: First World War

With Volunteers’ Week fast approaching, many museums and galleries are busy planning events and activities to promote and celebrate the contribution of their volunteers. Here at St Fagans, volunteers play an active role in all aspects of our work. From whitewashing to thatching, rag-rug making to gardening, their skills and dedication are visible across the site.

A hundred years ago, volunteers were leaving their mark on St Fagans under very different circumstances. During the First World War, the British Red Cross opened a 70 bed auxiliary hospital in the grounds of St Fagans Castle, staffed by Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses (known as VADs) from the local area.

The VAD scheme was formed in 1909 by the British Red Cross and the Order of St John, with the intention of providing additional nursing services in the event of war. Detachments (or units) were organised at county level, with each volunteer member receiving training in first aid and basic nursing skills. The first detachment to be established in Wales was formed at St Fagans Castle, of all places, in November 1909. The following year, two hundred VAD members from the county of Glamorgan took over the grounds for a training day. A reporter from the Cardiff Times witnessed the action:

An interesting demonstration was given in a field, showing how the wounded can be carried to the rear for treatment at hospital bases. Dr Sparrow explaining how first aid can be given without special provision of splints, bandages etc. A feature of the demonstration was a spring cart, lent by James Howells and Co Cardiff, which in less than seven minutes can be improvised for twenty-four wounded soldiers under cover. [Cardiff Times 24 September 1910]

Many of the nurses who volunteered at the St Fagans Red Cross Hospital during the war joined the VAD scheme at this early stage. One of whom was Mary Ann Dodd – known as Polly. She worked as a housemaid for the Windsor-Clive family in the Castle, but also did turns of duty at the hospital, as she recalled some 40 years later:

I used to cook and clean and one day a week I did the washing. Those soldiers’ socks were in a state, many had no heels in them at all. The soldiers only laughed and teased us, and when they got better, they tried to help us.

In July, we’ll be exploring some of these personal stories on-site through music and performance. The much-anticipated culmination of the Make an Aria project (in partnership with Music Theatre Wales and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama) will give operatic life to the men and women who lived, worked and convalesced at the Castle during the war. The Make an Aria project is a first for the Museum - we don't often experiment with musical interpretation. Book your tickets now! And of course, don't forget about the First World War online catalogue. We’ve created a ‘volunteering’ tag to pull together all the collections relating to voluntary action during the First World War, both here at St Fagans and in communities across Wales.

UPDATE! Free tickets now available for MAKE AN ARIA on 7 July 2015. Experimenting with opera and performance in the grounds of St Fagans Castle. An opportunity not to be missed. See What's On for further details.

Wythnos nesaf bydd Caerffili a’r cylch yn croesawu Eisteddfod yr Urdd a dros 15,000 o blant a phobl ifanc i’r dref i gystadlu mewn cystadlaethau megis canu, dawnsio a pherfformio. Uchafbwynt yr ŵyl i lawer fydd seremoni’r coroni a chadeirio.

Ar y penwythnos yma, ganrif yn ôl, bu Kate hefyd yn ymweld ag Eisteddfod, sef Eisteddfod Llanuwchllyn 1915.

Enillydd cadair Eisteddfod Llanuwchllyn y diwrnod hynny oedd neb llai, nag Hedd Wyn, un o brif ffigurau llenyddol Cymru.

Y gadair yma oedd y bedwaredd gadair iddo ennill mewn eisteddfod leol, a’i ffugenw oedd ‘Fleur-de-lis’, enw a ddefnyddiodd sawl tro wrth gystadlu. Dyma hefyd oedd yr eildro iddo ennill cadair Eisteddfod Llanuwchllyn. Yn yr eisteddfod gyntaf, yn ôl llafar gwlad, bu’n rhaid cadeirio Hedd Wyn yn ei absenoldeb, oherwydd iddo adael yr eisteddfod yng nghwmni un o ferched y fro, ac aros allan gyda hi.

Derbyniodd glod aruthrol yn y ddwy eisteddfod. Meddai’r beirniad ym 1913:

Well done Hedd Wyn, dos yn mlaen hyd nes cyrhaedd Cadair Genedlaethol.

A dyna be wnaeth – yn 1915 aeth ati i geisio am Gadair Genedlaethol Eisteddfod Bangor ond ni ddaeth i’r brig y tro yna. T.H Parry Williams a gipiodd y gadair a’r goron y flwyddyn hynny.

Er iddo golli ym Mangor, ddwy flynedd yn ddiweddarach, bu iddo ennill Cadair Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Penbedw 1917, ond yn dorcalonnus, bu farw mewn brwydr yng ngwlad Belg rhai wythnosau ynghynt. Yn ystod y ddefod, gosodwyd gorchudd du dros y Gadair.

