The war memorial stood outside Roath Road Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. When the chapel was bombed in WWII the memorial survived and can be seen in pictures of the bomb-damaged chapel.
The war memorial can be seen in front of the church in this fascinating photograph.
The unveiling of Roath Road war memorial in October 1920
The name of W H Seager, son of the Cardiff shipowner of the same name, can just about be made out half way down the list of names on the right .
Roath Road Wesleyan Methodist bomb damage
The church was badly damaged during an air raid on March 3rd 1941. It was demolished in 1955. Roath Road was renamed Newport Road in the early 1880s but the church kept its original name.
The bomb damaged church with scaffolding erected. Evidently it was decided not to repair the church subsequently and demolish the remains.
Report of the unveiling of the memorial – Cardiff Times – Oct 20th 1920
The name of W M Seager just about visible
In a recollection shared on social media, Tony McCarthy recalls being involved when the war memorial was dismantled around about 1955, put on a porters trolley “borrowed” from the Infirmary, towed by pick-up van to Trinity church on the corner of Piercefield Place and Newport Road and re-erected in it’s forecourt. The memorial is believed to have fallen into a state of disrepair and eventually sadly disposed of.
Roath Road war memorial seen outside Trinity Methodist church (photo credit: Roath Local History Society)
The names on the memorial were recorded in an edition of the Roath Road church magazine Roath Road Roamer. The names that were on the memorial are listed below. Ian Walton, former Steward and Treasurer at Trinity Methodist, has carried out some diligent research into the names of the fallen which he has kindly shared here.
George Wilfred Abbott
Private, 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards (Service Number 2506)
George Abbott was born in Abertillery, Monmouthshire in 1893 to Edwin Abbott and Emily Margaret Abbott née Collier. By 1901 the family had moved to Roath and George’s father Edwin was working as a wood sawyer but he dies in 1903 leaving Emily to bring up the three sons. In the 1911 census we find George working as a weights and measures assistant for the city council and the family living at 64 Cottrell Road, Roath. George is killed in action on 25th September 1916 at the battle of the Somme. He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial in France. He was also remembered on the Roath Park Weslyan Church memorial. Commonwealth War Graves Commission record.
Tom O Bailey
George Briggs
Willie (William) Brown:-
WILLIAM BROWN
Private, 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards (Service Number: 1661)
William ‘Willie’ Brown was born on 13 Oct 1898 to Frank Anthony Brown, an engineer, and Jane Alice Brown nee Chapman, originally from Bridlington, Yorks. William’s birth was registered in Cardiff but his army records state he was born in Ilfracombe. He was baptised on 29 Nov 1898 in Roath and their address given as 38 Coedcae Street, Grangetown. By 1901 they had settled in Roath and were living at 89 Donald Street. In 1911, when William is admitted to Gladstone School, the Brown family are living at 69 Arabella Street, Roath. He left school in Jan 1913 and his father died in 1915. William was a member of the Roath Road Wesleyan Methodist church. He enlisted in the army in Cardiff and was a member of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. He died of wounds on 6 Dec 1917 aged 19 and is buried at Etaples Military Cemetery in France (grave XXXI.B.19). He was remembered on the Roath Road church memorial (now lost). He is also possibly the William Brown on the Clifton Street chapel memorial. Commonwealth War Graves Commission record.
Evan Charles Cutter
Sidney Dare
A Ernest Davies
William Percy (Percival) Deyes
Tudor Eglwysbach Evans
George Arthur Henry (Harry) Godfrey
Fred W Greenfield
John Albert Guy
Leonard Holmes Haime
Joe (Joseph) William Hatherdale
Albert Heath
Fred Hoare
Ernest Harold James
Gilbert Aneurin Jenkins
Philip Arthur Jones
Oswald Reed Knapp
Hiram Lewis
Will (William) James Lydiard
Herbert John Morrisey
Will (William) John Owen
Alec (Alexander) Owen MM
Hector John Page
Arthur Baden Page
Alec (Alexander) Patten
Joe (Joseph) Patten
Will (William) Poyner
Ernest Vivian Radcliffe
Charlie Richards
Fred (Frederick) Richards
William J Ring
Willie (William) Henry Seager
Arthur Llewellyn Small
Herbert J Stone
John Clement Taylor
Arthur L Thornley
Alfred Henry Warden:-
Air Mechanic 2nd Class, No.12 Training Depot Station, Royal Air Force (Service Number 125427)
Alfred Henry Warden was born in Cardiff in late 1898/early 1899 to Alfred James Warden, a carpenter, originally from Devonport, Devon, and Emily Elizabeth Warden nee Ellis, originally from Bristol. He was baptised in St Andrew’s parish church on 28 Jan 1899. The family lived at 45 Donald Street, Roath. After leaving school he followed his father into the carpentry trade and joined the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners when he was 16. He joined the RAF on 2 Jul 1917 and was promoted to Air Mechanic 2nd Class on 26 Jan 1918. His job in the RAF was an aero rigger. He died on 25 Sep 1918 at Andover, Hampshire aged 19. He is buried at Cathays Cemetery (grave EA. 2163). His brother John fell in France and is remembered at the foot of Alfred’s headstone at Cathays. Alfred was also listed on the Roath Road Wesleyan Methodist church memorial which has since been lost. Commonwealth War Graves Commission record.
Albert Watson
Harry Thomas Winstone
