The First World War – Refusing to Fight; the Archaeology of Dissent in Carmarthenshire
This is the story of those men who opposed the war and the increasing militarisation sweeping the country and in refusing to take up arms were criminalised and punished with hard labour in a work camp.
During (insert dates!!!!) The Dyfed Archaeological Trust investigated and recorded the impact on southwest Wales of the the First World War conflict which overwhelmed the nation in the first part of the 20th century. This was part of a pan-Wales project funded by Cadw, which enabled all the Welsh archaeological trusts to undertake research into the legacy of the Great War across the country, and make the results available to the public.
This is the story of those men who opposed the war and the increasing militarisation sweeping the country and in refusing to take up arms were criminalised and punished with hard labour in a work camp.
Llyn y Fan Fach is an unlikely location for a labour camp, today it is a popular place for walkers embarking on the route up Mynydd Du to the well-known summits of Fan Foel and FanBrycheiniog. It is a classic geological feature created by a glacier scouring out a hollow to form a lake.
Much of this legacy relates to the war effort, or the massive military mobilization which took place to take the nation to war, however a surprising story, and in contrast to the dominant military narrative, lies in a deeply rural and remote location, on the edge of the western Brecon Beacons.
More commonly known for the famous legend of the lady of the lake and the physicians of Myddfai, however this investigation throws up an altogether more prosaic issue – the problem of llanelli’s water supply.
