By Lester Mason
The county monument at Salutation Square, Haverfordwest, holds the names of twelve hundred men and women from throughout Pembrokeshire who perished in the Great War. The construction of such an impressive monument was the result of well organized public action and cooperation between local politicians, other prominent members of the community, and professional artists and artisans. Recent historiography into Great War commemoration and memorial building at a local level has identified such individuals or groups as the driving force behind the creative process. Participants included councilors, landowners, the clergy, teachers, and businessmen. In the boroughs, local authority hierarchy involvement meant the inclusion of town clerks and surveyors, while the local M.P., religious leaders, and military figures were also prominent in both rural and town schemes. Hence, ‘those who played a prominent role in their community saw it as a natural progression to extend that role to the commemoration process’.1
The unveiling of a town or village war memorial was an important communal event, well organized and orchestrated. All parts of the community were involved – veterans, bereaved families, education establishments, and religious denominations (for the most part these ceremonies were ecumenical in nature). Each group was allocated a task and place that was deemed appropriate. Through communal participation, ‘the ceremony enabled authorities to state how the memorial should be understood and the meaning of any iconography’.2 This study will examine the decision-making process behind the construction of the Pembrokeshire county memorial and, in particular, who controlled the commemoration process, and the extent to which the public supported the scheme. It will also embrace the language of commemoration evident in the allegory and aesthetics surrounding the memorial and the unveiling ceremony, and assess the evidence for continuity in the way in which the town and county remembered the fallen of the Great War.
Choosing the Memorial-The Decision-Making Process
Haverfordwest’s position as the administration centre for the county of Pembrokeshire meant that the impetus for a county-wide memorial project would emanate from the town. Consequently, it was in December 1918 that the call was first made by the Mayor of Haverfordwest for a public meeting to discuss the need for a memorial to commemorate those men and women from Pembrokeshire who died in the Great War and the form such a memorial should take.3 By February a committee had been set up under the chairmanship of Councillor Marley Sampson who immediately widened the debate by asking for suggestions from the general public and also by making enquiries with the Haverfordwest Infirmary about a possible extension to the town’s hospital.4 Many people in Pembrokeshire believed that the county could support both a monument and a functional memorial, despite competition from the numerous local schemes that were then emerging. Towns and villages throughout Pembrokeshire were creating their own projects in memory of local ‘boys’ who had made the supreme sacrifice. Most notably, Fishguard, Pembroke, and Milford Haven had memorial projects up and running by the spring of 1919. County villages such as Letterston in the north and Cosheston and Marloes in the south, to name but three, were well on the way to erecting memorials by this time (both the Letterston and Cosheston monuments were unveiled by January 1921, while the people of Marloes had to wait until the end of the year to witness the unveiling of the cross monument in the local churchyard). Churches and chapels throughout the county, including many in Haverfordwest, were dedicating tablets, plaques, or stained-glass windows to members who had fallen. Tabernacle church in the town opted for a window based upon the roll of honour erected during the war and dedicated to seventy members who had joined the services, seven of whom failed to return. All were funded through public or membership subscription, and many people within the community, including potential county sponsors, viewed these schemes as an appropriate, and more significantly, a sufficient expression of remembrance from those left behind to those of the locality who gave their lives; why commit money and resources to a memorial elsewhere? Those organizing a county scheme for the county town were only too aware of the potential problems with funding, as there were no guarantees that the costs would be met solely through public support and subscription.
