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TYLERI TALES: HEROES OF WORLD WAR I
The heroic efforts of Abertillery men in the First World War should never be overlooked. As throughout the land, many of the young men of the area volunteered for what they were led to believe would be the war to end all wars. By its conclusion, hundreds of them had died.
This Tyleri Tale tells the story of just three of them which highlights the bravery and courage of all who served.
Thomas Percival Hughes was born in Cardiff in 1895, but his family moved to Abertillery where Tom became a clerk at Cwmtillery Colliery. Tom was a talented sportsman playing football for Abertillery Town, who were then in the Southern League.
However, his real prowess was running and at the age of 19, he became feted for winning
what was one of great foot races of its day, the Cambria Dash, which was held until
1930 at the Mid-
For the 1914 race, Hughes was given a 11 and a quarter yards’ handicap but was not
among the favourites, being rated as 10-
Three months later he enlisted in the 2/3rd Mons Regiment rising through the ranks to become a quartermaster sergeant. But sadly in 1917, he was killed in action in East Africa whilst serving with the King's African Rifles and Monmouthshire Regiment and is buried at Dar Es Salaam Cemetery in Tanzania.
The Powderhall Sprint (right), held at Taff Vale Park. This was another big race
of those days and shows what the Cambria Dash would have looked like -
Another talented sportsman from the town sadly also suffered the same fate.
Like Hughes, Arthur Llewellyn from Blaenau Gwent Rows was a good sprinter and had
similarly featured in many well-
A miner at Rose Heyworth Colliery, he played for Abertillery RFC but joined the professional Leeds Rugby League side before returning to the area and enlisting in the Lancers. Seemingly though he craved more intense action in the war and so changed to the Rifle Brigade.
Whilst in Salonika, he was injured and suffered enteric fever and was hospitalised in Manchester.
He returned to the fray fighting in the bloody battles near Arras in 1917. where on June 1st, he was shot and killed.
Another more fortunate local hero was George Jones. He too had worked in the local pits. Private Jones of 2nd Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers was badly wounded at Ballieul in France in 1918 just before the end of the war. He was sent to Tooting Hospital in London where his chances of survival were slim.
Luckily for him though there was another patient, Private Reuben Dickenson of the
Machine Gun Corps from Hetton-
Right: The letter written by Staff at Powell's Tillery Steam Coal Company
Click on picture to view larger image and also the letter from Jones' friends
Other colleagues and friends of Jones, Edward Parry, Frederick Harvard and Frank Bevan also wrote and gave gifts of appreciation to Dickenson (click here for the letter)
As a result, Dickenson was invited to Abertillery where he was met by Jones' father and friends and local dignitaries and given a hero's welcome.
I am grateful to Peter Terry from Swindon, great-
Some details for the story have been obtained from Brian Lee's article in the Cardiff
Post. His book -
I am also indebted to Ian Dickenson, whose grandfather was Rueben Dickenson, for all his information. Ian is keen to contact any living relatives of George Jones. Please contact Abertillery Online if you are such a relative.
