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UPDATE ON MAERDY WAR MEMORIAL, WE ARE JUST ABOUT REACHING OUR TARGET TO FUND THE MEMORIAL, JUST APPROX £3000 SHORT BUT HAVE INSTRUCTED  THE MONUMENTAL MASON AND SET A DATE FOR THE COMPLETION AND DEDICATION OF THE MEMORIAL ON MAY 10TH 2015.THE MEMORIAL WILL HAVE ALL THE NAMES OF THOSE FROM THE VILLAGE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN WW1 WW2 AND SUBSEQUENT WARS IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY. AT LAST THEIR NAMES WILL BE REMEMBERED WITHIN THE VILLAGE, John Thomas. (OBSERVER1945)

Hi, as you will have read the Maerdy War Memorial has no names there on, after help from several people, I have identified at least 70 people who should be remembered on our memorial, as a result I have contacted the RBL and local authority department dealing with memorials and applied to put this right. It will still take some doing but I am hoping to get this applied for, approved and completed by 11/11/2014. I have opened a face book page MAERDY MEMORIAL to keep people updated on my progress with the updating the Maerdy War Memorial, so that the people of Maerdy WILL REMEMBER THEM, BEST WISHES AND MANY THANKS WHO HAVE SUPPLIED NAMES AND DETAILS OF RELATIVES WHO SHOULD BE REMEMBERED ON THE MEMORIAL. John Thomas

Hi, I have lived in Maerdy for 60 years being the local police officer for a large number of them and I have never seen any plaque dedicated to the servicemen and women who gave their lives during the wars. I have tried to get a definitive list so that I could put pressure on the council to create one. The memorial we have is a statue of the virgin Mary about 2 foot tall with no names what so ever. Most of the valleys villages have a substantial memorial with the names of the villagers who gave their lives. I have researched the CWGC records and have started to compile a list, this will no doubt be incomplete but once done local residents will be encouraged to update it with their relatives and local knowledge. Out of interest the cemetery at Maerdy / Ferndale is a Commonwealth Graves Commission Cemetery and has 27 war graves. About 2/3 years ago with the help of the then Plaid councillor Gerwyn Evans we contacted the CWGC and their local representative came and cleaned the Graves, which had not been done in years. I will be contacting the local British Legion shortly, with a view to starting a group to get the memorial improved with the names etc.  In relation to William Lewis Evans, RWF he was indeed from Pentre Rd and will be on the compiled list