Despite the dual approach adopted by the organisers of the county memorial, arguments between supporters of a monument-type memorial and those favouring a utilitarian option did take place. The local M.P, Sir Ivor Philipps, although generally supportive of the scheme, favoured a monument, believing that ‘hospitals ought to be funded from the public purse’.5 Some vehemently disagreed with his views about the type of memorial; Councillor T. Randle Dawkins, who had lost a son in the war, made his views quite clear, stating that, ‘no money should be spent on useless ornamentation’.6 Formal discussions over a suitable monument began in May 1919 between the War Memorial Committee and members of the District Council. It had already been agreed between the two authorities to lease part of the Jubilee Gardens as a site for the monument part of the scheme.7 Despite doubts, many saw this as a poignant choice as the site faced the Drill Hall where many of the fallen, including young men from the Haverfordwest town area, first experienced the rigours of military life. At a meeting of the War Fund Committee on August 15th 1919 a more cohesive scheme began to emerge, and significantly the Fund was able to grant £1,000 to both the hospital and the monument schemes – the combined project was given momentum that other local town projects could only dream about.8
In keeping with the need to maintain standards over the aesthetics of any proposed monument, it was decided to approach the Royal Academy of the Arts (RAA) for professional advice. As part of the policy to maintain standards in wartime rolls of honour and street shrines, the RAA had set up an advisory committee in 1916 comprised of various architects and sculptors to ensure that commemoration projects were at least aware of aesthetic sensitivities when deciding on an appropriate monument for their town. Many county and borough-based schemes in west Wales, which were able to afford professional advice, did so. The county scheme based in Carmarthen, and the borough schemes at Lampeter and Llanelli, were able to secure the services of the sculptor William Goscombe John (1860-1952). The result of his services can be seen today in the impressive khaki-clad warriors at the end of College Street in Lampeter and at the Priory in Carmarthen, as well as the two soldiers in bronze relief in the grounds of Llanelli Town Hall.
Despite these initial ideas, the discussion at Haverfordwest soon began to concentrate on two new proposals, namely, memorial columns at the New Bridge spanning the River Cleddau, and a monument at Salutation Square. Both proposals precluded the original Jubilee Gardens site. The Salutation Square proposal had already been discussed by the Borough Council, whilst an application by the War Memorial Committee for permission to erect a memorial on this site had met a favourable response.9 Whichever scheme prevailed it was hoped that costs would not exceed £1,000 (the amount granted by the War Fund Committee), allowing for public subscriptions to be limited to the hospital project only – it was believed the public would be more inclined to support such a scheme over a monument. At this stage the preferred option was the New Bridge memorial. plans for the New Bridge proposal in the centre of Haverfordwest, included the erecting of four stone pillars. Two pillars would hold a bronze plaque with the names of the fallen; one pillar, facing High Street, would hold a plaque commemorating the battles fought, and the final pillar, facing in the opposite direction towards the railway station, would display the poignant eulogy from the fourth stanza of For the Fallen (1914), by Laurence Binyon (1869-1943).10 The cost was initially estimated at £2,500, far exceeding the £1,000 limit set by the organisers. By April 1920 this had risen to £3,500 and despite protest from some quarters the scheme was abandoned.11 To the relief of the organisers, the rival Salutation Square proposal had been costed at £2,500 and consequently arrangements were made with the London architects Milne and Phipps to prepare plans.
Ironically, by the summer of 1921 the cost of the Salutation Square scheme had increased to £3,457, which equalled the abandoned New Bridge scheme, but the momentum was such that any further abandonment was now out of the question. The choice now open to the organisers was either to begin a fresh public appeal (the fund stood at £1,888) or, as was adopted, to utilise the War Fund. Councillor T. Randle Dawkins, in the same vein he pronounced his objection to any kind of monumental memorial, expressed disbelief at this decision and proposed the subscription alternative, believing that the balance of £1856 held by the War Fund should go towards the hospital part of the project. He was overruled by influential individuals such as Sir Ivor Philipps and by members of the Fund Committee, highlighting the dominance it enjoyed over the War Memorial Committee throughout the evolution of the project.12 The story that evolved over the funding of the Salutation Square monument not only highlights the power wielded by local political groups in the form of internally elected sub-committees, (as opposed to any influence enjoyed by, arguably, more interested parties, such as veteran associations or bereaved families, or that of the general public), but also the internecine bickering that characterized memorial projects and invariably held up progress. Events at Haverfordwest also highlight the part civic pride played in the decision-making process and the need for those in charge to act appropriately over monument choice and location.
