WW1 Memorial unveiled

A memorial made from stones from a quarry in Pontypridd was unveiled by First Minister Carwyn Jones in August 2014.

 The unveiling ceremony of a new memorial dedicated to all those from Wales who took part in the First World War, taking place in the village of Langemark in Belgium.

In the village of Langemark, which was completely destroyed during WWI, a cromlech made of four Welsh Blue Pennant stones from the Craig yr Hesg quarry near Pontypridd will stand as a permanent memorial to the Welsh victims of the conflict, topped with a red bronze dragon.

The monument is made of four Welsh blue pennant stones transported from Craig yr Hesg quarry in Pontypridd and surmounted by an 8ft tall red bronze dragon, designed by artist Lee Odishow. The monument can be found on Pilkem Ridge, a short distance from where the Welsh poet Hedd Wyn was killed in 1917.

Four Welsh Blue Pennant stones to build the Cromlech were transported to the memorial site on the Pilkem Ridge near Lange mark in Flanders after being excavated at the Craig yr Hesg quarry, near Pontypridd in summer 2013. In September 2013 during a visit to Belgium and France, the First Minister announced that the Welsh Government will provide up to £25,000 to underwrite the Welsh Memorial in Flanders appeal. During his visit at the memorial site in Lange mark, the First Minister symbolically dug the first sod of earth at the site, along with the Mayor of Lange mark, Alain Wyffels.