Bu eisteddfodau yn elfen bwysig o fywydau'r Gymru yn ystod y Rhyfel. Fe roddodd gyfle i bobl ddod at ei gilydd i fwynhau ag anghofio pryderon rhyfel, pe bai hynny ond am ysbaid fechan. Mewn cyfnod o ansicrwydd, dychryn a pherygl fe fydda’r eisteddfod yn corddi ymdeimlad o ysbryd cymunedol, nid yn unig ar y ffrynt Gartref ond hefyd i filwyr hiraethus o Gymru:

The Welshmen in khaki could not let Easter go by without his feast of song, and “somewhere in England” the lads from the Principality had a Welsh Divisional Eisteddfod. Cambrian Daily Leader, 25 Ebrill 1916  

Yn dilyn ymlaen o flog Elen am Wersyll Carcharorion Frongoch, dw i am dynnu eich sylw at y gwrthrychau sydd gennym yn ein casgliadau sy’n gysylltiedig â charcharorion rhyfel neu gwersylloedd rhyfel yn ystod y ddau ryfel byd.

Am gyfod byr bu’r peilot Arthur Wellesley Rees Evans yn garcharor rhyfel pan saethwyd ei awyren i lawr tra ar ei ffordd i fomio Cologne yn ystod y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf. Mae ei gasgliad gennym yn yr archif yn Sain Ffagan ac yn cynnwys dogfennau megis canllawiau am gyfathrebu â charcharorion rhyfel sydd wedi'u caethiwo dramor, canllawiau'r Pwyllgor Canolog Carcharorion Rhyfel ynghylch anfon parseli bwyd i garcharorion rhyfel yn yr Almaen, yn ogystal â cherdyn post o Wersyll Carcharorion Rhyfel Limburg yn hysbysu ei deulu ei fod yn garcharor rhyfel.

Mae enghreifftiau gennym hefyd o wrthrychau a wnaed gan garcharorion rhyfel Almaeneg a Thwrcaidd yn ystod y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf. Mae'r rhain yn cynnwys set ysmygu a wnaed gan garcharor Almaeneg mewn gwersyll carcharorion rhyfel ym Mhenarth, a model gleinwaith o neidr gyda chameleon yn ei geg gyda'r geiriau 'TURKISH PRISONER 1917'.

Mae pawb yn gyfarwydd â’r ddelwedd o garcharorion rhyfel Prydeinig yn brwydro ac yn dianc o wersylloedd y gelyn yn ystod yr Ail Ryfel Byd mewn storïau anhygoel megis ‘The Great Escape’ neu ‘Pum Cynnig i Gymro’.

Mae stori

yn debyg iawn i’r storïau hyn. Bu’n aelod o’r RAF, a chymrodd rhan mewn nifer o chyrchfaoedd bomio yn ystod yr Ail Ryfel Byd. Saethwyd ei awyren i lawr yn Mai 1943, a chafodd ei ddal gan yr Almaenwyr tra’n lloches gyda theulu Ffleminaidd. Danfonwyd Cecil i wersyll carcharorion rhyfel Almaeneg, Stalag Luft 3, ond nid oedd yn bwriadu treulio gweddill y rhyfel y tu ôl i’r weiren bigog. Felly, mi ddihangodd

cyn cael ei ddal eto gan yr Almaenwyr a’i ddanfon yn ôl i’r gwersyll. Rhoddwyd ei gasgliad o ddogfennau i’r Amgueddfa ddwy flynedd yn ôl, ac mae’n gasgliad hynod ddiddorol. Mae’n cynnwys cynlluniau i ddianc , mapiau hancesi papur , trwyddedau ffug gyda’r stamp Natsïaidd , a hyd yn oed ambell i Reichsmarks!

A hundred years ago today, on 7 May 1915, the British ocean liner the Lusitania was struck by a German torpedo off the Irish coast, on her homeward voyage across the Atlantic from New York to Liverpool. She sank within twenty minutes. 1,198 of the 1,959 passengers aboard, including children and crew, perished. This was seen as a ‘German crime against humanity’, and a verdict of ‘wilful and wholesale murder’ was pronounced against Kaiser Wilhelm II and his government. In Germany, a medal was struck to commemorate the event, a copy of which we have in the collection.

Among those lost was a Welshman named Owen Ladd. He was born in 1882, the son of William and Phoebe Ladd, of Eglwyswrw in north Pembrokeshire. Owen had been educated at Llantood Board School and later became an apprentice watchmaker in Cardigan. He had also managed a shop in Pentre, Rhondda, for nine years.

In 1911, he left Wales to join his older brother, David, who was an accountant in Winnipeg, Canada. Owen quickly became a prominent figure within the Welsh community there, serving as secretary of the St David’s Society as well as being a leading member of the Nassau Street Baptist Church. He also occasionally acted as adjudicator at local eisteddfodau.

