Abertillery War Memorial

The Abertillery War Memorial is a significant structure featuring a bronze figure of a soldier waving his tin hat, set atop a tall two-stage pedestal made of grey granite. The pedestal is elevated on three steps, each with a convex tread towards the center. On the sides of the upper stage of the pedestal, there are bronze plaques listing the names of the fallen soldiers from various regiments, with additional plaques added for those who died in the 1939-1945 war.

The south side of the pedestal showcases a laurel wreath in a recessed panel, with inset lettering that reads: ‘Their name liveth for ever more.’ Below this, it commemorates the men of Abertillery who fell in the Great War from 1914 to 1918, quoting, ‘Greater love hath no man than this that a man lays down his life for his friends’ (John 15 XIII). On the west side, there is a plaque stating that the memorial was unveiled by Field Marshall the Viscount Allenby on December 1, 1926. Below this is a plaque referencing the World War II inscriptions, which were unveiled on November 7, 1954, by Lord Raglan.

The memorial is enclosed in a wedge-shaped area surrounded by railings on the west, east, and south sides, with a terrace to the north. The low, plain iron railings are set into moulded grey granite copings on low, squared, rock-faced stone walls. There are paired strengthening rails featuring a simple trophy motif that rises to urn-type finials. The entrance gates are located at the narrow south end, and the rails and walls extend south for about five meters beyond the gates, serving as a retaining wall for the higher level of Queen Street.