At the going down of the Sun, And in the Morning...

I always make a point of observing the anniversary of the November 1918 Armistice. This year I was able to attend an Armistice Dinner on the Friday, and then a Remembrance Sunday service with the family. I never set out to go anywhere particular to observe the 2 minutes silence on the 11th itself. I simply stop at the nearest memorial wherever I happen to be. 11am on the 11th found me in Llangollen where I was able to attend the commemoration at the war memorial before setting out on my canal walk.

The memorial is in a prominent position on the high street and has a well supported field of remembrance.

The British Legion flags were lowered for the silence and the last post was played.

For the 1914 - 18 war there are 71 names recorded.

For the 1939 - 45 conflict there were 30 names recorded.

As the anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War approaches there is a lot of interest in exactly who these people were. "We will remember them" should be taken literally and the history of these people has been traced by Peter Stubbs and David Crane who are prominent historian locally and play a great part in the local museum. David has written "Walks through the History of Rural Llangollen" and Peter is prepared to work for anyone who would like research carried out on people who served in the wars of the 20th century. He can be contacted at pastubbs23@hotmail.co.uk, or on 01978 869 037.

The history of the names on the Llangollen memorial can be seen at http://www.llangollenmuseum.org.uk/english/Memorials/MemorialsHome.htm