In 1915, Owen decided to return to Wales to visit his ageing parents and possibly enlist in the military. However, tragically, he lost his life on that fateful voyage aboard the Lusitania.

On 12 May 1915, The Haverfordwest and Milford Haven Telegraph reported on ‘The Sinking of the Lusitania’ and mentioned Owen Ladd as missing. An eyewitness account of Owen’s final harrowing moments appeared in the north Pembrokeshire’s weekly – 

on 20 May 1915.

In 1977 the Museum acquired some diaries and papers from Owen’s relatives, including two letters written by Owen from Winnipeg, dated 8 March 1915 and 15 April 1915.

“The reason of my delay in replying to your enquiry was that I've been contemplating paying a visit to the old land when I would call & see you & settle all matters. Now I've definitly [sic] decided & shall be sailing by the Lusitania from New York May 1st. therefore I hope to call & see about the end of May. of course if we encounter any German torpedoes you'll have to claim on the German Emperor.”

(Extract from letter sent by Owen Ladd to Mr Francis, 15 April 1915)

The collection also includes a telegram, which was despatched by his brother David in Winnipeg on 8 May 1915 enquiring as to Owen’s safety; a non-committal reply was received from Cunard’s in Liverpool later the same day. And a letter received by another of Owen’s brothers, Hugh Ladd of Eglwyswrw, from ‘The Cunard Steam Ship Company Limited, Queenstown’ dated 14 May 1915.

The Owen Ladd collection is available to view online on the First World War Collections catalogue.

Erbyn Ebrill 1915, roedd sgil effeithiau’r Rhyfel Mawr i’w gweld a’u teimlo ar lawr gwlad Meirionnydd. Nepell o gartref Kate a’i theulu, fe agorwyd gwersyll i garcharorion rhyfel ar gyn safle distylldy whisgi yn Frongoch – rhyw ddwy filltir o’r Bala.

Yn y cof cenedlaethol, rydym yn dueddol o gysylltu Frongoch â’r Gwyddelod. Yma y carcharwyd arweinwyr blaenllaw Gwrthryfel y Pasg ym 1916. Ond yn wreiddiol, carchar i Almaenwyr oedd Frongoch. Bu’r awdurdodau wrthi am wythnosau yn gweddnewid yr hen ddistylldy ar eu cyfer.

Y Germans – Prysurdeb di-ail a welir yn hen waith whisgi Fron Goch, yn darparu lle i giwaid y fath sydd i ddyfod yma mewn rhyw fis eto. Wrth syllu oddeutu’r adeilad, a gweled rhwyd-waith o wifrau sydd yn ei amgylchu, gallai dyn feddwl mai haid o greaduriaid gwylltion a mileinig ydynt, ac yn ol a welaf, bydd yn haws i lygoden fynd o gêg cath nag i’r un o honynt ddiengyd. Diolch am hyny; y maent yn ddigon agos atom lle y maent, heb son am gartrefu yn ein hymyl fel hyn. Y Llan 1 Ionawr 1915

Yn naturiol, roedd y wasg leol yn llawn erthyglau am ddyfodiad yr Almaenwyr i Frongoch. Wedi’r cyfan, hwn oedd un o’r gwersylloedd cyntaf o’i fath ym Mhrydain yn y cyfnod dan sylw. Gallwn ond ddychmygu chwilfrydedd a gofid y boblogaeth leol pan gyrhaeddodd yr Amlaenwyr cyntaf ar 25 Mawrth 1915.

Bydd dydd Iau diweddaf yn ddiwrnod i’w hir gofio yn ardaloedd y Bala, a bydd yr argraffiadau a wnaed ar feddyliau y cannoedd plant ac ereill yn rhwym o aros ar eu cof tra byddant byw, oblegid yr oedd amgylchiad yn un mor eithriadol, sef dyfodiad yn agos i bedwar cant o garcharorion rhyfel i wersyllfa Frongoch, yr hwn sydd o fewn dwy filltir a hanner i’r Bala… Deallwn fod llawer o’r carcharorion uchod wedi eu dal ar ol y frwydr fawr yn Neuve Chapelle. Y Cymro (Lerpwl a’r Wyddgrug) 7 Ebrill 1915

Er nad oedd Kate yn un i gofnodi cerrig milltir y rhyfel, mae cyfeiriad byr at yr Almaenwyr yn cyrraedd Frongoch yn ei dyddiadur (hynny a hanes coler ceffyl a'i chwpwrdd newydd!)

19 Ebrill – Dros 500 o garcharorion Germanaidd yn dod i Frongoch. Myfi yn mynd ir Post a mynd a choler ceffyl Berwyn House adref. Fewythr Hugh yn dod yma i weld y cwpwrdd.

Dyma un o'r ychydig gyfeiriadau uniongyrchol at y rhyfel yn y dyddiadur.