Abergavenny War Memorial

The Abergavenny War Memorial, located on Frogmore Street opposite Abergavenny Baptist Church, was built originally to commemorate the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment who made the supreme sacrifice during the Great War.

Abergavenny War Memorial, Frogmore Street

A small metal plaque at the rear of the monument records that it was raised by public subscription within the Battalion area of Abergavenny, Abertillery, Blaina, Cwm, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar. A total of 374 men from this area lost their lives in the First World War, 311 of them in the Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium, in the spring of  1915. Their names are recorded with those of other local men who died in the Great War on the town’s official First World War memorial, which is displayed on the entrance wall to Abergavenny Market Hall.

The Abergavenny War Memorial was unveiled on 29th October 1921 by Major-General Lord Treowen in front of an immense crowd of thousands.

Abergavenny War Memorial | Soldier Leaning On His Lee Enfield Rifle

The single figure of a soldier leaning on his Lee Enfield rifle was sculpted by Gilbert Ledward. It stands on top of a tall pedestal that bears the dates 1914-1918 above the Regimental Crest and the inscription:-

TO THE OFFICERS
N.C.O.’S AND MEN
OF THE
3RD BATTALION
MONMOUTHSHIRE REGT.
WHO FELL IN THE
GREAT WAR

Abergavenny War Memorial | Front & Left Face

Below these words, and added later on 8th May 1995, is another small plaque in recognition of the Battalion’s heavy casualties, incurred  at Frezenberg Ridge in 1915: –

THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATES
ON 8TH MAY 1995
THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY
OF 3RD MONS MEMORIAL DAY
IN THE 1914 – 18 WAR,
ON THAT DAY IN 1915
THE BATTALION SUFFERED HEAVY CASUALTIES
IN THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES

THIS MONUMENT IS THE WORK OF
GILBERT LEDWARD, O.B.E., R.A., F.R.B.S., SCULPTOR

Abergavenny War Memorial | Soldier Resting On His Rifle

Inscribed on on either side of the pedestal are the names of places in France and Belgium where the Battalion fought.

Left Side:

WULVERGHEM
2ND. BATTLE OF YPRES
DICKEBUSCHE

Right Side:

KEMMEL
YSER CANAL
THE SOMME

Later, the names of Second World War Battles were added to the rear face of the memorial. They are recorded as Odon, Bourguebus Ridge, Mont Pincon, Souleuvre, Le Perrier Ridge, Falaise, Antwerp, Nederrijn, Venlo Pocket, Rhineland, Hochwald, Ibbenburen, North-West Europe.

Abergavenny War Memorial | Front Face

The location of the Abergavenny War Memorial makes it the primary focus of the town’s  Remembrance Sunday ceremony every year.

Old Photograph of the Abergavenny War Memorial | The Many Wreaths, Flowers and the Regimental Flag Suggest that this Image Was Taken Following the Unveiling of the Memorial.

High resolution images of the Abergavenny War Memorial.