Flintshire and the Great War

At the Caerwys historical meeting on Thursday I was approached by an impressive gentleman with a rather large beard. He knew of my interest in the impact of the Great War on local communities and  gave me set of statistics that are worth sharing in this blog. He provided me with the numbers of men from each town and village in Flintshire that joined up, and the numbers that were killed. There is a dramatic variation in the impact on Flintshire communities. For example, 22 men from Gorsedd took part in active service, yet they all returned safely. Whereas in Flint 755 joined the forces, and 108 were killed. The proportion of those killed from Flint was 14.4% (the ratio to those that signed up). Even this was not the highest in Flintshire because in Sychdyn 40 men were enlisted, and 14 were killed (35%). In Queensferry, a large population centre, the proportion was 20.9% (based upon 134 enlisted and 28 killed).

It is hard to make sense of these figures. Why do some communities suffer so much more than others? There is no obvious answer, but there are some clues. The mining villages and working class areas to seem to have suffered more (although this is a generalisation). The highest proportion of deaths in Flintshire was in the Bettisfield area (36.4% dead) - a notable mining village at that time. It would take more research and study to fully answer this question.

Whatever the reason for the variation in casualties for communities across Flintshire, the statistics show that if you signed up, or were conscripted, into the armed forces during the Great War your chances of returning were roughly between one in three and one in five. It brings home the impact of this most dreadful of conflicts. When the call-up papers landed on the mat they were not exactly a death sentence, but they were pretty close. Especially if you came from certain areas of the county.

For my Caerwys readers it should be noted that 88 men were enlisted, and 16 were lost. A percentage of 18.2%. I wish I had known this figure when I was writing the history of the town.

This shows in graphical form the relationship between the numbers that enlisted and those that died. 

Once again, thank you to the bearded wonder that provided this wealth of information.