Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

A plaque commemorating a once-forgotten World War I soldier has been unveiled at St Cattwg’s Church in Gelligaer.

Lance Corporal Haydn Carlyle Phillips, a former Lewis School Pengam pupil, was gassed in the German Spring Offensive of March 1918 and was sent back to Britain to spend time in a military hospital.

He eventually died in Pengam on January 21, 1919, due to heart disease caused by the gassing.

Because he died at home after the war had finished, he slipped the attention of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission – the body responsible for maintaining the graves of Commonwealth soldiers who have died in conflict.

In the years following his death at the age of just 22, Haydn’s grave in St Cattwg’s churchyard had fallen into disrepair.

However, thanks to the efforts of local historian Paul Williams, and retired Lewis School Pengam head of history Mike Oliver, the grave was restored in 2018 – with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund making it possible.

Haydn is also now fully recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, while a plaque remembering his sacrifice is now on display at the church.

Following the plaque unveiling, Paul Williams told Caerphilly Observer: “It’s important to recognise what Haydn did in the First World War.

“He spent four years on the frontline and would have experienced some fairly horrific circumstances, including seeing friends killed.”