Talk by Richard Owen

The hell of experiencing the horrors of trench warfare in the First World War was movingly portrayed by guest speaker Richard Owen of Towyn in a talk to members at Faenol Fawr. Introduced by past president Hari Hughes, the speaker combined his detailed historical knowledge of that traumatic period through family connections, particularly highlighting the contribution and evolution of the revered Royal Welch Fusiliers. He graphically described a string of known courageous personal deeds, many of such bravery as to have merited the award of gallantry medals, passed down from generation to generation, achieved amidst the unrelenting and intolerable stress of those unimaginably dire conditions. The warm thanks of the club for such a heartfelt and greatly enjoyed talk were expressed by President Keith Roberts, who said he hoped the speaker would ensure that the events of which he had spoken were written down and retained for posterity. “It is important that this kind of knowledge and detail is not lost to future generations,” he added. Earlier members were reminded that the next meeting would be the important Club Assembly which would take place on Tuesday next June 12, at which reports from all club chairmen setting out their programmes for the forthcoming Rotary year would be presented. He called on all members to make every effort to secure as full an attendance as possible.