Ponterwyd is a small village which is situated in the Cambrian Mountains, about 12 miles east of Aberystwyth on the A44 road. The village lost three men during both World Wars, all of whom are commemorated on memorial tablets which reside inside Capel Ponterwyd. These men are also commemorated on the new Ponterwyd and Ystumtuen War Memorial.
The Great War, 1914-1918
Emlyn Mason Jones, Gunner, 102654, Royal Garrison Artillery. Emlyn was the son of Edward and Laura Louisa Jones, of Gwynfa, Ponterwyd. Emlyn enlisted at Aberystwyth on 8 December 1915 into the Royal Artillery, and on 12 August 1916 was posted to the 236th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, landing in France on 30 January 1917. The battery moved to positions near Ypres, where it supported the Allied assault on the Passchendaele Ridge from 31 July 1917 onwards. Emlyn was killed in action at Ypres on 22 December 1917. He was 21 years old, and is buried at Klein-Vierstraat British Cemetery, Belgium. His brother Iorwerth also fell. He was described as a man of unblemished character and his senior officer, Major Colman, wrote to his parents to say; “The loss to me is great, for he was one of those remaining who had shared all the discomforts of the twelve months we have spent overseas together.” His brother Iorwerth also fell.
Iorwerth Mason Jones, Ordinary Seaman, J/85359, Royal Navy. Iorwerth was born on 5 July 1888, the son of Edward and Laura Louisa Jones, of Gwynfa, Ponterwyd. He married Mary Myfanwy Morris on 15 November 1916, and the couple resided at Pengraig, Capel Bangor. He entered the Royal Navy in March 1918 having been in the employ of his father throughout the war, as the postmaster at Penllwyn Post Office. Iorwerth was posted to HMS Vivid, the Royal Naval establishment at Portsmouth. Iorwerth died from disease at East Stonehouse, Devon on 20 March 1918, aged 29, and is buried at Penllwyn Calvinistic Methodist Chapelyard. His brother Emlyn also fell.
World War Two, 1939-1945
Tegwyn Mason Lewis, Lance Corporal, 14531306, Reconnaissance Corps. Tegwyn was the son of John and Elizabeth Lewis (nee Davies), of Ponterwyd. He served with “C” Squadron, 52nd (Lowland) Reconnaissance Regiment. The regiment arrived in Holland in September 1944 and its first action was Operation Market Garden, the attempt to take the bridges over the lower Rhine, Maas and Waal. He was 23 years of age when he was killed in action on 25 October 1944. On the same day the British 1st Airborne Division was evacuated following the failure to cross the Rhine in sufficient numbers. It remained a barrier until March 1945. Tegwyn is buried in Adegem Canadian War Cemetery near Antwerp in Belgium along with to two of his comrades in “C” Squadron killed on the same day; Troopers Frederick Heath and Charles James Purser. Tegwyn is commemorated on a family grave at Ponterwyd.
