Lesson 1:

The Impact of WWI on Soldiers and Families:

Learning Objectives

To understand and discuss the impact of war on soldiers and their families

To respond creatively to individual stories about the impact of war

To explore how war has affected students’ local communities

To learn about a Welshman who worked for peace on the basis of his war

experiences

To compare WWI experiences to those of soldiers today

Introduction for Teachers:

Although recruitment to the army was initially rather slow in Wales, in particular in

rural areas, 272,924 men and women enlisted between the outbreak of the war and

Armistice Day in November 2018, or almost 11% of the population. 35,000 names of

men and women who were either Welsh or who served in Welsh divisions are listed

in the WWI Book of Remembrance. The loss to communities was catastrophic.

Many young men were eager to enlist, believing that the cause was just or swayed

by propaganda, which was everywhere. For many there was a sense of adventure,

together with a belief that the war would be ‘over by Christmas’. The reality was very

different. Soldiers on the front line lived in cold, rat-infested, muddy trenches;

standing in water for hours could bring on trench-foot and the insanitary conditions

attracted lice. This was the first large-scale mechanised war, meaning that soldiers

suffered from shell-shock, and must have witnessed horrendous sights and sounds

as their fellow soldiers were injured or killed. Another danger was poison gas, which

was used by both sides for the first time: this could result in respiratory problems,

blindness and even death. Many of those who returned must have been haunted by

what they had experienced, and have needed special care. Post-Traumatic Stress

Disorder as we now call it was little understood at the beginning of the war, but by

the end of the war it was recognised as a condition.

At the outbreak of WWI, religion played a central role in Welsh society. Every town

and village had at least one chapel, and these were centres of community. Some

Nonconformist chapels stood out against the war, but others played a key role in

encouraging young men to join up for what was described as a ‘just war’. The First

World War is largely regarded as a major factor that led to the decline of religion in

Welsh life.

The impact of WWI on Soldiers and their Families

Start by reading the students’ version of the introduction. Have some WWI

propaganda and recruitment posters around the walls, and pictures showing the

reality of war on the Western Front. (See Hwb Wales Propoganda Images and the

resource at the end of this pack with pictures showing the reality of war). Ask pupils

to consider:

1. What did it feel like to be a young man at home in 1914 – 1916?

2. What was it like to experience trench warfare? What would soldiers have

heard, smelt, seen? How did they feel?

Three case studies are provided which illustrate the impact of WWI on soldiers and

their families:

Lance Sergeant Leonard John Nuttall ( see: John Leonard Nuttall Case Study)

The Spicer family, Bodelwyddan ( see: Spicer Family Case Study)

Griffith Jones, Pwllheli -

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/share/resources/Onward%20Christian%20Soldiers.pdf

Divide the class into 3, and provide enough copies of the stories for learners to read

them quietly in groups of 2 – 3, and to note the points that most strike them.

Response activities

1. Ask learners to discuss the following questions in their groups:

How did the war affect the person / people in your story, and in what way?

How do you think the person / people in your story felt and why?

How did they react – or how do you think they might have reacted?

2. Ask pupils to present their story to the rest of the class, outlining the main facts

and what has struck them about the story.

3. Group discussion: What are your main responses to these stories and what they

show about the way soldiers and their families were affected by WWI?

Follow-up activities

1. Imagine you live in the community where your story happened and you have just

heard about it. Either:

a. Write a letter to a relative or friend relating the news and empathising with the

soldier(s) and his / their family

or

b. You are in a local shop. Write the conversation you overhear between the

shopkeeper and a customer relating the news.

2. Organise a visit to your local war memorial. How many names are recorded

there? Can you research some of the names, using the Wales@War app?

3. Organise a visit to your local archive. What can they tell you about how your

town / village was affected by WWI? What stories do they have to share about

individual soldiers and their families?

