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.
| ACKERLEY, John Henry Private 18858. Died 25/09/1915 aged 22. Royal Welsh Fusiliers (1st Bn.) Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais, France. Son of George Ackerley, of Covey Bank, Lavister, Rossett. |
| BENNION, Thomas Private 200954. Died 20/08/1918 aged 36. Royal Welsh Fusiliers (1st/4th Bn.) Corbie Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France. Son of Thomas & Jane Bennion, of Broad Oak, Rossett; husband of Constance Helen Bennion, of Rossett Road Cottages, Trevalyn, Rossett. |
| CLAYS, Albert Private 200956. Died 17/10/1918 Royal Welsh Fusiliers (5th/6th Bn.) erusalem War Cemetery, Israel. |
| CREWE, John William Private 235205. Died 09/10/1917 aged 21. Gloucestershire Regiment (1st/4th Bn.) Son of William & Mary Elizabeth Crewe, of Burton, Rossett. |
| CRUMP, John Henry Private 19113. Died 25/09/1916 aged 21. Leicestershire Regiment (8th Bn.) Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. Son of Thomas & Mary Crump, of Harwood’s Lane, Rossett. |
| DAVIES, Thomas John Private 75841. Died 07/10/1918 aged 32. Royal Army Medical Corps Basra War Cemetery, Iraq. Son of Catharine S. Davies, of Butchers Arms, Rosset, Wrexham, and the late Thomas Davies. |
| ELLIS, Samuel Percy Private 8269. Died 06/10/1916 aged 22. Royal Welsh Fusiliers (4th Bn.) Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. Son of John & Georgina Ellis, of Trevalyn, Rossett. |
| GRIFFITHS, John |
| HACK, John Wheeler L/5029. Died 27/04/1918 aged 25. Royal Field Artillery (19th Bde. Ammunition Col.) Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul, Nord France.Born Rossett. Son of John & Mary Ann Hack, of 89, Vandyke Road, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England. |
| HUGHES, William |
| JACKSON, William George |
| JOHNSON, Thomas Wheeler 1996. Died 03/08/1917 aged . Royal Field Artillery Christ Church Churchyard, Rossett. |
| JOHNSON, William Pioneer 233991. Died 08/09/1917 aged . Royal Engineers Christ Church Churchyard, Rossett. |
| JONES, Harry Private 27369. Died 12/08/1916 aged 21. King’s Liverpool Regiment (18th Bn.) Exeter High Cemetery, Devon, England. Son of Mrs. Jane Jones, of Poplar Row, Burton, Rossett. |
| LLOYD, Joseph Private 23297. Died 15/04/1918 aged 32. East Lancashire Regiment (11th Bn.) Arneke British Military Cemetery, Nord, France. Son of Robert & Jane Lloyd, of Rossett; husband of Ada Lloyd, of 14, Lodge Street, Blackburn, Lancashire, England. |
| O’BRIEN, George Corporal 13147. Died 10/08/1916 aged 21. King’s Shropshire Light Infantry (6th Bn.) Sucrerie Military Cemetery, Colincamps, Somme, France. Son of Martin & Mary O’Brien, of Hern House Cottages, Rossett. |
| PARTIN, Frank Private 28322. Died 22/03/1918 aged 22. Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (9th Bn.) Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France. Son of Frances Partin, of Lavister, Rossett, and the late John Partin. |
| PLEAVIN, Walter |
| RANDLES, John Gunner 736027. Died 17/09/1917 aged Royal Field Artillery (“D” Bty. 245th West Riding Bde.) Born Rossett. |
| SANDBACH, Gilbert Robertson Captain . Died aged 24. Denbighshire Yeomanry (attd. 24th Bn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers) Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. Son of the late Gilbert Robertson & of Harriet Jane Sandbach, of Rossett. |
| WILLIAMS, William Rifleman 51446. Died 09/04/1918 aged 19. King’s Liverpool Regiment (1st/5th Bn.) Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais, France. Only son of W & Mary Williams, of Dee Style, Harwood’s Lane, Rossett. |
| WOOLISCROFT, William |
| WYCHERLEY, John Leonard Private G/5463. Died 26/09/1915 aged 30. Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment (8th Bn.) Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais, France. Son of Andrew Wycherley, of Rossett. |
| WYCHERLEY, Charles Spencer Sergeant 5197. Died 21/02/1915 aged 37. Cheshire Regiment (2nd Bn.) Menin Gate Memorial, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.Born Lavister. Son of the late Andrew & Elizabeth Wycherley; adopted son of William & Sarah Hughes; husband of Lillie Wycherley, of Gamford Cottages, Rossett. Served in the South African Campaign. |
Sources:
TNA – The National Archives
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Clwyd Family History Society
Ancestry
Find My Past
Welsh Newspapers Online