Allegory and Ritual Surrounding the Memorial Dragon
The rectilinear column of Forest of Dean stone at Salutation Square rises to a total height of sixteen foot that includes the impressive Welsh dragon capping the monument. The uncertainty that surrounded the sculpture – whether it depicts a dragon or a griffin – survives to this day. Decisively, Angela Gaffney highlights local newspaper reports on the unveiling ‘that refer to the sculpture as a Welsh Dragon’, a recognisable symbol and one reflecting a strong Welsh identity that would have been deemed quite appropriate and not out of place at the time.13 Predating accounts of the unveiling, a meeting of the War Memorial Committee in August 1920, chaired by Viscount St David’s, not only discussed the type of material to be used, namely granite or stone, but specifically Sir Marley Sampson’s revised design of a Welsh dragon and bronze plaques.14 For over fifty years, from the unveiling in September 1921, the dragon memorial dominated the Salutation Square roundabout, and although it was removed during the 1970s to a new site adjacent to the Masonic Hall to allow for road improvements, it remains impressive to this day. Unfortunately, for the modern-day visitor, the visual impact of the original site, particular the view of the memorial from Picton Place, has been lost.
The name and rank of all the Pembrokeshire fallen are listed on four bronze plaques around the monument, while major military and naval engagements are also on display. In bold letters along the top of the column the words: Victory; Courage; Sacrifice; Honour, epitomize the traditional language at the heart of post-war commemoration in Britain. The Pembrokeshire coat of arms, emblematic of pride in the part played by the county in the Great War, is on display above the main inscription. The intention was to demonstrate that this memorial was undoubtedly a county-based tribute to all the fallen of Pembrokeshire. Pride in the achievement of the people of Pembrokeshire towards the war effort is also evident in the wording chosen for the main inscription; it reads:
In remembrance of the men of the county of Pembroke who at the call of King and Country left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten.
Although the architects, Milne and Phipps, were from outside the area, the contract for setting the memorial in place went to a local concern, T. Morgan and Sons of Perrots Avenue, Haverfordwest. The presence of a distinctive symbol of Wales on the monument at Haverfordwest raises questions as to the extent to which a Welsh identity, as opposed to a sense of Britishness, influenced the commemoration process and the allegory on display. What can be said is that a strong sense of Britishness and pride in Empire, evident in the main inscription, and at the Haverfordwest unveiling through the presence of the Union Jack, the singing of the National Anthem, and the sentiments expressed in unveiling addresses, did not preclude pride in a distinct Welsh identity.15
On the 24th October 1904 a large gathering witnessed the unveiling of the Pembrokeshire Boer War Memorial Celtic Cross at High Street, Haverfordwest. This would set a precedent for the Salutation Square unveiling seventeen years later. According to one account of the earlier event the ‘public gathered in very large numbers…every available spot from which a view of the ceremony could be obtained was occupied…the windows of all the houses in the vicinity were filled’.16 The military were present in strength, including units from the Welsh Regiment and the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry. Local religious and political dignitaries made up the rest of the procession, including Owen Philipps the High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire, Sir Charles Philipps the Lord Lieutenant of Haverfordwest, Lord Cawdor, Lord Kensington, Wynford Philipps M.P., the Bishop of St Davids, and a host of mayors and councillors. Also present on that day was Ivor Philipps, then holding the rank of Colonel. Lord Cawdor addressed the crowd on the legacy of the fallen, believing that the memorial was there ‘to remind those who came after us that it was there duty to follow in the steps of those whom this memorial was raised…to give their service uncomplainingly wherever it might be needed’. Sir Charles Philipps expressed similar sentiments, believing it was a ‘sweet and pleasant thing to die for one’s country’ while reminding those present ‘of the great and noble fallen, and which, if need arose, would be an incentive to others to follow in the footsteps of those they thus honoured’.17 A portent for the Great War; it can only be wondered how many listening to those words that day, would, a decade later, find themselves in a position to follow in the footsteps of the soldiers of the Boer War and take up arms for their country.