A Peacemaker – Lord David Davies, Llandinam:

http://www.templeofpeaceandhealth.com/David%20Davies%20of%20Llandinam.html

http://www.wcia.org.uk/templehistory.html)

David Davies was from a wealthy mid-Wales family. During WWI he commanded

the 14th Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and experienced all the horrors of

war, which affected him profoundly. After the war, he dedicated much of his life to

ensure that such a catastrophe couldn’t happen again. He was an active supporter

of the League of Nations, and in 1932 he established the New Commonwealth

Society for ‘the promotion of international law and order’. Some of his legacy is still

visible in Wales today: he funded the building of the Temple of Peace and Health in

Cardiff, which was opened in 1938, and which houses Wales’ WWI Book of

Remembrance. He supplied the funding for perhaps the world's first Chair in

International Politics, at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, which also

hosts the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies.

KS3:

1. What is the significance of David Davies’ story to us today?

2. Apart from his work on peace, he was also responsible for a lot of work to

improve the health and social conditions of people in Wales. Try to find out more

information about the work he did.

KS4:

1. David Davies thought that world peace could be achieved through a system of

sanctions (i.e. punitive actions such as the stopping of trade agreements with the

aim of getting governments to comply with international law) and an international

police force. What do you think of these ideas? Are they realistic, and to what

extent have then been adopted or adapted today?

2. David Davies was also responsible for the founding of the Department in

International Politics in the University of Aberystwyth. Try to find out more about

this department. Do you think that departments such as this are important: why /

why not?

The story today

Suffering trauma as a result of military service is sadly not a thing of the past. Look

at the story of Lt Sgt Dan Collins from Pembrokeshire and consider:

In what way is Lt Sgt Dan Collins story similar to that of Lance Sergeant

Leonard John Nuttall?

In what ways is it different?

The Big Question:

1. Was WWI necessary to achieve peace? (For some ideas see different views

from historians at: http://hwb.wales.gov.uk/resources/resource/d221ad93-

8195-4981-98f3-b69be5355c19/en)

2. When is violence justified?

3. Is it possible to overcome violence using peaceful methods?

Related Resources

See the First World War Education Project on Hwb (Hwb Wales), particularly

activities on Recruitment during WWI, and life on the Western Front.

Dunn, J.C. ‘The War the Infantry Knew’ 1914 – 1919. Abacus, 1988. (See:

https://www.educationumbrella.com/curriculum-vital/book-review-the-war-the-

infantry-knew-by-captain-jc-dunn

Do we sometimes need violence to achieve peace?

Accompanying

Resources

Lesson 1:

The Impact of WWI on Soldiers and Families:

Students’ Introduction:

Imagine that you are living in Wales at the beginning of World War I. The first thing

you may have noticed was adults talking about war, and a country called Belgium

which had been invaded by the German army. Soon you may have noticed posters

going up in shops and on the street, encouraging young men to join the army.

Perhaps someone in your family joined up. They may have been excited about it:

many young men saw joining the army as something adventurous and exciting.

Besides, the war wasn’t expected to last long: there was a common belief that it

would be ‘over by Christmas’. You would probably have gone to chapel at least

once on a Sunday, and there you may have heard your minister encouraging young

men in your town of village to sign up.

How do you think you would have felt about the war at first?

Gradually you would have noticed gaps in your community. Several young men who

went away never came back. People received telegrams bringing bad news, and the

columns in the newspapers listed the names of those who had been killed. Many

families in your town or village would have been affected – maybe also your own

family.

How would this have made you feel?

The soldiers who came back on leave probably didn’t say much about their

experiences at the Front. For people at home it would have been very difficult to

imagine what trench warfare was like. Soldiers on the front line lived in cold, muddy

trenches which were overrun by rats. Standing in water for hours could cause trench-

foot, which made people’s feet turn black. Because it was difficult to wash properly,

many soldiers had lice. When under attack, there would have been loud explosions

caused by shells and machine guns, which could go on for a long time. Young men

must have witnessed horrendous sights as their fellow soldiers were injured or killed.

Another danger was poison gas: this caused problems with breathing, blindness and

even death.

Many of those who returned must have been haunted by what they had experienced,

and have needed special care.

What support do you think there was for returning soldiers at the time? How has this

changed?

………………………………….

