Church Monuments Society

More about this monument

A memorial tablet to the members of the congregation of the Welsh Tabernacle, the Hayes, Cardiff who fell in WW1 comprises a plain framed lightly veined marble slab bearing an inscription in Welsh and the names of the fallen. This is set in an elaborate frame, the sides of which are pilasters of the heavily veined Pavonazzo marble with Penarth alabaster¹ caps and bases, whilst the broken curved pediment decorated with a wreath and foliage and the base and supporting ornate corbels are all in Penarth alabaster. A plain marble slab beneath the memorial is an additional memorial to those who fell in WW2. A fine piece; Figure 1. The inscription reads:

ER CÔF ANNWYL
AM Y BODYR IEUANC
O’R EGLWYS
HON A RHOISANT EU HEINIOES
DROS EU BRENIN A’U GWLAD
YN Y RHYFEL 1914-1918
(IN MEMORY OF OUR BELOVED YOUNG BROTHERS FROM THE CHURCH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR KING AND COUNTRY IN THE WAR 1914-1918)
OSCAR D. MORRIS
W. BEVAN REES
REGGIE I.V.C. THOMAS
JOHN WYNFORD THOMAS
WILLIAM J. THOMAS
TREVOR N. EVANS
“FFYDDLAWN HYD ANGAU”
(FAITHFUL IN DEATH)

The WW2 tablet reads:-

HEFYD Y RHAI A ABERTHODD
EU BYWYDAU YN
RHYFEL 1939-1945
(ALSO THOSE WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE IN THE WAR 1939 – 1945)
ANTHONY CWYNFRYN EVANS
IOAN WYNN RICHARDS
CECIL JAMES THOMAS
 “EU HENWAU’N PERAROGLI SYDD A’U HUN MOR DAWEL YW”²

(Their names are sweet-smelling and their sleep is so quiet)

The project started in November 1919 when Greg (Harry Gregory) made scale drawings of the monument, which suggests that the design may not have been Clarke’s. Work on the tablet itself commenced in May 1920 and was completed by late June. The day book records of its construction, which are rather more concise than usual, show that about 332 man hours was spent on the job. S. P. (Sidney Pollard) and Dando, together with unnamed masons with help from unnamed labourers were responsible for construction, with Ellis undertaking the carving and (Henry) Durnell the inscription. Dando and Horsley were responsible for fixing the memorial in place. Sharpening tools was contracted out to B. Jenkins. The only surviving drawing relating to this project is in a very poor state of preservation and is certainly not a scale drawing. It may be a tracing of the original supplied by an architect; Figure 2. Total day works, materials and sundry expenses came to £71:14:0. F. Lloyd Jones of 105, Crwys Road, Cardiff was billed £100, representing a profit of 40%. A photograph of the completed item taken in Clarke’s workshop has survived; Figure 3. A comparison of Figure 2 and Figure 3 shows that the bottom member of the memorial between the two corbels was originally to be decorated but in the final version this piece was left plain.. A comparison of Figure 1 and Figure 3 shows that in order to fit the WW2 memorial beneath the original, this plain piece of alabaster was removed. Day Book and Bill Book records are appended; Figures 4 and 5.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Mike Clarke for access to his archive and Prof. Maddy Gray for help with Welsh translation.