Category: History

The Remembrance Day symbolism of the poppy started with a poem written by a Canadian World War I brigade surgeon who was struck by the sight of the red flowers growing on a ravaged battlefield.  Struck by the sight of bright red blooms on broken ground, McCrae wrote a poem, “In Flanders Field,” in which he channeled the voice of the fallen soldiers buried under those hardy poppies.

End of WW1

Remembrance Day is on 11 November and is also known as Armistice Day. It marks the day World War One ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918. A two-minute silence is held at 11am to remember the people who have died in wars.  There is also Remembrance Sunday every year, which falls on the second Sunday in November.

The signing of the Armistice took place in Ferdinand Foch’s railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne, about 37 miles (60 km) north of Paris. The location was chosen as it was remote and discreet. Ferdinand Foch was a French military commander who was one of the people who signed the Armistice.

World War I (1914-1918) was finally over. This first global conflict had claimed from 9 million to 13 million lives and caused unprecedented damage. Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war.

A National Service of Remembrance is held at The Cenotaph in Whitehall in London every year on the Sunday. Members of the Royal Family and the Government attend the service alongside representatives from the Armed Forces and the public.

The first two-minute silence in Britain was held on 11 November 1919, when King George V asked the public to observe a silence at 11am. This was one year after the end of World War One.  He made the request so “the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the dead”.

Rossett War Memorial (WW1)

Service men and women from every corner of the UK played their part in the victory. Around six million men were mobilised, and of those just over 700,000 were killed (11.5%). 

Many residents of Rossett took part and some paid the ultimate price.  The War Memorial at the front of Christ Church commemorates those unfortunate few.

Further details of the individuals (and their families) mentioned on the War Memorial can be found on the Rossett 1911 Census page.

Names on the Memorial Panels (1914-1918)

Information where available includes: Rank, Name & Service Number, Served With, Date Died, Age, Details of Parents, Cemetery or Memorial.

Sources:

TNA – The National Archives
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Clwyd Family History Society
Ancestry
Find My Past
Welsh Newspapers Online