HUNDREDS of people came from near and far to attend a series of special Armistice centenary events at Criccieth.

A year ago, Criccieth Town Council was awarded a £10,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (The First World War, yesterday and today) for a project to commemorate Criccieth’s contribution in partnership with Ysgol Treferthyr, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Criccieth Memorial Hall.

Criccieth has a unique heritage in regards to the First World War.

The Memorial Hall is a testament to 49 local individuals who fought and died, and many of the families and descendants of these individuals still live in or near Criccieth today and have many stories and records.

Criccieth was also home to David Lloyd George, Prime Minister during the First World War, and during his time in No 10 Downing Street many Welsh speakers from Criccieth worked.

Many of their families and descendants still live in Criccieth and the area today and have stories and unique memories which are not to be seen in the usual history books.

The week began with the opening of an exhibition at Criccieth Memorial Hall by Liz Saville-Roberts MP on Sunday, 4 November.

In addition to sharing the outcomes of the project work the Remembrance Week events also included:

• A unique opportunity on the evening to remember those lost in the war in the company of the stars of Hedd Wyn (Huw Garmon, Judith Humphries, Ceri Cunnington, Llio Silyn, and Grey Evans), some of whom met up for the first time since filming to share their experiences of being part of the Oscar nominated film (1992). It’s the stirring story of poet Ellis Evans, from Trawsfynydd who was posthumously awarded the National Eisteddfod of Wales chair at Birkenhead in 1917 after failing to return from theFirst World War trenches.

• Friends of the Lloyd George Museum organised a lecture on Welsh Art in WW1.

At the outbreak of the Great War, Wales was a hub of world capitalism, exporting coal, slate, steel and manufactured goods to all points of the globe.

Welsh-born artists, like Augustus John and Christopher Williams, were famous and much in demand, throughout the United Kingdom.

As the war escalated, they and their contemporaries were confronted with the horrors of the first modern, industrialised conflict to be fought on a continental scale. They produced some of the most memorable images of a war to end all wars.

• Twm Morys recited Lloyd George’s speech announcing the end of the war at the Lloyd George Museum.

• On Remembrance Sunday a series of events were held at Criccieth Memorial Hall following the Remembrance Service in the morning.

They included a concert of specially composed music by bassist and composer David Heyes commemorating the end of the Great War, performances of works by the children of Ysgol Treferthyr, Gwyneth Glyn and Twm Morys, and readings of letters sent to family and friends from local soldiers and war-time songs by the Starlight Players and members from the University of the Third Age. The week ended with a Beacon of Light Ceremony on the prom in Criccieth.

See more Remembrance Day pictures on pages 14 and 15 of the north editions