Criccieth – Exhibition - Contribution 1918 – 2018

Description

Criccieth – Exhibition - Contribution 1918 – 2018.
Criccieth Town Council was delighted and honoured to be awarded the One Voice Wales’ Best Heritage Initiative 2019 for its project to Commemorate Criccieth’s Contribution to the Great War. The project was in partnership with Ysgol Treferthyr, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, Criccieth Memorial Hall and the local community. Criccieth has a unique heritage in regards to the First World War. The Memorial Hall is a testament to 49 local individuals who fought and died, and many of the families to and descendants of these individuals still live in or near Criccieth today and have many stories and records. Criccieth was also home to David Lloyd George, Prime Minister during the First World War, and during his time in No 10 Downing Street many Welsh speakers from Criccieth worked there and many of their families and descendants still live in Criccieth and the area today. The project was possible as a result of Criccieth Town Council being awarded a £10,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (‘First World War: then and now’ programme). Hundreds of people came from far and near to attend a series of events at Criccieth during Remembrance Week 2018 which was a culmination of the unique work that had been undertaken during the year. The week began with the opening of an exhibition at Criccieth Memorial Hall by Liz Saville-Roberts M.P. on Sunday 4th November. The exhibition was then open daily during the week. Over 400 praiseworthy comments were recorded from the public, children and students in the Visitors Book during Remembrance Week. The independent evaluation report by Cynan Jones says that “The impact of the project on the community can be summarized with two extracts from the comments book: “Thank you for bringing the community together” “Thank you for bringing the history to life”. These quotations confirm that the main aims and objectives of the project have been met and indeed exceeded.

Image 2: Members of the Centenary Committee and Project members with Guests:
From the left: Nick Keane - Chairman Memorial Hall, Kathryn Ellis – High Sheriff Gwynedd, Dr, Peter Harlech Jones- Chairman, Liz Saville-Roberts -MP, Elizabeth George -Chairman Town Council, Ffion Gwyn -Project Manager, Dr Catrin Jones-Clerk Criccieth Town Council, Linda Tomos - Librarian National Library of Wales, Cyng. Robert Dafydd Cadwalader.

Photos by Peter Milnes.