In September 1921, the people of Pembrokeshire were again gathered in Haverfordwest to unveil a memorial to the fallen of the county, only this time the twelve hundred names involved far exceeded the forty-four remembered on the Boer War Cross; the extent of the bereavement present at this second gathering would have been unimaginable in 1904. It was estimated at the time that between ten thousand and fifteen thousand persons were present.18 One local editor’s account of proceedings gives a poignant picture of Salutation Square on that late summer day:
Everywhere the eye could penetrate there were people – and still more people. They hung out of windows, they lined the housetops and they stood precariously on every little eminence that afforded them a foothold. The aroma of numerous wreaths…suffused the air with a poignant fragrance…a gorgeous display of colour. Suddenly a hush fell on the expectant onlookers. The ripple of talk died down, like the murmur of sea when the breakers are still. The hush was almost painful and in the stillness of the air came the sound of sobbing…there were those in the crowd who had much – very much – more than a casual interest of a sightseer.19
The type of dignitary present at the Boer War unveiling was also evident at the Great War equivalent. Ivor Philipps, now holding the rank of General, was there in the capacity of local M.P., Knight of the Realm, and vice-Lieutenant of the County. Despite such high rank, the task of unveiling the memorial went to Private Hubert William (Stokey) Lewis V.C. of the 11th Welsh. This soldier from Milford Haven earned his medal during the Salonica campaign, the only holder of the award in Pembrokeshire, (he was also present at the unveiling of the Dale memorial in May 1923, and at Milford Haven in April 1924). Once again the mayors from local towns were present, and the ceremony was conducted by the Bishop of St David’s. Wounded ex-servicemen took pride of place at the ceremony. After a number of addresses, the Union Jack was raised and the splendid monument revealed to the public.20 The unveiling was followed by a minute silence, the playing of the Last Post, and the laying of floral tributes. It was reported that crowds of people thronged the memorial for hours after the formalities had ceased.21
The ritual on display at the Haverfordwest unveiling was repeated in other towns and villages throughout Pembrokeshire and beyond. Formalities began with a procession through the heart of the community, made up of civic leaders, police detachments, local clergy, trades organisations, military detachments, boy scouts and girl guides, veterans, and on occasion members of the public. Local dignitaries, many of whom had controlled the development of a project, remained at the heart of the ritual. The military, wealthy landowners, politicians, the clergy, and the judiciary, were well represented. Local organisations and interest groups were also invited to take part, allowing the participation of ordinary members of the public. Veterans and bereaved families usually played a prominent role on unveiling day, called upon to march, unveil memorials, or lay floral tributes. The unveiling service at Haverfordwest was undoubtedly religious in tone, conducted by a senior member of the clergy. Consequently proceedings were traditional, recognisable, and brought comfort to those present, particularly the bereaved. Patriotic in tone, the formalities at Haverfordwest expressed pride in the achievements and sacrifices of local men. Many of the dignitaries invited to attend unveiling ceremonies were there for one specific reason, to address the gathering. To the organisers, a military or religious dignitary, or the local M.P., was the ideal person to put across, to those present, the correct message as to why they were gathered to remember the fallen. As with Sir Charles Philipps at the Boer War unveiling at Haverfordwest, for the most part these individuals would talk of sacrifice, honour and duty, but also of the legacy of the fallen and the need of the next generation to emulate the ‘lost generation’. At the Salutation Square unveiling, Sir Ivor Philipps wished to remember those left to mourn as well as the fallen, exclaiming, ‘let us not forget those who live and suffer’, adding, ‘we are here to honour those gallant sons of Pembrokeshire’.22
The words boldly inscribed along the top of the monument at Haverfordwest portrayed a positive attitude towards the fallen and the part they played in the war and eventual victory. Familiar language and sentiments were present in a recognisable Christian ceremony that accompanied the county memorial unveiling. There was also evidence for continuity regarding commemoration ritual, with similarities evident between the 1921 unveiling ceremony at Haverfordwest and the Boer War equivalent in 1904. For the most part the people of Haverfordwest, and throughout Pembrokeshire, cooperated with and contributed to the project. The unveiling ceremony was well attended, and despite having little say in the development of the project, both veterans and bereaved families cooperated with the process and played a significant role in all matters ceremonial. The unveiling was a solemn and respectful affair, free from any form of triumphalism, beyond single-word inscriptions and the occasional patriotic speech. Despite alluding to public consultation over memorial choice, control of the commemoration process at Haverfordwest was firmly in the hands of existing political networks, local politicians, their representatives, or local military and civic dignitaries. Outside agencies, such as architects and artists, did have a say over artistic representation, but the important decisions over the direction of a memorial project remained in the hands of a few. As stated, the influence of veterans and bereaved families in the decision-making process was not significant. What is more difficult to judge at Haverfordwest is the extent to which local politicians purposely controlled or manipulated the commemoration process in order to put forward one particular view of the war through a strict and stabilised narrative. It can be argued that those in charge were simply conforming to the expectations of the public; this gave them exclusivity within the process, above and beyond even those who had fought in the war and those who had lost loved ones. The general public, for the most part, accepted the role played by local politicians and supported the commemoration process giving their support freely, if not always enthusiastically.
