We Will Remember Them
In future this site will be dedicated to the Porthcawl and the Great War.
All other information relating to Porthcawl Museum will, in future, be held on the Porthcawl Museum site. Visit - porthcawlmuseum.com
All other information relating to Porthcawl Museum will, in future, be held on the Porthcawl Museum site. Visit - porthcawlmuseum.com
Available from Porthcawl Museum £6. Second Reprint. All proceeds to the Museum.
3rd and Final book documenting Porthcawl and the Great War. Available from Porthcawl Museum £6. All proceeds to the Museum.
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Available from Porthcawl Museum £6. All proceeds to the Museum.
Commemorative Booklet available at Porthcawl Museum. Price £3. All proceeds to the Museum.
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JANUARY 1918
“Owing to the breakdown of Russia, the military situation was more favourable to us at New Year 1918 than one could ever have expected.’ General Erich Ludendorff, German Imperial Army. Whereas the German High Command was able to increase its military strength on the Western Front, the Allies were in a weak position, as American troops had not yet arrived in huge numbers. Further, the continued Royal Naval blockade of German ports was crippling Germany economically. German people were enduring serious food shortages, the transport infrastructure was breaking down, morale was at an alltime low and strikes were developing throughout the country. Germany needed the war to end as soon as was possible. In January 1918, they continued to plan for an all out attack, along the allied lines, with the aim of breaking through to victory. Therefore, all was quiet on the Western Front until 21st March, when the Spring Offensive, began. Thus begins 1918. The third and last book in the series will be out October 2018. '1918 and The Aftermath'. Porthcawl resident or not,we would love to hear your family's story from the war years.
Please contact us at porthcawlmuseum@hotmail.co.uk The Western Front 1915 Read more The Battle of the Somme 1916 Read more Conscription was introduced in Britain January 1916 Read more Private Davies's Battalion was at the front Christmas 1914.
click here.
Private Wilson Edwick teaching a horse to eat out of his hoof.
Porthcawl Railway Staff 1917
Philip Harding (front row,far right) had been Porthcawl’s Station Porter since 1865. His intention had been to retire in 1914 but he was heard to say:
“ I am too old to go and fight, but I will continue to do my duty by remaining here until the war is over.” Mr Harding retired in August 1919 aged 72 yrs. 
The man who enlisted three times! Click on his photo.
German U Boat washed ashore in Hastings.
The U-boat, was the German Navy's most formidable weapon. It was more sophisticated than those built by any other nation at the time. Typical U-boats were 214 feet long, carried 35 men and 12 torpedoes. The U Boat could travel underwater for two hours at a time. In the first few years of World War I, Allied shipping suffered greatly from the effect of this weapon.The most famous ship to be targeted was the 'Lusitania.'
On 31st January 1917, Germany announced the intention of unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic. German submarines were prepared to attack any and all ships, including civilian passenger carriers, said to be sighted in war-zone waters.The aim was to inflict such high losses on British Merchant ships, thought to carrying urgently needed food and ammunition imports to Britain. German command believed that an early peace could then be achieved before the United States could react effectively. The U-118, pictured above, surrendered on 23 February 1919. Her last hit was the British tanker 'Arca', on 2nd October off Donegal,Ireland. Following her surrender, the tow cable snapped during the voyage to France . As a result she went aground off Hastings on 15 April 1919. She was later broken up and sold for scrap.It is believed that some of the keel still lays under the sand at Hastings. During the intense attacks of 1917, by German U Boats on Merchant shipping, 3 Porthcawl men lost their lives. Chief Petty Officer Richard Power,Chief Officer Angus Grant and Fourth Engineer Officer William Robert Lewis. click here for more information. Major William Dowdeswell
Major William Dowdeswell,
(front row. 4th from the right.) from Pontypridd, served with the 5th Battalion,at Gallipoli; as their commanding officer.The battalion was part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division that landed at Suvla Bay on 9th August 1915. Following the failed military advances of August, work and sickness filled the next months. Exacerbated by millions of flies, unburied corpses lying between opposing trenches and the confined space in which men and animals existed, resulted in thousands of cases of dysentery and diarrhea. Early in October the numbers in the 4th and 5th Welsh had fallen so low that the two Battalions were amalgamated into one, called the 4th/5th Welsh Composite, under command of Major H. H. Southey of the 5th Welsh, Major Dowdeswell having been invalided home, on 7th October, suffering with chronic dysentery. Home eventually became, Southcove, The Esplanade, Porthcawl to where he and his family moved, a few years after the war. In 1930,Colonel W Dowdeswell died and was buried at St John’s Church, Newton. It is interesting to note that cause of death was attributed to his time in Gallipoli. Eventually, on 11th December the 4th/5th Composite was the first unit to be evacuated from the peninsula. The evacuation was forced by a combination of combat, disease and harsh weather which saw the division reduced to just 162 officers and 2428 men, approximately 15% of its former strength. |
'Porthcawl at War' tells
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Lt Colonel Frank H. Gaskell
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Receipt asked for a year later.
