VE Day: Medals of Heroism, Service and Sacrifice Alastair Willis, 5 May 2020 Victory in Europe Day or VE Day commemorates the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. The United Nations also marks the 8th-9th May for all countries as a “time of remembrance and reconciliation for those who lost their lives during the Second World War”.On 8th May 1945, the War in Europe ended. After almost six years of bloody conflict, Nazi Germany had finally been defeated. By the end of the Second World War – which lasted another four months in the Pacific – more than 60 million soldiers and civilians had been killed, including more than 15,000 Welsh people. The National Museum Wales’ collection of Second World War medals attests to the incredible heroism and sacrifice of Welsh servicemen and civilians between 1939 and 1945. In this article, we will present some of the medals from the war in Europe and share with you the stories of their recipients.British servicemen were eligible for eight campaign stars (a retrospective ninth was added in 2012) and two service medals. Extraordinary acts of bravery or service by service personnel or civilians were rewarded with gallantry medals.Petty Officer William John James (Royal Navy), CardiffPetty Officer William John James, served on HMS Galatea, a Royal Navy light cruiser that operated in the Atlantic and Mediterranean until it was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat off Alexandria in December 1941. James and over 460 of the crew were killed; only around 100 sailors survived. His medals were awarded posthumously and given to his family after the end of hostilities and were accompanied by a condolence slip from the Admiralty. W.J. James’ medals (from left to right): The Naval General Service Medal with the Palestine 1936-1939 clasp, The 1939-1945 Star, The Atlantic Star, The Africa Star and The War Medal. Condolence slip accompanying W.J. James’ medals. Reverend Ivor Lloyd Phillips (Army), KilgettyThese medals were awarded to the Reverend Ivor Lloyd Phillips, a military chaplain who served with the 102 (Pembroke Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery in Tunisia and Italy. Rev. I.Ll. Phillips’ medals (from left to right): the Military Cross, The 1939-1945 Star, The Africa Star with 1st Army clasp, The Italy Star, The Defence Medal and The War Medal with a bronze oak leaf demonstrating that Phillips had been “Mentioned in Despatches”. Phillips was awarded the Military Cross, which was at the time the second highest military decoration after the Victoria Cross. The recommendation for the award says “He has carried out his duties in a completely selfless and devoted manner… his work has been unremitting and he is held in very deep esteem by all ranks… Never deterred by any considerations of enemy shelling, he has always shown complete disregard for personal safety. He always hurries to the spot where casualties have occurred and his presence and work with them… has always been the greatest inspiration to others”He later became Archdeacon of Newport. Rev. Phillips. Rev. Phillips’ Army Chaplain’s Badge. Rev. Phillips donated his medals to the National Museum Wales in 1991.Sergeant Glyn Griffiths (Royal Air Force), Llandudno Glyn Griffiths (right) and other members of his squadron on a Hurricane. Born in Llandudno in 1918, Sgt Griffiths was an RAF fighter pilot who flew Hawker Hurricanes as part of 17 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, from July to October 1940. He destroyed at least six enemy aircraft and possibly as many as 15. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for his actions. Following the Battle of Britain he became an instructor and later flew operationally with 4 Squadron. Returning from a sortie over France, he and his wingman collided over their base and Griffiths was forced to bail out. He suffered severe burns, which ended his wartime service. Sgt Griffiths medals (from left to right): Distinguished Flying Medal, The 1939-1945 Star with Battle of Britain clasp, The Atlantic Star, The Defence Medal, The War Medal, Croix de Guerre (Belgium), Order of Leopold II (Belgium). Sergeant William Herbert Evans (RAF), CardiffSgt Evans was the navigator of a Halifax bomber in 78 Squadron. He was killed on 31st August 1943, when his aeroplane was shot down during a 600-aircraft raid on the German cities of Mönchengladbach and Rheydt. His medals were issued posthumously. Sgt Evans’ medals (from left to right): The War Medal, The Air Crew Europe Star, The 1939-1945 Star. Sgt Evans’ medals were donated to the National Museum by his family.Benjamin Lewis Aylott (Police), PontarddulaisLondon-born Aylott had served in the Royal Navy during the First World War before moving to Pontarddulais. At the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the Glamorgan Constabulary as a War Reserve Constable. He was awarded the King's Police and Fire Services Gallantry Medal for apprehending an armed army deserter on 27th December 1943. B.L. Aylott’s King's Police and Fire Services Gallantry Medal. B.L. Aylott and his family following his investiture by King George VI at Buckingham Palace. His medals were donated to the museum by his son Terry Aylott in 2011.Thomas William Keenan (Civilian), CardiffOn the night of 2nd-3rd January 1941, over 100 German aircraft attacked Cardiff. Keenan, watchman at a fuel depot, used his hat to remove an incendiary bomb from the top of a tank containing 300,000 gallons of petrol. His hands were badly burned, but the fuel tank was saved. He was awarded the George Medal for his bravery. Among his medals are two from the First World