G.P WARD

Rifleman George P. Ward
Monmouthshire Regiment, 1st Battalion
Service Number: 1965
Born: 1894, Pontygwaith, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales
Killed in Action: 8 May 1915 | Age: 21
Commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Panel 50

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George P. Ward was born in 1894 in Pontygwaith, Rhondda Cynon Taf, to Robert and Martha Ward. He was one of seven children—four sons and two daughters—including Samuel, Joseph, William, Robert, Mary, and Blodwen.

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In the 1901 Census, George was seven years old and living in Abercynon with his parents and five siblings. His father worked as a Coal Hewer, and the family, like many in South Wales, was rooted in the mining industry.

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By 1911, the Ward family had moved to 1 Chapel Road, Troedrhiwfuwch. Now 17, George worked as a Coal Miner (Hewer) alongside his father and older brothers, Samuel and Joseph. The family’s move to Troedrhiwfuwch marked a new chapter in their working-class life in the industrial valleys.

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When the First World War broke out, George enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment, serving as Rifleman 1965. He was among many young men from Troedrhiwfuwch who joined the same regiment—friends, neighbours, and brothers in arms.

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On the 8th May 1915, George was killed in action during the Second Battle of Ypres. This day became known as “Monmouthshire’s Black Day” due to the devastating losses suffered by the regiment in ferocious fighting near Frezenberg Ridge. He was 21 years old.

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Like so many of his comrades, George’s body was never recovered. He is remembered with honour on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, Belgium, Panel 50—a monument to the missing who have no known grave.

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​🕊️ "Not lost—but honoured. Not forgotten—but cherished”