The centenary of the Armistice

Sunday 11 November 2018 marked the centenary of the Armistice which led to the end of the First World War and was a memorable occasion for Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914‑1918.

Armistice Day commemorates the armistice signed between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany and took effect at the ‘eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month’ of 1918. A formal peace agreement was reached when the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year. In 2018 the day of reflection and remembrance was led by the then First Minister Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM. He began the day by attending the National Service of Remembrance at the Welsh National War Memorial where he laid a wreath on behalf of the people of Wales in remembrance of all those who had lost their lives during the two World Wars and subsequent conflicts. Later in the day the then First Minister was joined by senior civic, political and military leaders, and faith representatives from across Wales at a National Service of Thanksgiving held at Llandaff Cathedral. This service was also attended by Their Royal Highnesses the Earl and Countess of Wessex. The Wales service was one of four such services that took place across the UK on the afternoon of 11 November and was broadcast live on BBC Wales television and radio and S4C.

This service was an opportunity for all those who had played a part in Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914-1918 to come together, to give thanks and to reflect upon the sacrifices of all those who lost their lives or loved ones at home or abroad during the First World War. During the service Mari Wyn Jones, a student from Ysgol Maes Garmon, Mold read the poem she had written especially for the occasion ‘Yr Enaid Byw / My Living Soul’. Mari’s poem was chosen to represent Wales at a competition run by Never Such Innocence, a UK charity that began as a First World War commemoration arts project for children and young people to give them a voice on war and conflict (the poem is included at the end of the chapter). The Standards of the Royal British Legion accompanied the Procession of the Welsh National Book of Remembrance to the Drum Altar. The Welsh National Book of Remembrance for the First World War contains the names of 35,000 servicemen and women, as well as members of Welsh Regiments, who lost their lives in the First World War. The Book had been brought from its home at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff to Llandaff and is a poignant reminder of all those who had lost their lives so that we can live in peace. A Message of Peace and Goodwill by the young people of Wales was proclaimed by Nia Haf and Ethan Williams from Urdd Gobaith Cymru, a national voluntary Welsh language youth organisation. Interfaith prayers were offered by the representatives of the Faith Communities Forum of Wales and concluded with a Prayer of Peace given in German by Annette Despres from the Lutheran Church in South and West Wales.

Following the singing of national anthems, the Thanksgiving service was concluded by the Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM, the then First Minister of Wales. He read an excerpt of a speech given by Prime Minister David Lloyd George on 23 November 1918 in which he referred to his key task which was ‘To make Britain a fit country for heroes to live in’. The Cathedral bells rang out to mark the centenary of the 1918 Armistice.

Left: Service of Thanksgiving, Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, Armistice Day, 11 November 2018 © Welsh Government