Neil Bartley and Martin Williams

1. Press ‘Esc’ on your keyboard at any time to end the presentation. Neil Bartley and Martin Williams

2. To discover who some of the Welsh soldiers buried at the Welsh Cemetery were and where they were from To find out when these soldiers died and how their deaths help to form part of the Bigger Picture that was the First World War

3. The Welsh Cemetery was begun in July 1917 by the 38thDivision on a spot known by the soldiers at the time as Caesar’s Nose. The cemetery contains 68 First World War Burials. To explore the cemetery further click here

4. Click on each of the gravestones in turn

5. Name: This soldier was part of the 14thBattalion who were known as the Swansea Pals. Rank: The 14th Battalion, along with the 15th (Carmarthenshire Pals) took part in the Third Battle of Ypres. On the 31st July they attacked the German Lines at Iron Cross Bridge. There were a number of heavily fortified pill boxes in this area and the battalion met fierce resistance. Number: Regiment: Age when killed: Date when killed: Year when killed:

6. Name: We can only assume that this soldier was part of the 14th Battalion. Rank: The 38thDivision were engaged heavily during the Third Battle of Ypres and the 10th, 11th, 13th, 15thand 16th battalions were in action in this area on this day. Number: Regiment: Age when killed: We can check the records to find out who went missing on this day, but we will never know for sure who the person buried here is… Date when killed: Year when killed:

7. Name: This soldier was part of the 14thBattalion who were known as the Swansea Pals. Rank: The Swansea Pals was established in late 1914 on the request on the Mayor of Swansea. This infantry battalion became part of the 38thWelsh Division. Number: Regiment: Age when killed: Date when killed: 1, 417 men and officers had joined the battalion by February 1915. Year when killed: See The Battle of Mametz Wood, 1916, by Robert Phillips for more information on the Swansea Pals

8. Which regiment did all three soldiers belong to?

9. Which regiment did all three soldiers belong to? What do you notice about the date of death of all three soldiers?

10. Which regiment did all three soldiers belong to? What do you notice about the date of death of all three soldiers? What do you notice about the ages of all three men? Can you give reasons for this?

11. Which battle started on the 31stJuly 1917 in Flanders? Which Welsh Battalions were involved in this battle? You may find this website by Simon Farr useful when carrying out your research. www.users.globalnet.co.uk~dccfarr/index.htm Using the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, see if you can find out how many other soldiers in Caesars Nose Cemetery died on the same day? www.cwgc.org

12. The 38thDivision attacked the German lines around at about 4:00 a.m. on 31stJuly 1917. This marked the start of the Third Battle of Ypres – also known as the Battle of Passendale. The 10thBattalion (1stRhondda Pals) and 13thBattalion (2nd Rhondda Pals) were first into action and taking the Germans by surprise encountered little resistance. They managed to take their objectives suffering few casualties. The 15thBattalion (Carmarthenshire Pals) and 14thBattalion (Swansea Pals) were next into action, but suffered heavier casualties as they encountered stiffer resistance at Iron Cross Bridge where there were a number of German pill boxes.

13. The 113thBrigade comprising two companies of the 13th Battalion and 16thBattalion (Cardiff City Pals), supported by the 115thBrigade also met stiff resistance and suffered heavy casualties while attacking a number of concrete machine gun posts. There were 280 pill boxes along the German lines. The Germans counter attacked during the afternoon of the 31stbut they were unsuccessful in taking back the land gained by the 38thDivision during the morning. The 11thBattalion (2nd Gwent Pals) South Wales Borderers were attacked in force however and lost many men.

14. Name of Battle * 38th(Welsh) Division 10th Battalion Battalion Battalion Battalion 1stRhondda Pals Battalion Battalion

15. The Welsh Cemetery at Caesar’s Nose, Ypres

16. Name: Rank: Number: Regiment: Age when killed: Date when killed: Year when killed:

17. What else can you find out about Private James? The gravestone does not tell us Private James’ first name. Neither does it tell us which Battalion he belonged to, or much about his family and where he lived. Use the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website to see if you can find this information. Log on to www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/search.aspx

18. What can you find out about Lance Corporal F. Sheldrick? Are you surprised by any of the facts? If so why? What does this tell you about how Regiments were put together? Reminder: The 15thBattalion was also known as the Carmarthenshire Pals

19. Find out how many soldiers within this cemetery died on the first day of the Battle of Ypres (31stJuly, 1917). Make a list of the different regiments that the soldiers within this cemetery belonged to? Are they all Welsh? How many soldiers died on the 27thand 29thJuly 1917? What does this tell you about the level of activity in this area just before the Third Battle of Ypres took place? END

20. Enter C. James’ details into the Debt of Honour Register You should now be presented with a list of names. Click on the C. James buried in Caesar’s Nose Cemetery.

21. Note the additional information that you now have for Private C. James? Once the details of C. James appear, answer the question above and then click on the ‘View Details’ of the Welsh Cemetery at Caesar’s Nose.

22. You should now have details of the Welsh Cemetery at Caesar’s Nose and should be able to bring up a list of the soldiers buried there by clicking on the ‘Cemetery Reports’ button.

23. Enter the name of one of the soldiers from the cemetery You should now be presented with a list of names. Click on the name of the soldier buried in Caesar’s Nose Cemetery.

24. Once the details of that soldier appear click on the ‘View Details’ of the Welsh Cemetery at Caesar’s Nose.

25. You should now have details of the Welsh Cemetery at Caesar’s Nose and should be able to bring up a list of the soldiers buried there by clicking on the ‘Cemetery Reports’ button.