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Remembering the soldier whose name appears on the Blue Plaque at Llanelli Town Hall on the 100th anniversary of WW1

We revisit the fighting fields in Flanders, the place where Sgt Ivor Rees risked his life to lead the capture of a machine gun at Ypres, an act of bravery which it is said saved many Allied lives and earned him the Victoria Cross.

Ivor Rees was born at Felinfoel, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire on the 18th of October 1893. In 1914 he enlisted into the 11th South Wales Borderers, part of the 115th Brigade, 38th Welsh Division. Having survived the fighting at Mametz Wood, he then moved with the Division to Ypres. Here the Battalion were tasked with the capture of the Pilckhem Ridge - a heavily fortified German defensive line during the Battle of Passchendaele. The VC was awarded for the "most conspicuous bravery in attack" on 31 July, 1917.

His citation read:

At Pilckem, Belgium, on 31st July 1917, an enemy machine gun inflicted many casualties when it opened fire at close range. Sergeant Rees, leading his platoon, gradually worked his way round the right flank, by making short rushes, to the rear of the gun position. At 20 yards from the machine gun, Sergeant Rees rushed forward towards it, shooting one of the crew, and bayoneting the other. He bombed a large concrete emplacement, killing five of the enemy and taking 30 prisoners, including two officers and capturing a machine gun undamaged.
鈥� London Gazette, 14 September 1917

Ivor Rees had joined up as a steelworker in 1914 but was quickly promoted to sergeant. After the war, he was unemployed for a couple of years back home in Llanelli before starting work with the council, where he rose through the ranks to a head of department.

Major Martin Everett, curator of the Royal Welsh's regimental museum in Brecon, where the medal is now held, said he had met Sgt Rees before his death in 1967.

鈥淗e remained a modest man, carrying with him the memories of comrades lost.鈥� "When you read the story of Passchendaele, the battle bogged down in all that mud, you can't quite believe what those lads went through," said Maj Everett.

Ivor Rees died on 12 March 1967 having served in two World Wars. During World War II, he served with the home guard as Company Sergeant Major.

Ivor Rees is remembered on memorials in Havard Chapel, Brecon Cathedral and at Llanelli Town Hall, Carmarthenshire.
Ivor Rees's Victoria Cross can be viewed at The South Wales Borderers Museum, Brecon, Powys

Image : Ivor Rees VC
Location: Blue Plaque at Llanelli Town Hall, Carmarthenshire SA15 3AH

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