Following the death of Lt Colonel Gaskell on 15th May 1916, as a result of a sniper's bullet hitting his ammunition pouch,Major Frank W. Smith took over command.On 11th June 1916, the Battalion along with other units of the 38th Division moved south to
The Somme in readiness for the July Offensive.
The Somme in readiness for the July Offensive.
The 16th Battalion was to serve at Mametz Wood.
Mametz Wood
by Christopher Williams now on display at The Royal Welsh Fusilier Museum, Caernavon Castle.
For more information on 'The Somme' click here
Cigarette Case Saves Soldier’s Life
at Gallipoli
The life of Private John James Thomas, 4th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, was saved by his cigarette case at Suvla Bay, August 1915.
John James Thomas was born in the village of Penygroes, Near Llanelli. Although he had begun an apprenticeship at a draper’s shop, he was more concerned with the war. John’s neighbour, who had enlisted in 1914, had allowed him to try on his uniform and hold his gun, whilst on leave. This affected John to such an extent that one particular day in January 1915, instead of going to work, as his mother had thought, he got on a train to Brecon and joined the 4th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, having lied about his age. Private John J Thomas, Service No 813, was 15 years old.
Following training, the battalion left from Devonport on 19th July aboard the SS Mauritania, bound for the Mediterranean. On the 9th August, as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division, John’s battalion landed at Suvla Bay on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The division soon suffered over-crowding, chaos on the beaches, and constant sniper fire from Turkish batteries, positioned on the cliffs above. Many casualties occurred in those first few days and had it not been for his cigarette case, Private Thomas would certainly have been one. A bullet aimed at his heart struck the cigarette case positioned in his breast pocket.
John’s son, also, named John Thomas, commented, “It is said that it was the first time such a thing had ever happened in British military history.” Mr. & Mrs. Thomas, from Bridgend, had visited the Porthcawl Museum recently, during which time this remarkable story was revealed to the staff on duty. Later, Mr. Thomas returned to the museum with his father’s medals and that infamous cigarette case. Paul Joseph, Chair of the Museum, stated ,”We feel very grateful and privileged that Mr. Thomas has allowed us to display his father’s memorabilia.”
The case will now form the centrepiece of the Porthcawl Museum’s display – ‘The Welsh at Gallipoli,’ opening Saturday 8th August 2015.
John James Thomas was born in the village of Penygroes, Near Llanelli. Although he had begun an apprenticeship at a draper’s shop, he was more concerned with the war. John’s neighbour, who had enlisted in 1914, had allowed him to try on his uniform and hold his gun, whilst on leave. This affected John to such an extent that one particular day in January 1915, instead of going to work, as his mother had thought, he got on a train to Brecon and joined the 4th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, having lied about his age. Private John J Thomas, Service No 813, was 15 years old.
Following training, the battalion left from Devonport on 19th July aboard the SS Mauritania, bound for the Mediterranean. On the 9th August, as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division, John’s battalion landed at Suvla Bay on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The division soon suffered over-crowding, chaos on the beaches, and constant sniper fire from Turkish batteries, positioned on the cliffs above. Many casualties occurred in those first few days and had it not been for his cigarette case, Private Thomas would certainly have been one. A bullet aimed at his heart struck the cigarette case positioned in his breast pocket.
John’s son, also, named John Thomas, commented, “It is said that it was the first time such a thing had ever happened in British military history.” Mr. & Mrs. Thomas, from Bridgend, had visited the Porthcawl Museum recently, during which time this remarkable story was revealed to the staff on duty. Later, Mr. Thomas returned to the museum with his father’s medals and that infamous cigarette case. Paul Joseph, Chair of the Museum, stated ,”We feel very grateful and privileged that Mr. Thomas has allowed us to display his father’s memorabilia.”
