George (1863–1945)". BBC Cymru Wales website. BBC Cymru Wales. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ Davies (2008) p. 284
- ^ Davies (2008) p. 285
- ^ James, pp. 66–8.
- ^ "Royal Welch Fusiliers". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ "Hedd Wyn". poetsgraves.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ "BBC Two - Hedd Wyn: The Lost War Poet, Extract from Rhyfel (War)". BBC. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Hedd Wyn (1887-1917)". Literature Wales. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ Llwyd, Alan (2008). Out of the Fire of Hell: Welsh Experience of the Great War 1914–1918 in Prose and Verse. Gomer Press.
- ^ a b c "South Wales Borderers". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ "With the 38th Division in France". The Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regimental Museum. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Mametz Wood: The Welsh attack and its legacy". BBC News. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Pope, Cassie (26 June 2018). "Was Douglas Haig Really "The Butcher of the Somme"?". historyhit.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- National Army Museum. Archived from the originalon 14 February 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
- ISBN 0-7171-2945-4.
- ^ "Frongoch: Whisky Makers and Prisoners of War". www.ballinagree.freeservers.com.
- ^ a b "Welsh village summons ghosts of Ireland's revolutionary past". the Guardian. 27 December 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "The Green Dragon No 4, Autumn 1997". Ballinagree.freeservers.com. 31 March 2005. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Granville, David (4 October 2002). "Plaque marks Frongoch internment camp". Irish Democrat.
- ^ Davies (2008) p. 918
- ISBN 0-14-014581-8, Page 593
- ^ a b c d Davies, op cit, page 592
- ^ "Penrhos - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ a b Davies (2008) p. 807
- ^ "Timeline". Royal Welsh. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ "2nd British Division". Burma Star Association. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ a b c "1st Battalion The South Wales Borderers" (PDF). Royal Welsh. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ "2nd Battalion South Wales Borderers". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 January 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Joslen, p. 333
- ^ "Rupertforce" (PDF). British Military History. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ "2nd Battalion The South Wales Borderers" (PDF). Royal Welsh. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ "2nd Battalion The South Wales Borderers" (PDF). Royal Welsh. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ BBC News | Cardiff's 'worst night' of Blitz remembered 70 years on
- ^ "Coal Exchange to 'stock exchange'". BBC News Wales. 26 April 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "Rhagor, Cardiff – Coal and Shipping Metropolis of the World". Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. 18 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "History of Llandaff Cathedral". Llandaffcathedral.org.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- ^ "BRIDGEND GERMAN POW CAMP, ISLAND FARM CAMP 198 / SPECIAL CAMP XI". 14 February 2017. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- ^ Rogers, Simon (8 November 2010). "Every prisoner of war camp in the UK mapped and listed". the Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
Bibliography
Davies, John;