The original site, situated at the commencement of the main thoroughfare through Haverfordwest, reflected the high status communities in general gave to their local war memorial, as both a site of bereavement and a physical expression of local pride in the achievements of the fallen. This visual impact was underlined by the listing of the names of the dead publically for the first time. Local pride in the achievements of county men and women and the role of Pembrokeshire during the war is evident in the formal inscription and the coat of arms on the Salutation Square monument. Although the memorial does not hold Welsh language inscription, the presence of the dragon is indicative of a recognisable Welsh identity; however the memorial inscription, the ritual surrounding the unveiling, and the content of unveiling speeches, reflected a strong and resilient British identity.
Notes
1. Angela Gaffney, Aftermath: Remembering the Great War in Wales (Cardiff, 1998), 170. For studies on commemorating the Great War in Britain see Adrian Gregory, The Silence of Memory: Armistice Day 1919-1946 (Oxford, 1994), or Alex King, Memorials of the Great War in Britain: The Symbolism and Politics of Remembrance (Oxford, 1998).
2. Catherine Moriaty, Private Grief and Public Remembrance, in M. Evans and K. Lunn, (eds.), War Memory in the 20th Century (Oxford, 1997), 130.
3. Pembrokeshire Record Office (PRO), HAM/SE/1/9, Haverfordwest Borough Council minutes, 17 December 1918.
4. Pembrokeshire County Guardian, 21 February 1919.
5. Pembrokeshire Telegraph, 11 June 1919.
6. Ibid.
7. PRO HAM/SE/1/9, Haverfordwest Borough Council minutes, 27 May 1919.
8. The County Memorial Hospital was formally opened in May 1923 and apart from the War Fund donation was paid for by public subscription, and a substantial grant from the British Red Cross; for an account of the unveiling see Pembrokeshire County Guardian, 25 May 1923; for details of funding and costs of the hospital see Pembrokeshire County Guardian, 2 March 1923.
9. See PRO HAM/SE/1/9, Haverfordwest Borough Council minutes, 22 July 1919.
10. They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old :
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
11. Pembrokeshire Telegraph, 21 April 1920.
12. Pembrokeshire Telegraph, 3 January 1923.
13. Gaffney, Aftermath: Remembering the Great War in Wales, 163n.
14. Pembrokeshire County Guardian, 6 August 1920.
15. For an account of the Pembrokeshire county memorial unveiling see Pembrokeshire Telegraph, 7 September 1921.
16. This account of the 1904 unveiling is taken from a 1908 publication ‘Pembrokeshire South Africa War Memorial’ booklet, details of which are available at www.pembrokeshire-war-memorial.co.uk
17. www.pembrokeshire-war-memorial.co.uk
18. Pembrokeshire Telegraph, 7 September 1921.
19. Ibid.
20. At the Boer War memorial unveiling in 1904 the Celtic cross was covered by a Red Dragon flag.
21.Pembrokeshire Telegraph, 7 September 1921.
22. Ibid.
.
PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY MEMORIAL. THE WORDS ‘VICTORY’ ‘COURAGE’ ‘SACRIFICE’ AND ‘HONOUR’ ARE INSCRIBED AT THE TOP OF THE COLUMN.