history
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A number of Welsh veterans of the Gallipoli campaign went on to write poems about their experiences. Among the poems unearthed by historian Anne Pedley were ‘The Heroes of Suvla Bay’ by Sergeant WR Williams, of the 6th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and ‘The Boys of Suvla Bay’ by an unknown author. Anne helped research the…
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One hundred years ago this weekend (April 25, 1915) the Allies launched a land invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The plan was to capture Constantinople and take Germany’s ally Turkey out of the war. The landing failed and the battle developed into a stalemate – the trench warfare of the Western Front in…
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Upcoming radio programme for those interested in World War One and Gallipoli in particular: Quarry Boys: The Welsh at Gallipoli To be broadcast on BBC Radio Wales Sunday, April 26 at 12:30pm. Repeated on Monday, April 27 (6.30pm) and Tuesday April 28 (5:30pm) More info here soon.
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Irishman Tom Sharkey was the never-say-die fighter who bridged the gap between old and new. Sharkey arrived in the United States in the 1890s as the fight game was changing. The prize-fighters and bare-knuckle brawlers were disappearing as the new “scientific” boxers emerged to fight under the Marquis of Queensberry rules. After quickly making his name…
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A D-Day Commando, filter room girl and RAF evader feature in ‘Welsh Heroes of World War 2’ which is now available to watch on-line. The three programmes take Ted Owens, Eileen Younghusband and John Evans on emotional trips down memory lane to revisit their WW2 experiences. The series ends with RAF evader John Evans, who…
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A veteran of 41 Commando has made an emotional return to the beaches of Normandy. Ted Owens, aged 88 and from Pembroke Dock, Wales, returned to the spot at which he had been wounded during the landings as part of filming for an upcoming television programme. Ted also made an astonishing visit to a town…
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The Wales This Week special ‘The Bullseye Killer’ has won a British Academy Cymru Award (Bafta Cymru). The hour-long documentary won a Bafta in the Current Affairs category of the awards at the Wales Millennium Centre. The programme documented the crimes of John Cooper, one of the most notorious criminals in British history. Cooper burgled, raped and murdered…
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In early 1942 a courageous band of Welshmen found themselves fighting side by side against the all-conquering Japanese army. The men, who had joined up to provide air defences for Cardiff, Newport and Barry, had been sent to the Far East as the Japanese bore down on Britain’s “impregnable fortress” at Singapore. But the battle-hardened…
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A few years ago while working on a book called ‘Airman Missing’, a short biography of RAF evader John Evans (no longer in print!), I became intrigued with those who had helped him evade capture in occupied Belgium. John, who was originally from Goodwick, Pembrokeshire, evaded the Germans for 114 days after his Halifax was…
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‘I Fought Them All’, the biography of Irish prizefighting legend, Tom Sharkey, has been shortlisted for a Wishing Shelf Award. The book is nominated in the adult non-fiction category. The winner is due to be announced in April. Top major boxing website, Max Boxing, said of the book: “It emits quality from the first opening…
Greg Lewis 