Bethany Presbyterian Church, Port Talbot

Bethany was a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church situated on the corner of Station Road and Forge Road in the centre of Port Talbot. The church was established in 1879 at a time when the town was starting to grow rapidly as more and more people came into the area to work in the smelting works and docks.

The chapel closed in around 2000 and the framed photographs that used to hang in the chapel were transferred to the Archive Service, along with this roll of honour. It measures 37 x 50 cm and has been removed from its original frame.

It was designed and made by the London firm of Waterlow and Sons, and is finely drawn in black and coloured ink, with details picked out in gold. Unlike most of the other rolls of honour, it makes no attempt to depict a scroll, a tablet or anything structural, but presents the list of names beneath a heading embellished with an elegant stylised floral decoration. It records the names of 107 men from the congregation who fought in the war. It also records which of them (seven in total) died, and those who were awarded the Military Medal ("MM") or Military Cross ("MC").

Download a large version of the Roll of Honour (PDF) [3MB](opens new window)

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