As preparations for Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day continue, we bring you more stories of heroism from our local community.
Our museum and archives services hold an abundance of information on Wrexham’s military history. Today, we pay them another visit to serve up another glimpse into the past.
Lives turned around
Upon the declaration of war, lives were changed drastically. Ordinary people were called up to serve for their country. In many instances, this meant their career paths changed radically.
The picture below highlights this fact. The three gentlemen in the photograph were all well-known characters around Wrexham and they served in the RAF.
Left: A/C Billy Grourke – Billy came from Acton and was a well-known comedian among the pantomime and concert circles. The Border Breweries Ltd employed him as a traveller before he joined the RAF.
Centre: A/C Albert Davies – Albert of Maesydre, Wrexham, had a job as a master window cleaner before enrolling with the RAF V.R.
Right: A/C Len Mullen – Len, also of Maesydre, Wrexham, was a popular person in the area. He was known as an agent for the Co-Operative Insurance Society.
Brother in arms
As well as career paths being sent in unexpected directions, war also changed family life. While some people were left on the home front while their loved ones were away, some families ended up serving side by side for their country.
Mr and Mrs Joseph Evans of Coedpoeth had four sons who all served in the army. Below is a photo of the brother in their uniforms.
Gunner Llewelyn Evans R.A. and Private Tecwyn Evans P.C. served in England. Fusilier Glyn Evans RWF and Fusilier Vaughan Evans RWF served in India.
Like father, like son
The following picture shows Quartermaster J. W. Fisher and his son, A/B Richard Fisher who both served in the Royal Navy.
The photo below was taken when they were both on leave together.
The pair hailed from Llay and Quartermaster Fisher served in both World Wars after signing up to serve in WW1 at the age of 17. His ribbons include 1914 General Service, Victory and Long Service medals.
After the First World War, Quartermaster Fisher was a postman in both the Wrexham and Llanfynydd areas. He was a reservist and received the call to serve in the Second World War back in the Royal Navy.
One of the ships Quartermaster Fisher served on took part in the evacuation of British and allied troops from the Hook of Holland, Calais, Dunkirk and Bologne. Fisher described the evacuation of Bologne as “a really tough job”.
He later took part in the invasion of Sicily and assisted in the landing of the Fifth Army at Salerno. His operations craft was one of the first to reach the beaches of Salerno and helped to establish the bridgehead for the Fifth Army on Italian soil.
Why not see if you can find heroic tales from the war in your family? Our archive service has a new search room based in the Wrexham library. It is open during office hours Monday – Wednesday.
Pop in during their opening times and see who you might discover in your family tree.
