Smartphone technology reveals war dead details on Anglesey

HistoryPoints has created QR codes for 2,000 places around Wales where anyone can receive on-the-spot history on their smartphones. The 179 war memorials featured so far include 16 on Anglesey and 27 in Gwynedd.

In addition to the new QR codes on Anglesey, there is one at Abergwyngregyn.

The newly featured Anglesey ones are in Pentraeth (separate WW1 and WW2 memorials) and Benllech.

Pentraeth First World War memorial

This memorial commemorates local men who died in the First World War.

A spokesperson from HistoryPoints said: "We have also included details of several men who died in the conflict who are not named on the memorial but were connected with Pentraeth.

"The memorial stands beside St Mary’s churchyard wall. The rector of Pentraeth during the war was Rev EP Howell, who was also the rural dean. His eldest son, Lieutenant PC Howell, was wounded in action in 1917 but survived the war. His third son, Glyn, was also a lieutenant.

"Buried in a war grave in the churchyard is Private Thomas Jones of the South Lancashire Regiment. He died in 1917 aged 55, much older than most servicemen.

"In another war grave lies Owen Thomas Owen, who served in the Royal Navy in the Second World War and died in 1947. He and others who died in that war are commemorated on a separate war memorial, outside Pentraeth’s Memorial Hall. Their details are shown on our page about that memorial."

Pentraeth Second World War memorial

This memorial was erected to commemorate local people who died in the Second World War.

"We have included information about Rhiannon Gwyneth Hughes, as her parents lived in Pentraeth. She is named on Benllech war memorial but not on this memorial," the spokesperson said.

"Among the local men who died was Claude Panton Vivian, whose parents owned the Plas Gwyn estate. The Panton and Vivian families were influential in North Wales for centuries.

"The memorial was created at around the same time as the nearby Memorial Hall and originally stood beside the road. It was moved to its present position when the hall was rebuilt.

"Pentraeth’s First World War dead are commemorated on a separate war memorial beside St Mary’s churchyard."

Benllech war memorial

This memorial was unveiled in August 1922 to commemorate the local people who had died as a result of the First World War. The names of the Second World War dead were added later.

Among those who died was Jane Ellen Howdle, a stewardess on the liner RMS Lusitania when it was torpedoed off Ireland while nearing the end of a voyage from New York.

Abergwyngregyn war memorial

The memorial tablet in the lychgate-type structure was unveiled in January 1921 to commemorate local men who lost their lives as a result of the First World War.

The spokesperson said: "The tablet was made by the Williams Penlon Works in Bangor. Local residents raised £49 to pay for it.

"It was originally inside St Bodfan’s Church. After the church’s closure in 1994, villagers had no access to their local war memorial.

"In 2018 the Abergwyngregyn Regeneration Company (ARC) negotiated the tablet’s release from the church. The new structure at the entrance to the churchyard was purpose-built by G A Williams & Sons, of Y Felinheli. The project was funded by residents, visitors, crowdfunding, ARC, the Dŵr Anafon Charity, the Aber Falls Distillery, Welsh Water, Cadw and the War Memorials Trust. The memorial was rededicated, in its new location, in 2020.

"During the project, a local Roll of Honour was rediscovered, in poor condition. After conservation, it was framed and now hangs in Caffi Hen Felin. It lists 74 men who served in the armed forces in the First World War – roughly a quarter of the village’s population – and shows which ones were killed or wounded."

The research and production of the QR codes and web pages were supported by Pentraeth Community Council, Llanfair Mathafarn Eithaf Community Council and Abergwyngregyn Regeneration Company.