Remembering War: WW100

Over 35,000 Welsh men and women lost their lives in the First World War. Wales’ Temple of Peace was built as Wales’ national memorial to commemorate the loss of a generation in the Great War, and to house the WW1 Book of Remembrance – the rollcall of names. Over the WW100 Centenary period 2014-2018, the Book was digitised and ‘soldiers stories’ gathered as part of WCIA’s Wales for Peace project – which went on to explore how the horrors of war led a generation in Wales to campaign for peace and work for more positive international relations.

Built as the nation's memorial to the fallen of WW1, the Temple was designed by Architect Sir Percy Thomas to inspire future generations to work together in building a better world.

Wales' Memorial to the Fallen of WW1: a Temple to Peace
Wales’ Temple of Peace and Health, home of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs and the HLF-funded ‘Wales for Peace’ project, was built as the nation’s memorial to the fallen of World War One – a memorial that would inspire future generations to learn from the conflicts of the past, to chart Wales’ role in the world, and to work towards peace.

The Story behind Wales' WW1 Book of Remembrance

Search the Names - WW1 Book of Remembrance
Temple of Peace founder David Davies not only served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers in the trenches of WW1, but was Private Secretary to war leader David Lloyd George. What led him to dedicate his life to peacebuilding?

David Davies: from Soldier to Peacemonger
The Temple was opened by Minnie James, a bereaved mother from Merthyr Tydfil who lost her 3 sons to WW1. She was one of 24 mothers representing the women of Wales and the world

Minnie James and the Mothers of War
Held in the Collections of the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff's Civic Centre, the WW2 Book can be viewed by private appointment.

Wales' WW2 Book of Remembrance
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Throughout 2016, the Welsh National Book of Remembrance for the First World War has visited numerous venues and has been at the heart of our community activities across Wales - reuniting the names of the fallen with their communities of life, their descendants, and enabling volunteers to research the stories and the faces behind the names (see below), as well as to support WCIA with transcription of the 35,000 names from the book.

Remembering for Peace, 2014-2018
The right to voice opposition to our government’s involvement in international conflicts – such as the recent wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria (through movements such as ‘Stop the War’) – is a right which we take for granted today as part of the fabric of UK democracy. But 100 years ago, in World War One, to stand up for your beliefs through refusing to kill – ‘conscientious objection’ – commanded a prison sentence

WW1 Conscientious Objectors
"The period from 1914 to 1918, and the immediate aftermath, shaped the Wales we live in now and we need to understand not only why nations went to war but also the lingering impact of that war on our daily lives." Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales, 2014

Cymru'n Cofio - Wales Remembers WW100, 2014-2018
This Saturday, 23rd November 2019, will be 81 years to the blustery day in 1938 when Wales’ Temple of Peace and Health was opened by war-bereaved mother Minnie James from Merthyr Tydfil – accompanied by ‘mothers of Wales and the world’, the Temple’s founder Lord David Davies, and among 500 specially invited guests, a young 14 year old schoolboy from Carmarthen, Gordon James.

Temple81: Keys to the Past
Images collections from 2016-17 Wales Poppies Tour, when WCIA worked with CADW and the Senedd to bring the iconic sculpture Poppies:Weeping Window to Caernarfon and Cardiff Bay

#PoppiesTour: Weeping Window in Caernarfon & Cardiff, 2016-17
The Brangwyn Panels, displayed today in Swansea's Guildhall, were commissioned by the House of Lords to World War One war artist Sir Frank Brangwyn, a Welshman born in Bruges, Flanders, to commemorate the dead of WW1.

'Nawr yr Awr / Now the Hero' 2018
The Red Poppy is well known as a remembrance symbol in the UK, for British military personnel fallen and living. Less well known is its origins as the idea of an American teacher in 1918, Moina Belle Michael, who conceived the silk poppy as a blood red symbol.

Red and White Poppies: Stories behind the Symbol