The War Memorial is situated in the grounds of the former Calvanistic Methodists’ Sunday School, now the village hall. The Waen is bisected by the A55. The village hall is situated on one side of the road in Waeneithinog; the other side of the A55 is known as Waengoleugoed.
Waen War Memorial
A recently published book, Stori Capel Waengoleugoed (The Story of Waengoleugoed Chapel), makes reference to the young men from the Waen who perished in the First World War.
Sections from the book are reproduced on the website with the kind permission of the Editor.*
“Chafodd y rhyfel byd cyntaf effaith erchyll ar gymunedau bach fel Waengoleugoed a chafodd chwech o fechgyn Waengoleugoed eu lladd yn ystod y rhyfel byd cyntaf. Dyma oedd sylw am y rhyfel yng nghyfarfod y Cyngor Plwyf yn 1917:
‘Y mae rhan fwyaf o’r bobl ieuanc sydd wedi ymuno gyda’r fyddin o’r plwyf yma ar hyn o bryd ar faes y rhyfel yn Ffrainc, a’r Aifft. Hyd y gwyddom does dim newydd am Mr T Hugh Jones ac mae pawb yn yr ardal yn gofidio amdano. Y mae Mr T A Jones ail fab Mr Jones Fachwen Farm ar goll ers amser maith a’r tebygolrwydd yw ei fod yn garcharor.’
Bu i Gapel Waengoleugoed golli tri bachgen ifanc annwyl ac aelodau gwerthfawr sef Thomas Hugh Jones, Joseph C Jones a John Hugh Jones ac roedd eu teuluoedd hefyd yn aelodau ffyddlon yn y Capel a bu i blwy bach y Waen golli chwech o’u bechgyn ifanc.
Enwau’r dynion o Gapel Waengoleugoed aeth i ymladd yn y fyddin. The names of the men who fought in the army.
Enwau’r rhai a laddwyd. The names of those who died
Ar Awst 5ed 2014 gwahoddwyd y cyhoedd i diffodd eu goleuadau am awr rhwng 10 ac 11 yh i gofio y rhyfel byd cyntaf. Bu ini golau canwyll a’u adael yn ffenestr y Capel am yr awr yma a darllen enwau y chwech bachgen a laddwyd o’r Waen yn ystod y rhyfel byd cyntaf.
“The first world war had a terrible effect on small communities like Waengoleugoed and six Waengoleugoed youths were killed during the war. There is a reference to the war in a Parish Council meeting in 1917 which includes the fact that most of the young people from the parish who had joined the army were at present on the battlefields of France and Egypt. It goes on to report ‘As far as we know there is no news about Mr T Hugh Jones and everyone in the community is worried about him. Mr T A Jones, the second son of Mr Jones Fachwen Farm has been missing for a long time and has probably been taken prisoner’.
So it was that Waengoleugoed Chapel lost three dear young men, precious members namely Thomas Hugh Jones, Joseph C Jones and John Hugh Jones. Their families too were faithful members of the chapel and thus the small parish of the Waen lost six of their young men.
On the 5th of August 2014 everyone was invited to put out their lights for one hour between 10pm and 11pm to remember the First World War. During this hour the members lit a candle and placed it in the window of the chapel and the names of the six boys who were killed were read out.”
Capel y Waen
*Stori Capel Waengoleugoed: Sul, Gwyl a Gwaith.
Golygydd: Mari Lloyd-Williams
Cyhoeddiadau Modern ISBN 0 901332 97 6
http://www.capelywaen.btck.co.uk