Mametz Wood - Somme Centenary July 2016 - St Cyres School
2016 sees the centenary of the Battle of Somme in northern France. Welsh soldiers took part in the fighting on the first day (1 July 1916) and many lost their lives. Two former pupils of the school were killed during the Battle of Somme. Both their names are listed on our school war memorial.
Welsh Memorial Mametz Wood, The Somme, France
This is a small sample of the video clips showing views of the Welsh Memorial, Mametz Wood, The Somme, France taken from the Video History Today database.
Please take a look at Video History Today , the first web site to offer unique collections of re-usable original video clips designed for teachers and students.
The idea behind Video History Today is to give schools the raw material to make mini-documentaries and video essays on historical subjects.
Initial packages focus on World War I (Somme and Ieper areas), The Holocaust, the American Civil War and D-Day & Normandy 1944.
Welsh Memorial, Mametz Wood, The Somme, France
The magnificent Welsh Dragon Memorial (to the 38th Welsh Division) overlooks the World War One battleground close to Mametz Wood and the open ground, now called Death Valley.
Mametz Wood was the objective of the 38th (Welsh) Division during the First Battle of the Somme. The attack occurred in a northerly direction over a ridge, focussed on the German positions in the wood between 7 July and 12 July 1916.
Want to travel to this location but do not know how to find it? Battlefields By GPS ( has self-drive tours of the Somme with full GPS packages for Garmin sat nav devices.
Words from Mametz Wood
The words are those of men who actually took part in the Battle of Mametz Wood.
Capt. Llewelyn Wyn Griffith of the 15th. Royal Welsh Fusiliers wrote 'Up to Mametz' survived the war. He lost a son in WWII.
David Jones, a Private in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, wrote 'In Parenthesis'. He was wounded in the thigh during the battle. After the war he became a distinguished poet and artist.
Along with his friend Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves was a commissioned officer in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. They both fought at Mametz Wood.
Harry Fellows was in the Northumberland Battalion. He was involved in burying the dead after the Battle of Mametz Wood. The horrors he saw left a lasting impression. When he died in 1987 his ashes were buried in Mametz Wood.
No one knows the identity of the authors of the letter or the poem.
Video and Editing:
Huw Davies
The Welsh Dragon Memorial at Mametz Wood was designed by Carmarthenshire sculptor and blacksmith David Petersen. He sent me an email after he'd watched 'Words from Mametz':
Dear Huw Davies,
Thank you so much for sending me the DVD of the Mametz Wood battle. I thought the DVD was excellent and does express the horror of what took place.
When I was making the memorial I had the opportunity to talk to some of the old soldiers who were at Mametz and their stories were truly awesome and terrible. The bravery that those guys showed under terrible conditions!
There was a serious case of lice amongst the troops in the trenches and everyone had to have their heads shaved by the regimental barber. One young lad [17 yrs] had promised his Mam that he would not have his 'beautiful' ginger curly hair cut whilst he was away in France for a few months! and he told the Sgt. this. So when he refused to have it cut, the Sgt. drew his pistol and shot him dead, for 'disobeying orders at the front line'.[Immediate court marshal].
Because of the lice, everyone tried to get hold of 'women's silk undergarments', as these stopped the lice from being on their skin and biting!
These are two of the stories that were told to me by those who were there! They left an impression on me that I carry to this day. They are all dead now, but their stories live on and somehow we must commit them to history with films like yours and articles and books. I have a copy of a BBC Wales film by Vincent Kane on the battle as well, it's about 20 years old!. We must learn from them and make sure that our politicians will never engage in wars again. (some hope, I know; but we must try.)
It's interesting that there were so many excellent poets and artists engaged in that particular battle, on both sides. Remember that Otto Dix was actually 'in' the wood and writes about his experience at the time.
After designing and making the Mametz memorial, I haven't been asked to make any more and I have to wonder why? Was it that the officials didn't approve of my concept that stated the stupidity of war and only focused on the courage and bravery of the 38th Welsh Division? I'll never know! But the image is one of the most printed and photographed of all the monuments on the Somme, so perhaps I did strike a chord with most people!
Anyway thank you again for sending me the information, I really do appreciate it.
Best regards,
David Petersen.
The Somme (WWI) 38th Welsh Division (France) - BBC News - 1st July 2016
Suffering some of the heaviest losses in the first few days of the Battle of the Somme, this is the story of the 38th Welsh Division a hundred years ago on this day (the start of the Battle of the Somme in 1916).
