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Jack Williams (VC)
Company Sergeant Major John Henry Williams, (29 September 1886 – 7 March 1953) was a Welsh colliery worker, soldier, and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Williams is the most decorated Welsh non-commissioned officer of all time. Early life Williams was born in Nantyglo, Monmouthshire, on 29 September 1886. First World War In November 1914, Williams gave up his employment as a colliery blacksmith and enlisted in the 10th (Service) Battalion, South Wales Borderers (1st Gwent) (part of the 38th (Welsh) Division). He was promoted to sergeant in January 1915. His citation for the Victoria Cross reads: Company sergeant major Williams was medically discharged from the army on 17 October 1918 after being severely wounded by shrapnel in the right arm and leg. In 1919, Williams was invested with his Victoria Cross, Distinguished Conduct Medal, Military Medal and Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Nantyglo
Nantyglo () is a village in the ancient parish of Aberystruth and county of Monmouth situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Blaina and Brynmawr in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent. Governance An Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 4,635. Places of interest Parc Nant y Waun is a nature reserve incorporating 22 hectares of grassland, Bog, mires and reservoirs which was officially opened in 2007. Opening of Parc Nant y Waun Home to many wildlife species, it includes a picnic area, outdoor classroom and an angling club. Wesley Methodist Church was built in 1825. Notable people *David Brookman, Baron Brookman, David Keith Brookman, Baron Brookman *Flash Morgan Webster ( ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Colliery
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ... and South Africa, a coal mine and its structures are a colliery, a coal mine is called a "pit", and above-ground mining structures are referred to as a "pit head". In Australia, "colliery" generally refers to an underground coal mine. Coal mining has had many developments in recent years, from the early days of men tunneling, digging, and manually extracting the coal on carts to large Open-pit mining, open-cut and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Regimental Museum Of The Royal Welsh
The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh, formerly the South Wales Borderers Museum, is located at Brecon in Wales. The museum's collection is made up of artefacts collected from a variety of sources from around the world and which display the regiment's 300-year history. History The collection was opened to the public as the South Wales Borderers Museum in 1935. Memorial gates were unveiled at the museum in memory of Colonel Courtney Trower, who commanded the 5th (Service) Battalion during the First World War, in September 1967 and the Prince of Wales visited the museum in October 1973. Following the formation of the Royal Welsh in 2006, the museum changed its name to the Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh. The collection The museum is based at The Barracks, Brecon, South Wales, and claims to have the finest collection of weapons to be found in any regimental museum in the United Kingdom. Its collection of guns shows the development of soldiers' weapons from the 18th century t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Clydach Gorge
The Clydach Gorge (also known as Cwm Clydach) is a steep-sided valley in south-east Wales down which the River Clydach, Monmouthshire, River Clydach flows to the River Usk. It runs for from the vicinity of Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent eastwards and northeastwards to Gilwern in Monmouthshire. The Gorge was one of the first locations in the region to be industrial history, industrialised though it still retains its natural environment. It has long been an important transport corridor between Abergavenny and the lowlands of Monmouthshire and the northeastern quarter of the South Wales Coalfield. It is now exploited by the A465 road, A465 Heads of the Valleys trunk road which runs between Abergavenny and Swansea and which serves the Heads of the Valleys sub-region. The Gorge is included within the Brecon Beacons National Park and is a tourist destination in its own right, with facilities including a picnic site, waymarked footpaths, the National Cycle Network and car parking alongside t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gilwern
Gilwern is a village within the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, Wales. Historically in Brecknockshire, it extends to either side of the River Clydach on the south side of the Usk valley. Its position beside the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal led to it being an important industrial centre at one time. Location Gilwern is a village historically in Breconshire now in Monmouthshire about west of Abergavenny, close to where the A40 trunk road and the A465 Heads of the Valleys road meet. The River Usk and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal are close to the village. Gilwern Hill lies to the south of the village. It is partly tree-clad and has a mast on top. The name of the village translates from the Welsh ''Y Gilwern'' (from ''cil-gwern'') as "the recess (or bend) of the alders", probably a reference to its position at the point where the Clydach Gorge opens out into the Usk Valley and the River Clydach flows into a sharp bend in the River Usk. The village is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Brynmawr
