NEW TITLE ON THE MORGANS OF TREDEGAR HOUSE
Great War : Roll of Honour: Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales
The Hoare, Lindsay and Mundy great- grandsons of the first Lord and Lady Tredegar who died during the 1914-1918 War
A new book by the historian William Cross, FSA Scot, Author of 8 books on the Morgans of Trededar House, Newport
Introduction by William Cross, FSA Scot
As Britain nears the end of four years of commemorations for the Great War, the many stories revealed have enriched our history and shed light on tales of heroism, sacrifice and premature deaths.
Five of the great grandsons of the first Lord & Lady Tredegar of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales were killed in action in the fighting. But no mention is made of these men at the Morgan seat where thousands of visitors flock every month including local Welsh school children. [i] That is a disgraceful reflection on these deceased members of the Morgan dynasty who gave their lives for their country. [ii]
It is also unbefitting (by comparison) that visitors to Tredegar House will hear stories of a horse named ‘Sir Briggs’ who went to war in the Crimean with Godfrey Morgan, 2nd Lord Tredegar but learn nothing whatsoever about the five young Tredegar men who perished in history and warfare that has more relevance and poignancy today than anything from time past.
Those to remember with honour are Lt. Charles Morgan Hoare, 15th Kings Hussars, Capt. George Walter Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers, Lt. Frederic Charles Mundy, RNVR, Lt. Archibald Thurston Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers and Major Claud Frederick Thomas Lindsay, Royal Field Artillery who all died between 1914 and 1918.
Lady Katharine Carnegie, wife of the 3rd Lord Tredegar, also lost a nephew in the same conflict, Capt. Raymond Rodakowski, Irish Guards, who was killed in action in 1917.
This short book is a tribute to these men, who spent periods of childhood and early adulthood in the company of their Morgan relations at estate events and family gatherings at Tredegar House and the adjoining Tredegar Park. We should remember them.
The book also touches on three other men killed in the Great War with overlaps to the Morgan family: Hon. Simon Fraser, Hon. Charles Mills, MP, and Hon. Reginald Wyndham who were linked in her debutante year of 1914 with Gwyneth Erika Morgan (only daughter of the 3rd Lord and Lady Tredegar), and but for the lives of the men ending in the war it poses the inevitable question of ‘what might have been’.
The book is dedicated to Hon. Gerard Sturt, [iii] a Captain in the Coldstream Guards (brother of Lois Sturt who married Evan Morgan). Gerard died of war wounds exactly one hundred years ago today.
Bless them all.
William Cross, FSA Scot, Newport, 11 November 2018
[i] The matter was referred to by a Newport historian, Jim Dyer in the South Wales Argus in a letter in August 2017 : “As we are some way into the commemoration of WW1, I am rather surprised that no mention has been made of the Morgan Family. Everyone knows about their escapades in the Crimean War, but few know that some of the family collaterals died in the Great War. The Morgan family lost five members in various battles and maybe a plaque or exhibit of this great sacrifice should be displayed at Tredegar House. The men, related to the first Lord and Lady Tredegar, lost were – Lt. Charles Morgan Hoare, 15th Kings Hussars; Capt. George Walter Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers; Lt. Frederic Charles Mundy, RNVR; Lt. Archibald Thurston Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers, and Major Claude Frederick, Thomas Lindsay, Royal field Artillery. What sacrifice, all between 1914/18. Additionally, the Second Lady Tredegar, Katharine Carnegie, lost a nephew during the conflict, Capt. Raymond Rodakowski, Irish Guards, in 1917.
Tredegar House of course is well known and popular internationally, and I am quite surprised the Curators in charge there haven't made the most of this family connection.” Jim Dyer,Stockton Road , Newport . NB This is an amended version to that published in the South WalesArgus – 28 August 2017 .
[ii] On 11 November 2017 and again on 11 November 2018 when the whole country observed two minutes silence for the dead from the Great War, and at the Armistice commemorations 100 years on from the special day that established an important date for peace and remembrance after four years of slaughter between 1914 and 1918, Tredegar House, Newport, managed by the National Trust remained dark and closed.
[iii] Captain Hon. Gerard Philip Montagu Napier Sturt (1893-1918) was the eldest son of Humphrey Napier Sturt, 2nd Baron Alington of Crichel and Lady Feodorowna Yorke of Crichel House, Wimborne, Dorset. Died 11 November 1918 aged 25 ‘from wounds received in action’. Sadly, the circumstances of Gerard’s death point to suicide. Contact the Author for further details.
CONTACT WILLIAM CROSS BY E-MAIL/POST FOR MORE DETAILS
williecross@aol.com
ISBN 13 9781905914487
Published by
William P. Cross
Book Midden Publishing
Newport Gwent
NP19 7JF, United Kingdom