Mametz Wood Diorama 2019
This diorama is dedicated to the soldiers on all sides who never returned home from the first world war. I finally finished a model diorama of the Battle of Mametz Wood. In total, this diorama took around 6 months to complete. I have two more Dioramas planned, and they may be better edited if i can get the software to do it. I don't do tutorials as i am nowhere near good enough to be able to do tutorials; if you want that, people like Luke Towan, QDC, and many other model hobby channels are your place. This Diorama is a tribute to my Great Great Great uncles Emerys E. Hughes, and Hubert Hughes who fought at this battlefield. I put in as much research into this using Pinterest and Google images to find as much references as I could to make this historically accurate. Artistic liberties were taken for the 11th Prussian Guard regiment (the germans) as there isn't a lot of information on their uniforms that i could find. I hope you enjoy seeing this video.
Mametz Wood (Owen Sheers) English assignment - Bethany Hodgson
Scottish infantry pass through Mametz to accompany the French in the war in Franc...HD Stock Footage
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Scottish infantry pass through Mametz to accompany the French in the war in France.
Scott soldiers prepare for the battle during the World War I. Scottish infantry passes through Mametz. Houses along the sides of street. Wreckage in the area. Soldiers walk in the ruined area. Trees in the background. Telephone wire is laid to establish communication. Soldiers stand in the rubble and fix the wire to a broken wall. Troops walk in an abandoned German trench. Location: Mametz France. Date: 1916.
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Mametz Rifles
The actors learning how to hold, carry and clean their rifles ahead of the production next week. June 2013
buy tickets: nationaltheatrewales.org/mametz
MAMETZ
24th June - 5th July
Great Llancayo Upper Wood near Usk, Monmouthshire
This large-scale, site-specific production performed in an ancient woodland near Usk, Monmouthshire, will give audiences a vivid glimpse into life -- and death -- in the trenches and battlefields of the Somme.
Inspired by Welsh writer Owen Sheers' poem Mametz Wood, it will draw on written material by the poets who fought in or witnessed one of the war's bloodiest conflicts - the Battle of Mametz Wood, in which 4,000 of the the 38th (Welsh) Division were killed or wounded. Among the soldiers who took part were several key Welsh and English war poets, including Robert Graves, David Jones, Siegfried Sassoon and Llewelyn Wyn Griffith, and Sheers' own great, great uncle, William Gwyn Davies.
Mametz is co-commissioned by National Theatre Wales and 14-18 NOW, WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Mametz Wood.
A video produced by Chloe Mckay; Directed by Bronwen Morton-Jones; Performed by Rebecca Garton and Chloe Mckay and published by Katy Madden.
Mametz Wood
A sad video which makes you think about the horror of war
Mametz - Trailer
MAMETZ
24th June - 5th July
Great Llancayo Upper Wood near Usk, Monmouthshire
Book Tickets: nationaltheatrewales.org/mametz
This large-scale, site-specific production performed in an ancient woodland near Usk, Monmouthshire, will give audiences a vivid glimpse into life -- and death -- in the trenches and battlefields of the Somme.
Inspired by Welsh writer Owen Sheers' poem Mametz Wood, it will draw on written material by the poets who fought in or witnessed one of the war's bloodiest conflicts - the Battle of Mametz Wood, in which 4,000 of the the 38th (Welsh) Division were killed or wounded. Among the soldiers who took part were several key Welsh and English war poets, including Robert Graves, David Jones, Siegfried Sassoon and Llewelyn Wyn Griffith, and Sheers' own great, great uncle, William Gwyn Davies.
Mametz is co-commissioned by National Theatre Wales and 14-18 NOW, WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Ages 14+
Skye bellhouse - Mametz wood.
English project - skye, halima, katie, georgina.
mametz wood
Our visit to the Somme August 7th 2018.
CWGC Devonshire Cemetery, Mametz, France
The Devonshire Cemetery near Mamtez, France is the final resting place for over 170 men killed in the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916.
A special memorial headstone at the entrance to the cemetery records the message on a wooden cross left on this cemetery in 1916: 'The Devonshires Held This Trench, The Devonshires Hold It Still.'
This small cemetery follows the trench from which the Devonshires were ordered to advance on 1st July 1916. Many died within a few feet of the trench, killed by machine gun fire from across the valley. They did not stand a chance as they had to advance down into a wide valley. The fallen Devonshires were buried in the trench from which they had advanced, hence the memorial message.
Uniquely, all 170 men buried in this cemetery were from the Devonshires and all died on 1st July 1916. I did not see another cemetery with such a history in the Somme or Ieper area.
Want to travel to this location but do not know how to find it? Battlefields By GPS ( has self-drive tours of the Somme with full GPS packages for Garmin sat nav devices.
Please take a look at Video History Today , the first web site to offer unique collections of re-usable original video clips designed for teachers and students.
Mametz Wood Rehearsals 2016
Rehearsing Mametz Wood in the Welsh countryside
Mametz welsh memorial
Our visit to the Somme August 7th 2018.
Mametz Wood. Lest we forget
Music by Bensound
Mametz Wood by Owen Sheers
My english coursework