A MEMORIAL to soldiers killed in battle alongside the last sovereign prince of Wales will be unveiled in Builth Wells this month.

The plaque will be officially commemorated at Builth Wells Golf Club on Sunday, April 10, after a group celebrating Llywelyn ap Gruffudd started a crowdfunder. Cymdeithas Cofio Llywelyn (the Llywelyn Memorial Society) raised more than £3,500 for the plaque, which is to be revealed on Palm Sunday – the same day that Llywelyn's brother Dafydd started the final Welsh war which led to Llywelyn's death.

The society surpassed their original goal of raising £3,180 to buy an engraved slate – amassing £3,502 from 129 donations. The plan had been to unveil the plaque on December 11 last year, to commemorate the 739th anniversary of Llywelyn’s death, at Cilmeri, in 1282. But Covid-19 restrictions dampened plans, so the date has changed to April.

The slate will read ‘In memory of the 3,000 Welsh soldiers who gave their lives defending their country and who were slain near this place’ and has been designed by renowned lettering and calligraphy Artist Ieuan Rees.

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“Every year from the 1960s onwards, the commemoration of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd's death at Cilmeri took place at the monument in the village,” said John Davies, chairman of Cymdeithas Cofio Llywelyn.

“The ceremony has evolved from a parade from the Prince Llywelyn pub to the monument and patriotic speeches on the Saturday closest to the date of his death.

“We parade to the monument and hear speeches, music and poetry, and then in the evening have a Noson Lawen in the Neuadd Arms in Llanwrtyd, where many people stay. By 2018, the event had expanded to occupy the whole weekend.

“Over the years, we realised that by commemorating Llywelyn, we had forgotten the Welsh soldiers who had also been killed nearer Builth Golf Club, and on the Sunday morning we had a similar ceremony there, before travelling down to Aberedw to visit Llywelyn's castle.

“We would then travel to Abbeycwmhir to have a service in the abbey ruins, the traditional place of his burial.

“We began to think that there should be a permanent memorial to the Welsh soldiers who had died defending their country and when the committee of the golf club supported the idea, it took flight.

“We were hoping to unveil the plaque last December but the weather and Covid made it important to postpone, so we’ve decided to unveil the plaque on Palm Sunday, the day on which Dafydd attacked Hawrden Castle, and thus started the war in which Llywelyn and his army were killed.”

The commemoration will begin at 2pm on Palm Sunday and will include speeches, music and poetry. Everyone is welcome.

There is some disagreement by historians as to how many men died at the battle, as the chronicles that mention it do not agree on a definitive figure. Most statistics suggest it was around 3,000.

Llywelyn – also known as Llywelyn the Last – was the last native Prince of Wales before he was killed in the ambush and the title passed to male heirs to the English throne.

He had ridden down to Builth with around 7,000 men but had left them to rally local leaders at Builth Castle when the attack took place. When Llywelyn heard the news he is said to have ridden back to join his men but was caught and killed at Cilmeri.

The site of Llywelyn’s death is already marked by a monument raised in 1956. His head was sent to London and placed on a spike at the Tower of London where it remained for 15 years.

For more information on Cymdeithas Cofio Llywelyn, visit the Cofio Llywelyn 1282 Facebook page.