Roberts commemorate the dead of two world wars

A new war memorial has been erected in the town of Burry Port, near Llanelli in South Wales.

Commissioned by the British Legion, it was produced by masons J H Roberts & Son, who are now based in Llanelli but started out as memorial masons in Burry Port more than 100 years ago. These days, the company are run by Dyfrig Roberts, grandson of the founder, who also runs another long-established family business, Osborne Davies & Son in Carmarthen.

A small cross had been erected to the war dead in Burry Port in 1948 and this had to be incorporated into the new memorial. It has been mounted on a light grey polished granite die, more than 1m high. It is 760mm square at the base, tapering to 610mm at the top and was made for Roberts & Son by wholesalers Frank England of Retford.

There are 2,500 letters in the memorial, naming those from Burry Port and neighbouring Pembrey who died in the two world wars. Dyfrig Roberts adds that there 750 full stops. They were sand blasted on to the four sides of the die.

The memorial was unveiled by the Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire, Sir David Mansel-Lewis.