'Call them to remembrance'

Overview

It is estimated that the First World War claimed the lives of 40,000 Welshmen, all of them heroes whose sacrifice is honoured by a grateful nation. 'Call them to remembrance', which includes 120 illustrations and maps, tells the stories of thirteen Welsh heroes who shared the common bond of having worn the famous red jersey of the Welsh international rugby team. Gwyn Prescott's sensitive and fascinating book, the product of over ten year's research and study, recovers the memory of these thirteen multi-talented and courageous Welshmen who gave their lives in the Great War of 1914-18, detailing their playing and military careers. Amongst their stories are the leading amateur golfer in Wales who represented Newport at five sports; the Cambridge choral scholar who gave up his job in India to volunteer for the Army; the flying Cardiff winger who impressed Lloyd George; and the "lion-hearted" hero of the famous Welsh victory over New Zealand in 1905.

Reviews

'These pages contain an unexplored and untold tale which, from the deepest anguish of the suffering born of their unquestioning bravery, pierces the heart...This book is [an] acknowledgment of the sacrifice made by 13 Welshmen….Theirs was a sacrifice which needs to be told….Gwyn Prescott, with meticulous and sympathetic attention to detail, tells the story. This narrative is an essential record.' —Gerald Davies, from the Foreword

'From the boisterous singing and exhilarating cheers of Cardiff Arms Park to the deafening roar of artillery shells and gunfire, these humbling stories describe thirteen individual journeys which began on muddy yet familiar Welsh playing fields but ended in the unimaginable brutality of the battles of the First World War. These are men who experienced two very different kinds of glory.' —Dan Allsobrook, www.gwladrugby.com

'This is a book which moves as well as informs, combining impeccable scholarship with deep human sympathy. In recounting the active lives and terrible deaths of the 13 Welsh internationals who died in the First World War Gwyn Prescott not only offers a fitting tribute to their sacrifice but paints a vividly compelling picture of Wales, and the increasingly important role that rugby played in Welsh life, in the decades leading up to 1914.' —Huw Richards, Associate Lecturer in Sports History, London College of Communication

Author Biography

A native of Cardiff who played alongside Gareth Edwards in the 1965 Welsh Secondary Schools team and later played for Cambridge University, Gwyn Prescott was awarded an MPhil on the history of rugby by the University of Glamorgan and is author of several books, including 'This rugby spellbound people' - The Birth of Rugby in Cardiff and Wales (St David's Press, 2015).