Not on the Memorial Plaque

A considerable amount of effort has been made in trying to trace and identify those names that are on the Memorial Plaque in the village, even though some of those names I have not fully identified. Many hours of research and reviewing has taken place to ensure the names are correctly identified.

During this research, I have found a number of names that do not appear on the First World War Memorial plaque at Nelson, but maybe, they should. All these men had some connection with Nelson, Glamorgan according to records I have searched and found. Father Chris Reaney, The Rector of Llanfabon has also provided some of the names for me to include.

There are a small few in this list that could arguably be represented by an incorrect inscription on the memorial. One has to bear in mind that the writing styles at the time these men's details were recorded were somewhat different to what our modern writing styles are. Also, reading capabilities may have had some influence. Even by today's standards, I have found it rather difficult to decipher some characters from St Mabon's Parish war Memorial. It is hardly surprising to me, then, to find that, for example, a letter 'C' has been mistaken for a letter 'E' or 'G'

You will find that the majority of the names listed are beyond the scope of a mis-read document and have clearly been omitted. The reasons behind this may be simple or obscure. The purpose of this site is not to apportion any blame as to why names are not on the plaque, but to acknowledge these men who may be Sons of Nelson, Glamorgan, but in any event paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Possible reasons for omission

One source has suggested that when the list of names was compiled, old school records were consulted at both Llancaiach and Llanfabon schools, both of which are in the village. The school records showed men who, as boys, had attended either school. Their home addresses were included in the school registers. If the home addresses were found to be outside the Nelson area, those men's details were discounted from qualifying for a place on the memorial as it was felt that they should be placed on memorials in the villages where they lived. (Source: Bert Richards)

Another source has suggested that essentially, the village memorial was compiled from the St Mabon Parish War Memorial. On that memorial are names compiled based on Church attendance. Some of the names relate to men and their families that were from outside this Parish and from other nearby villages. The village of Trelewis features in this argument several times as does the village of Cilfynydd, Near Pontypridd. For this reason I have included page links to information about those memorials and the names listed thereupon. The reason they are on the Llanfabon Parish memorial is that while living in a nearby village, the families often found it easier to walk to St John's Church, situated in High Street, Nelson, than they did to their own village Church. (Source: Father Chris Reaney)

A simplified version of the above reason is that when the information to be placed on each village memorial was being gathered, remaining families who were able to provide facts lived in nearby villages. Documents could then have shown that the family members lost in the war originated from those villages. This is just as feasible as an explanation.

There may be other reasons. 

I accept that there may also be others that I myself have not included into this addendum. This was not deliberate. I have researched using various records. If I cannot establish a link, the details are not included. If, however, you have information about anyone that you feel should be included and would like this to be done, please contact me with the details, showing the link to the village.

Please follow the link in the left column to go to the list of names.

There are several men whose details appear in the main Nelson War Memorial web-site, with notes on individual pages that their names are inscribed on War Memorials in the nearby villages of Trelewis and Cilfynydd. A hyper-link will now allow you to go to the Trelewis or Cilfynydd War Memorial information that I have included into this site, where I have been able to find that information.

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