The case will now form the centrepiece of the Porthcawl Museum’s display – ‘The Welsh at Gallipoli,’ opening Saturday 8th August 2015.
Private Thomas is the young man in the middle row.
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When war was declared on 4th August 1914, all reservists and naval personnel were called up and left Porthcawl within the week. Men,who were outside the enlistment age, volunteered to replace the fighting men. Also, being a coast town, fear was felt that the enemy would come up the channel. Therefore, Porthcawl formed its own Volunteer Coast Intelligence Department. Official badges were issued. (photograph)
Corporal H.J.E.Maxwell was killed on such a road as this. Read more
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Field Hospital X-ray
This is an x-ray of Corporal Arthur Cecil Avenell's leg. Cecil worked for the GWR at Bridgend prior to the war, distinguished himself at the Battle of Arras. His mother lived at 28 Suffolk Place, Porthcawl. On 31st January at Cambrai, Cpl Avenell received a bullet wound to the left leg, which resulted in his leg being amputated 8 inches above the knee. During his long recovery, he was transferred from one hospital to another.One of the hospitals that he was a patient was St John’s Auxiliary Hospital ,Porthcawl in February 1919. Cpl Avenell was fitted with an artificial limb on 6th September 1919. Married Stella Hartery in 1920. Died March 1970. It is likely that Marie Curie or her daughter took this X-ray. After war broke out in July 1914, Marie realised what a vital role X-ray machines could play in treating the men who were wounded in battle. She began touring Paris raising funds, gathering supplies and persuading car manufacturers to convert their vehicles into X-ray ambulances. She eventually established 200 of these mobile X-ray units, known as “Little Curies”, which she herself would drive to the front line. | ||||||||||
The Race to the Sea
At the commencement of the war a trench was nowhere to be seen. The Germans had invaded France through Luxembourg and crossed the border into Belgium. Their objective was the fall of Paris. The French, Belgium and British response was to throw armies into the field to halt the German advance. The struggle between both sides, intensified after the defeat of the Germans at the battle of the Marne, 7th-10th September 1914. The Germans withdrew to the River Aisne and dug in. As each side attempted to attack the other’s northern flank in order to surround the enemy, escalating manoeuvres resulted in both sides moving toward the Belgian border and the North Sea coast. It ended with the first battle of Ypres (30th October-24th November 1914) when a German drive to capture the Channel ports was prevented. The result of this “race to the sea” was the emergence of two continuous lines of trenches reaching from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. A stalemate was created which was to dominate the Western Front until the German spring offensive of March 1918.
Map - www.historyofwar.org – map of race to the sea
At the commencement of the war a trench was nowhere to be seen. The Germans had invaded France through Luxembourg and crossed the border into Belgium. Their objective was the fall of Paris. The French, Belgium and British response was to throw armies into the field to halt the German advance. The struggle between both sides, intensified after the defeat of the Germans at the battle of the Marne, 7th-10th September 1914. The Germans withdrew to the River Aisne and dug in. As each side attempted to attack the other’s northern flank in order to surround the enemy, escalating manoeuvres resulted in both sides moving toward the Belgian border and the North Sea coast. It ended with the first battle of Ypres (30th October-24th November 1914) when a German drive to capture the Channel ports was prevented. The result of this “race to the sea” was the emergence of two continuous lines of trenches reaching from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. A stalemate was created which was to dominate the Western Front until the German spring offensive of March 1918.
Map - www.historyofwar.org – map of race to the sea
Gallipoli 1915One of the bloodiest campaigns of the First World War was fought in the Dardenelles between April 25th April - 11th October 1915. 250,000 casualties were sustained by British and Commonwealth troops. 47,000 French and 250,000 Turkish. What part did Porthcawl play? |
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This list is not complete as 2 Porthcawl policemen are not recorded. PC Frank Trott and PC Joseph Carter.
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This website is owned by Porthcawl Museum. The website has been created by Ceri Joseph.
Porthcawl Museum holds the copyright for all written material on the main pages of this site.
The Blog may use the work of others. Every effort is made to reference the author of other material.
Porthcawl Museum holds the copyright for all written material on the main pages of this site.
The Blog may use the work of others. Every effort is made to reference the author of other material.