War that Keenan had received as a result of serving in the Machine Gun Corps. T.W. Keenan’s medals (left to right): George Medal, British War and Victory Medals (WW1), The Defence Medal, 1939-1945. Keenan’s medals (reverse). Gordon Love Bastian (Merchant Navy), BarryEynon Hawkins (Royal Navy), LlanharanThese Albert Medals were awarded to G.L. Bastian and E. Hawkins for saving life at sea.Born in Barry, Bastian was a Second Engineer officer on the S.S. Empire Bowman, which was torpedoed on 31st March 1943. His Albert Medal was awarded for “exceptional bravery, strength and presence of mind” in saving two men from the ship’s flooding stokehold.Hawkins, a Royal Navy Able Seaman from Llanharan, was serving as a gunner aboard a defensively armed merchant vessel that was torpedoed and set on fire on 10th January 1943. According to the London Gazette (29 June 1943), “Hawkins, with the greatest coolness and courage, organised a party of survivors in the water until they were later picked up by one of H.M. ships. Twice he swam to the assistance of other survivors who were in difficulties, himself receiving burns in the face as he pulled them to safety.” Albert Medals of G.L. Bastian and E. Hawkins. Albert Medals of G.L. Bastian and E. Hawkins. Both medals were donated to the National Museum by their recipients.Elizabeth Harriet Edwards (Civilian), CardiffThe British Red Cross Society awarded the medal below to Hetty Edwards for proficiency in First Aid. Edwards was the Librarian of the National Museum of Wales between 1931 and 1970. During the Second World War, she volunteered as a nurse for the British Red Cross Society.Read more about Hetty Edwards:Part OnePart TwoPart Three E.H. Edwards’ Proficiency in Red Cross First Aid Medal.
Victory in Europe Day 5 May 2020 VE Day marks the occasion in 1945 when the Allied forces accepted Nazi Germany's surrender, bringing an end to the Second World War in Europe.Here you can learn more about Wales during the Second World War through objects from the collection. Sgt Evans’ medals (from left to right): The War Medal, The Air Crew Europe Star, The 1939-1945 Star. The National Museum Wales’ collection of Second World War medals attests to the incredible heroism and sacrifice of Welsh servicemen and civilians between 1939 and 1945.Read More Following food rationing in 1940, clothes rationing came into force in June 1941. The main reason was to reduce the need for raw materials and to redirect labour to war work.Read More Utility fireside chairs in the Prefab living room, St Fagans National Museum of History In 1941, the Board of Trade designed a collection of furniture of simple design that could be produced cheaply, which was referred to as ‘utility furniture'.Read More Thousands of British homes were destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. They could not be replaced immediately because of the shortage of builders and materials.Read More Some have drawn similarities between our current situation and the Second World War – long queues outside shops, empty shelves and rationing of items in our supermarkets.Read More
Traditional Medicines Lowri Jenkins, 28 April 2020 It is hard to envisage a time, especially at the moment, when we didn’t have the National Health Service to rely on to treat our illnesses. Before the establishment of the NHS in 1948, access to medical treatment was ad hoc and those who could afford private doctors tried to avoid treatment in hospitals. Health insurance was available but again it was not a comprehensive system. No wonder that many people in Wales turned to nature, plants and flowers, and any other ingredients they had available to them to treat everyday ailments that afflicted themselves and their animals. During the 1970s and 1980s St Fagans National Museum of History and specifically a young researcher named Anne Elizabeth Williams, collected oral testimony from hundreds of people around Wales as a record of those traditional remedies. To mark National Gardening Week here is a selection of the different plants and flowers that were used. Flowers and Plants Onions for Earache – Put an onion in the oven and heat it. Take the core out of the onion and place it in the ear. Olive Evans, The Rhos. Dandelion in the treatment for Warts – use the white liquid from the stalk of the dandelion and rub it on the wart. Merthyr. Wax model of a Dandelion from National Museum Wales collection Garlic was used in a few remedies. In Llanfallteg near Carmarthen garlic was put in the bottom of the socks and worn overnight to ward off coughs and colds. It was thought that the aroma would ward off the cold symptoms. Two women from Llandysul recalled how they were made as children to wear garlic around the neck as a prevention for worms. It was also considered a remedy for snake bites. Tansy (Tanacetum Vulgare) is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant of the Aster family, native to Europe and Asia. It’s listed in Nicholas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal. It was used in Merionethshire for the treatment of tape worms. In Pembrokeshire it was boiled in milk to treat loose bowels. Bogbean (Ffa Corsydd) In Trawsfynydd and Llandysul Bogbean was used in treating water infections but in Cwm Main it was used to treat aching joints or arthritis. Agrimony (Llysiau’r Dryw) was also used to treat water infections in Cwm Main as were Yellow Flag (Gelaets) and Wood Sage (Chwerwlys yr Eithin) in other areas. Many had considerable faith in the healing powers of Common Centaury (Yr Ysgol Fair) and Milk Thistle (Ysgallen Fraith) for kidney and bladder infections. Trees The