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On the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, more than 100 people paid their respects in a ceremony at Cefn Fforest cenotaph.
Veterans were joined by members of the army, navy, and air force, all of which played their part on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.
The ceremony opened with a prayer from the Rev Lisa Thomas, before former Islywn MP Lord Don Touhig spoke: “When I think back to the sacrifice these often very young men gave, I am thankful of the freedoms they gave us.
“We are now a free people, free to think what we want, free to go where we want, free to vote for who we want.
“When you look at the evil in the world at the moment, we should always cherish the gift they gave us.”
What was D-Day?
On June 6, 1944, the D-Day operation brought together the land, air, and sea forces in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history.
When the Allied troops landed on the coast of Normandy, it marked the start of a campaign to liberate Europe and defeat the Nazis.
The battle itself claimed the lives of 4,414 allied troops, with a further 5,000 wounded.
A poem was then read out to everyone by Islywn High School pupils, as the streets next to the cenotaph were lined with service men and women, members of the public, and children from the local primary school.
Cllr Teresa Heron, who is the council’s armed forces community covenant champion, then read out the roll of honour before the Last Post was played and wreaths were laid.
Representatives from several branches of the military stepped forward, along with local community groups, schools, and clubs.
Caerphilly’s Labour candidate and former Islywn MP Chris Evans also laid a wreath, as did Islywn’s Labour Senedd Member Rhianon Passmore, and Caerphilly County Borough mayor Julian Simmonds.
The community was then invited up to place crosses at the base of the cenotaph, as pupils from Cefn Fforest Primary School prepared to sing God Save the King and Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
Before everyone headed back to the community centre for refreshments, Caerphilly Observer spoke to Chris Evans, who said: “It’s been a fantastic community event as always. The turnout is huge which is always great to see on a day remembering our armed forces.
“What has really hit home today is the freedom that we have and should never take for granted.”
After the event, everyone squeezed into the community centre, where food and drink was prepared, and wartime items were displayed, having been loaned by the Winding House in New Tredegar.
Cllr Heron then spoke to Caerphilly Observer about the preparation that had gone into the day: “We’ve been planning this since January. The community centre and Royal British Legion have been an amazing help.
“The turnout was incredible, and one of the main objectives today was to get the school children involved as they are the future, and to see them out learning about D-Day was amazing.”
Cllr Heron added how there are other ceremonies today (Thursday June 4), at Caerphilly cenotaph at 6pm, and Machen cenotaph at 7pm.
The morning ended with pupils from the primary school singing wartime songs such as White Cliffs of Dover and We’ll Meet Again to the crowd, many of whom sang along.
There were also similar ceremonies held at Nelson, Gelligaer, and Risca, as well as Deri and Fochriw.
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