; ; ; ) is a market town, community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at the head of the South Wales Valleys. It grew with the development of the coal mining and iron industries in the early 19th century. Until the reorganisation of local authorities in 1974, Brynmawr was administered as part of the Historic counties of Wales, county of Brecknockshire. Welsh language According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census, 6.0% of the ward's 5,530 (332 residents) resident population could speak, read, and write Welsh language, Welsh. This was above the Blaenau Gwent, county's proportion of 5.5% of 67,348 (3,705 residents). Until 2010, when the school relocated to a new building in Blaina, the town had the only Welsh-medium primary school, Ysgol Gymraeg Brynmawr, in Blaenau Gwent; the school had 310 pupils rang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
A465
The A465 is a trunk road that runs from Bromyard in Herefordshire, England to Llandarcy near Swansea in south Wales. The western half in Wales is known officially as the Neath to Abergavenny Trunk Road, but the section from Abergavenny to the Vale of Neath is more commonly referred to as the Heads of the Valleys Road because it links the northern heads of the South Wales Valleys. This section was also the subject of a major upgrade programme to convert the road into a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction, and the final completed section opened on 31 May 2025, bringing a 23-year long scheme to a close. Approximately following the southern boundary of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, the Ordnance Survey ''Pathfinder'' guide describes it as the unofficial border between rural and industrial South Wales. The A465 provides an alternative route between England and the counties in South West Wales and to the ferries to Ireland. Route The A465 runs south-west from B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Villers-Outréaux
Villers-Outréaux () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry History A German airbase was in the town in WW-I. War memorial In September 2018 the villagers of Villers-Outréaux dedicated an especially commissioned memorial to commemorate British soldier Jack Williams (VC), (Victoria Cross), to express their thanks for helping to save their village from certain destruction, in 1918 See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025): References Villersoutreaux {{Cambrai-geo-stub ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother, Queen Victoria, as the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). He was third in the line of succession to the British throne behind his father and his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor. From 1877 to 1892, George served in the Royal Navy, until his elder brother's unexpected death in January 1892 put him directly in line for the throne. The next year Wedding of Prince George and Princess Victoria Mary, George married his brother's former fiancée, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, and they had six children. When Death of Queen Victoria, Queen Victoria died in 1901, George's father ascended the throne as Edward VII, and George was created ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Military Decoration
Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medallion. Civil decorations awarded to military personnel should not be considered military decorations, although some orders of chivalry have civil and military divisions. Decorations received by police and fire brigade personnel may sometimes be considered alongside military decorations, on which they may be modelled, although they are strictly not military awards. Military awards and decorations may take the form of medal ribbons or miniature medals, which are mounted together on a bar known as a barrette. History Decorations have been known since ancient times. The Egyptian Old Kingdom had the Order of the Golden Collar while the New Kingdom awarded the Order of the Golden Fly. Celts and Romans wore a torc or received other military decorations such as the '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Shrapnel Shell
Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions that carried many individual bullets close to a target area and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike targets individually. They relied almost entirely on the shell's velocity for their lethality. The munition has been obsolete since the end of World War I for anti-personnel use; high-explosive shells superseded it for that role. The functioning and principles behind shrapnel shells are fundamentally different from high-explosive shell fragmentation. Shrapnel is named after Lieutenant-General Henry Shrapnel, a Royal Artillery officer, whose experiments, initially conducted on his own time and at his own expense, culminated in the design and development of a new type of artillery shell. Usage of the term "shrapnel" has changed over time to also refer to fragmentation of the casing of shells and bombs, which is its most common modern usage and strays from the original meaning. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage from the British light infantry. The word "sergeant" derives from the Latin , 'one who serves', through the Old French term . In modern hierarchies the term ''sergeant'' refers to a non-commissioned officer positioned above the rank of a corporal, and to a police officer immediately below a lieutenant in the US, and below an inspector in the UK. In most armies, the rank of sergeant corresponds to command of a team/section (military unit), section, or squad. In Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth armies, it is a more senior rank, corresponding roughly to a platoon second-in-command. In the United States Army, sergeant is a more junior rank corresponding to a fireteam leader or assistant squad-leader; while in the United States Marine Corps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
