Dedication of the Memorial on 3rd June 2017
Building the Memorial
When the First World War ended in November 1918 the dead were often honoured with the construction, by public subscription, of monuments. Sadly, there was no collective monument to the fallen from our villages. Our plan in 2014 to construct a suitable monument to honour the fallen whom we have discovered from our research reached completion in 2017. The memorial not only commemorates the fallen from the First World War but includes the names inscribed on the World War Two memorial tablet in Langstone Village Hall, and has provision to include names from future conflicts should this, sadly, become necessary.
The monument provides our community with a First World War heritage that did not previously exist.
The separate named pages below provide more detailed information about each of the men that lost their lives as a result of war and in the pursuit of peace.
The original village of Langstone has seen significant size change since the time of the First World War when the village and surrounding area had 63 homes and a population of a few hundred. As you would imagine most of the employment was in farming with working in the quarries, lime kilns, railway and forestry making up the balance.
Education for the area was mainly at the National Endowed School in Llandevaud which meant, due to its location, pupils from the surrounding villages had a long journey to make every day.
The number of households has risen significantly since 1914 and at the 100th anniversary of the commencement of the First World War numbered around 1500 with some 5000 residents.
Our Community Council, which is the successor to the original Langstone Parish Meetings, now also represents the villages of Llandevaud and Llanmartin.