Physicians of Myddfai mention the many healing powers of trees in the Red Book of Hergest, written shortly after 1382 (Llyfr Coch Hergest, held at the Bodleian Libraries, MS 111). Much oral testimony collected documents how people in Wales used them to cure many afflictions. A woman from Llandecwyn in Merionethshire remembers creating a drink from the bark of the Mountain Ash (Criafolen) and it being used to treat someone of a nervous disposition. Pouring water on the bark of The Hawthorn (Y Ddraenen Ddu) and drinking the water was used by a gentleman in Maenclochog as a remedy for stomach upsets. The Elder Tree (Ysgawen) was thought to have many healing properties. The leaves would be dried to make an infusion and used as necessary and the berries for wine, both a remedy for colds. A salve could also be made from the leaves or the branches mixed with pig fat or mouldy butter (Menyn Gwyrdd). Fruit and Fruit Trees A drink made with blackberry leaves to treat loose bowels and stomach upsets and the flowers used as a drink to treat haemorrhoids. Rhubarb was considered effective for constipation and the leaves used for joint pain. Potatoes had many uses – a slice on aching joints and as a poultice on the neck when suffering from Quinsy. The most unusual? A remedy from Swansea: the slime from a snail was used to cure a stye on the eye! Materia Medica Collection, National Museum Wales
Y Dychweliad / The Return 8 April 2020 At the end of the First World War, communities across Wales established ‘welcome home’ committees to raise funds to honour local men returning from the front. Village halls and workmen’s institutes became focal points for armistice and peace celebrations. A victory ball was held at the Oakdale Workmen’s Institute in early 1919. To mark the centenary of the dance, and the culmination of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales’ Wales Remembers programme, we worked in partnership with Re-Live, an award-winning charity that creates professional life story theatre productions with veterans, to re-imagine the ball. Y Dychweliad – The Return was an unforgettable performance by ex-service personnel, their families, community members and professional actors. The production weaved reimagined scenes from the First World War and victory ball with personal and emotional experiences of 21st century men and women returning to their communities from war. "This project has saved me because it’s given me something to look forward to, it’s given me a purpose again. It helps me control my anxiety too. This is the only one place I can come where I know I won’t be judged." Veteran and cast member, 2019 "The best experience of the project was the connections that we all made – the emotions and the therapeutic journey, personally for myself, but also in the bigger sense. The fact that we all shared our stories as veterans, but also as community members and how they connected together in the middle. There’s been nothing quite like that." Veteran and cast member, 2019 The project was funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund.
Caernarfon Blankets: History, Design, and the Debate Behind a Welsh Icon Mark Lucas, 17 January 2020 Introduction to Caernarfon BlanketsCaernarfon blankets have been described as an oddity in Welsh textiles; the National Wool Museum at Dre-fach Felindre has a couple of examples of this blanket in its collection.What Makes Caernarfon Blankets Unique?These Caernarfon blankets are made up of three pieces; the most obvious is the middle piece. On this piece are the words ‘Cymru Fydd’ (Wales to be) underneath a picture of Aberystwyth College, and under a picture of Caernarfon Castle the words ‘Cymru Fu’ (Wales that was). Above and beneath these pictures are two dragons and three leeks; the rest of the quilt is then covered with leeks and daffodils in full bloom.Origins and Historical BackgroundThe origins of the original design are disputed by scholars. Ann Sutton, a leading authority on Welsh textiles, credits the original blanket to weaver John Roberts of Caernarfon; he is said to have presented the blanket to the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII) on a visit to Caernarfon to open the water works in 1876. Welsh historian D. G. Lloyd Hughes disputes this as he states the water works in Caernarfon were opened in 1868 not 1876, and as the blankets show Aberystwyth College with the extension that was not completed until 1872. The Prince of Wales did not visit Caernarfon again until 1894; he accredits the design to Pwllheli Woollen Mill who patented the design in February 1895. There is a picture of the staff from Pwllheli Woollen Mill holding a Caernarfon blanket from the 1890s. There are other claimants to the original design, most notably Edward Davies-Bryan, whose great-granddaughter says he commissioned Pwllheli Woollen Mill to produce a blanket commemorating Aberystwyth college in the early 1890s as he was a former student and a great benefactor to the college.Debates Around the Design and AttributionThe last Caernarfon blanket was produced in 1969 at Trefriw Woollen Mill to commemorate the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle. A recent donation to the National Wool Museum may have finally answered this debate: it is an early hand-woven blanket that is similar to the other blankets and is made up of two pictures of Caernarfon Castle and no picture of Aberystwyth College. The donor said the blanket belonged to her great-grandparents from Denbigh, North Wales, and they passed away in the 1890s. Could this be the type of blanket that was presented to the Prince of Wales in 1868?