Propaganda in WWI:

See: http://hwb.wales.gov.uk/resources/resource/61f45162-7817-4770-a6e7-

8771843d8f37/en

The Reality of War:

https://en.wikipedia.or

g/wiki/Portal:Cheshire

/Selected_picture/Arc

hive#/media/File:Che

shire_Regiment_tren

ch_Somme_1916.jpg

(Licence - Public

Domain)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_World_War;_digging_out_wounded_from_trenches_We

llcome_L0006417.jpg%20(Licence%20Creative%20Commons)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_55th_Division_gas_casualties_10_April_1918.jpg%20

(Licence%20-%20Public%20Domain)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:German_trench_Delville_Wood_September_1916.jpg%20(P

ublic%20Domain%20Licence

Case Studies: 1. Lance Sergeant Leonard John Nuttall

John Leonard Nuttall enlisted in the 9th Batallion of the Welsh Regimint in 1914, and he was quickly promoted. He landed in France in July 1915 and survived the Battle of Loos, the largest British offensive in 1915 where the Allies lost over 59,000 men. In March 1916, John Leonard was seriously wounded by shrapnel and he was sent home to recover. By this time his mother and his sisters were living and teaching in Bodelwyddan Schoolhouse. He managed to keep close to his family and to serve as a non-commissioned officer by training in Kinmel Camp, which was nearby. However, he was tormented by the mental strain of all he had experienced in France. One morning in June 1916 he left his home at St Asaph Lodge on the Bodelwyddan Estate and went to a beautiful spot at Bryn Elwy in St Asaph, where he hanged himself. The note he left behind read: "I, Lance-Sergeant Nuttall, cannot rest day or night, my head is so bad, and I deeply grieve to think of the pain and trouble it will cause. I am going to see the other world. May God comfort my dear ones and have mercy on my soul. But I am better dead than insane, and I have done my bit for England. Good-bye all. My head is bursting again now. God comfort my loved ones. Amen, amen, amen. John Leonard Nuttall was buried in the cemetry of St Mererid’s Church, Bodelwyddan.

2. The Spicer family

This is the story of three brothers – Robert, John and Frederick – and how the First

World War devastated their family.

Born in St Asaph in 1893, Robert Aston Spicer was the oldest of five children –

three boys and two girls. The family lived at Bryn Celyn Lodge, Glascoed, on the

Bodelwyddan Castle estate. In 1914, age 21, Robert enlisted with the Royal Welsh

Fusiliers in Rhyl. While fighting in the First Battle of Ypres in October and November

of 1914, he contracted pleurisy and spent several months in recovery. Three months

after being discharged from hospital, he was killed in action on 16th May 1915 in the

Battle of Festubert.

John Spicer was born in St Asaph in 1898, younger brother of Robert Aston.

Following in his brother’s footsteps, John enlisted with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in

St Asaph at the end of 1914 but was then transferred to the 8th Battalion Welsh

Regiment. From records, we know he entered the theatre of war on 4th July 1915

and was killed in action shortly afterwards. He died age 17 in Gallipoli on 8 th August

1915 during the disastrous Battle of Sari Bair. It is estimated that 12,000 lives were

lost during the battle.

The youngest Spicer brother, Frederick William, who was born in 1901 enlisted as

a boy soldier at Kinmel Camp in 1915 age 14. His stated role was ‘timekeeper’. He

was discharged in 1916 due to an “irregularity on enlistment” but it suggests a

desperate attempt to support his family as the only surviving male.

3. Griffith Jones, Y Ffôr, Pwllheli

The story of one young man from Y Ffôr, (a village then

known as Four Crosses, near Pwllheli) crystallises how the

war had a deep and lasting influence on Welsh family life.

Griffith Jones was a member of Ebeneser chapel: one

Sunday morning he went there to hear the Rev. John

Williams (known as John Williams, Brynsiencyn) preach. At

the time John Williams was highly regarded. During the war

he used to preach from the pulpit in military uniform, urging

the young men in the congregation to respond to the

country’s call: an enlistment book would be placed on the

communion table for them to sign their names. Griffith

Jones was convinced by the preacher’s eloquence and

stood up to volunteer his services. His mother tried to pull him back as he stepped

forward, only to be curtly rebuked by the preacher. Griffith signed his name in the

enlistment book and was killed, along with hundreds of his fellow-Welshmen, in

Mametz Wood in July 1916. His mother never again attended chapel.

Dr Gethin Matthews: ‘Onward Christian Soldiers?’

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/share/resources/Onward%20Christian%20Soldiers.pdf

Story of L/Sgt Dan Collins:

See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-16432794