{"id":113,"date":"2015-03-04T09:34:19","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T09:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hanes-meirionnydd.cymru\/?page_id=113"},"modified":"2016-04-12T16:39:00","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T15:39:00","slug":"projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hanes-meirionnydd.cymru\/en\/projects\/","title":{"rendered":"PROJECTS"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row padding_top=”10px” padding_bottom=”0px” border=”top”][vc_column width=”1\/1″]
<\/div>
Remembering the First World War<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Heritage Lottery Fund have awarded the Society funds to study the impact of the First World War on Merioneth. A workshop was held at Plas Tan-y-bwlch to discuss the War\u2019s impact on women, recruitment, the experience of a conscientious objector and reports and letters in the local press from local men from the battle fields.
\nThis was followed with an interesting discussion with members retelling family anecdotes.
\nShort workshops will be held at the Record Office in Dolgellau this year to gather stories and photographs and to scan them. The collection will be placed on the People\u2019s Collection website with relevant parts being put onto\u00a0the Wales for Peace national project.
\nThe dates of the workshops can be seen in the programme and here on our website.<\/p>\n

peoplescollection.wales<\/a><\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″]

First World War Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n

During our workshops we have learnt a great deal about resources available to anyone who wishes\u00a0to research the history of those affected by the First World War.<\/p>\n

Welsh Newspapers Online<\/strong><\/p>\n

For local stories you cannot find a better source than http:\/\/papuraunewydd.llyfrgell.cymru\/<\/a> . The\u00a0site is easy to search for place-names, whether individual farms or whole areas. You can also search\u00a0for personal names, but, of course, try to avoid searching for \u2018John Jones\u2019 as the hits will be too\u00a0numerous to work through. It is useful to know that you can combine two elements simply by adding\u00a0the & symbol, and therefore searching for Jane&Owen would mean avoiding every reference to any\u00a0Jane and then any Owen! You can also confine your search to a particular area, to specific years or\u00a0even to a specific newspaper. Much can be learnt about every aspect of the War from the viewpoint\u00a0of those at home to the shocking reports of the Local Tribunals which decided who had to go to war.<\/p>\n

This is a unique opportunity to gain a glimpse at the War through the eyes of those who had to\u00a0experience it.<\/p>\n

Local memorials<\/strong><\/p>\n

The people of Merioneth have built a great number of memorials to the service men and women\u00a0lost during the War. They vary as to the details inscribed on them but they are an excellent starting\u00a0point for any research. Mr J.W. Nuttal from Llandderfel has compiled excellent volumes recording\u00a0the story of most of those commemorated on the memorials. These volumes are available at the\u00a0Record Office in Dolgellau.<\/p>\n

Absent Voters Lists<\/strong><\/p>\n

These lists are kept at the Record Office in Dolgellau for 1918 and 1919. Their main value is as a\u00a0record of how many local inhabitants were involved with the armed forces. There are some\u00a0annotations also recording any change in the voter\u2019s situation. Of course, it must be borne in mind\u00a0that only those with a vote are listed, and that those who had died in action during the early years of\u00a0the war are not recorded.<\/p>\n

War Graves Commission Website<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you do know of a soldier killed during the War, this site: http:\/\/www.cwgc.org\/<\/a> is the starting point\u00a0for any information regarding the cemetery where he was buried or the memorial where his name is\u00a0recorded. Because of the vast numbers of very similar names care is needed to check that all the\u00a0known facts correspond. If you have the age of the soldier, an idea of the date of death and a rough\u00a0ideal of the area where he died, you can get precise information regarding the relevant location.<\/p>\n

Fee paying websites<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are willing to pay there are a number of websites offering more information, but, of course,\u00a0there is no certainty that the information has survived as a great deal was lost during the Second\u00a0World War. But if you wish to try your luck Ancestry at ancestry.co.uk <\/a>have indexed many of the\u00a0surviving records as have Forces War Records https:\/\/www.forces-war-records.co.uk\/<\/a> . But tread\u00a0carefully in case you have to pay monthly for many months! Remember also that you can have free\u00a0access to Ancestry at the Record Office!<\/p>\n[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][rev_slider_vc alias=”cofebau”][rev_slider_vc alias=”cofebau2″]


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Radio Discussion<\/h5>\n

On 7 February 2016, one of our members, Catherine James, described her father\u2019s experiences as a conscientious objector during the First World War on Dei Tomos\u2019 Welsh Language programme on Radio Cymru.<\/p>\n

Listen below<\/p>\n