A national remembrance service was held across Wales yesterday to honour those who lost their lives in conflict, with a two-minute silence observed today at 11:00 am. In Cardiff, military personnel marched through the city centre, passing City Hall on their way to the main ceremony at the Welsh National War Memorial in Cathays Park.
First Minister Eluned Morgan, who attended the service, highlighted the significance of the occasion.. “It is important that we recognise the impact that war can have on every member of society,” she said. Morgan also expressed her gratitude towards Welsh service members, adding, “It is also an honour to stand alongside our Welsh service personnel who play their part in active service and peace-keeping duties around the world.”
In remembrance services held across the nation, a bugler sounded the Last Post in Wrexham at the Bodhyfryd memorial, leading into a two-minute silence. Parades and commemorative events took place in numerous towns, including Ceredigion, Gwynedd, Powys, Swansea, and Wrexham.
In Gwynedd, a service at Bangor Cathedral was followed by a parade to the city’s war memorial, while similar gatherings took place across the county in Caernarfon and Porthmadog. In Newport, the Stedfast Band led a procession to the cenotaph at Clarence Place, where the City of Newport Male Choir and Newport Borough Brass Band lent their voices to the ceremony.
Swansea’s remembrance service took place at the cenotaph, with a parade proceeding down Oxford Street from 14:00 GMT. Meanwhile, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council reported that at least 15 communities in the region held remembrance services, necessitating several road closures for parades. Similarly, nine communities in Flintshire requested road closures to facilitate their events, according to local sources.
In Carmarthenshire, the County Hall was lit up on Sunday and on Armistice Day evening to “reflect and remember the sacrifices of our armed forces, and all those whose lives have been lost in conflict and acts of terror,” according to council officials. In Hay-on-Wye, Powys, a church service is scheduled for Sunday at 14:45, to be followed by a parade and wreath-laying ceremony at 16:00.
Aberystwyth took a moment to honour the memory of Frank Evans, a World War II veteran and former prisoner of war in Hong Kong and Japan. In the 1980s, Evans returned to these countries to “face his past and to reconcile in order to seal a peaceful future,” said Aberystwyth Mayor Maldwyn Pryse. Pryse, accompanied by schoolchildren and community members, recently returned from a commemorative event in Yosano, Kyoto, marking 40 years since Evans and other prisoners of war were honoured with a dedicated memorial.
Historian Adrian Hughes from Llandudno has been making personal visits to the graves of all 330 people named on the town’s war memorial, laying a small cross or wreath at each. So far, he has visited 284 graves, travelling across the UK, France, Belgium, Israel, and Greece, with 46 graves remaining on his journey.
This solemn day of remembrance across Wales underscored a shared commitment to honouring the bravery and sacrifices of those who served and to keeping their memory alive for future generations.
(Lead Picture: Cardiff Council/Facebook)
