Carmarthen County War Memorial: Roll of Honour, 1914-1918

Description

The Carmarthenshire War Memorial was unveiled by Colonel John Vaughan Campbell on 4 September 1924.

The memorial which takes the form of a monument is located in front of the old Carmarthen Infirmary on Priory Street, Carmarthen, and was designed by Sir Goscombe John. Twenty feet in height the monument is that of a bronze figure of a soldier of the Welch Regiment in full trench equipment, upon a pedestal of grey Scottish granite bearing the inscription:

“To the immortal memory of the men of Carmarthenshire, who fell in the Great War, 1914-1918. Mewn Anghof ni chant fod (They shall not be forgotten).”

Along with the unveiling of the memorial, a presentation booklet was produced, listing the names of all those from the county who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914-1918.

The list includes the names of 123 officers; 254 non-commissioned officers; 1533 other ranks; and three nurses: Florence E. Brace of Carmarthen; Mary Evans of Abergwili; and Emma G. Fletcher of Ammanford.

Nurse Florence (Frances) Ethel Brace worked at Carmarthen Infirmary until May 1916 when she left to join the St John’s Ambulance. She was sent to a Field Ambulance in Salonika, Greece, where she and many others contracted malaria. She was evacuated to Malta where she died after only 3 months of service. She died on 21 September 1916, aged 29.

Nurse Emma Grace Fletcher of Ammanford had been on the nursing staff at Griffithstown Hospital since her departure from Stebonheath Hospital, Llanelli. She was originally from Ammanford, where her father was a Councillor. She died of pneumonia at Griffithstown Hospital, Monmouthshire in November 1918, aged 28.

Nurse Mary Evans of Abergwili, had been at Edmonton Hospital about eighteen months. Mary had been ill only a few hours, and died from influenza, which she contracted while nursing patients at the hospital. She died at Edmonton Military Hospital on Tuesday 15 October 1918, aged 30.