The First Fifteen-Welsh sportsmen killed on Somme

[burlington]

Wales rugby captain remembers the generation of (National) sportsmen killed in the Battle of the Somme.

Assume ITV Wales only.

Two programmes. First programme Thursday 14 Dcember. 7.30 pm.

Text from ITV Wales website:

<quote>

THE FIRST FIFTEEN

Thursday 14th of December 2006 7.30 pm to 8.00 pm ITV1 Wales

Welsh rugby captain Gareth Thomas discovers the sad fate of his predecessor, who died in the First World War. The conflict claimed the lives of thousands of Welshmen and wiped out a generation of sportsmen, including 15 of Wales’ finest rugby players – that’s equal to a whole team.

Perhaps the most famous was Welsh Rugby Captain Johnnie L. Williams, who scored 17 tries in 17 games. He was killed in the fighting in Mametz Wood, during the battle of the Somme - one of the bloodiest and most devastating conflicts in British military history, with nearly 20,000 killed on the first day.

Ninety years on, the current Welsh Rugby Captain, Gareth Thomas makes an emotional pilgrimage back to the Somme and to Mametz Wood to see where his counterpart was killed.

In the course of making the programme Gareth Thomas makes his own discovery about his family history – one of his great uncles was also killed at Mametz Wood in 1916.

THE FIRST FIFTEEN is an ITV 1 Wales production. It is produced and presented by Jonathan Hill.

</quote>

Essential watching I think.

Martin

[Moriaty]

This is a repeat, the programme was first shown in June/July this year

[ianw]

Are regional ITV channels on satellite or cable? Must look.

[Bernard_Lewis]

Seen this here in Wales and not over impressed. Gareth Thomas is a great Welsh player and a nice guy but as a rugby player he is hardly well placed (though obviously sincere) to comment on Great War matters. The BBC blurb also confuses the casual reader by mentioning '20,000 killed' in the same sentence as Mametz Wood. Searing as the attack on the wood was it cost the Welsh Division about 4,000 casualties (not killed) - awful, but not the 20,000 of 1 July.

Bernard

[burlington]

I must have missed it on the first showing!

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

It is a travesty that such programmes are limited to "Local" area showing,if only those who "program" had Cahonjes to show such gems nation wide instead of what passes for "entertainment" most of the time on terrestial channels,what a better world it would be.

[Myrtle]

It is a travesty that such programmes are limited to "Local" area showing,if only those who "program" had Cahonjes to show such gems nation wide instead of what passes for "entertainment" most of the time on terrestial channels,what a better world it would be.

I agree Harry. There are plenty of London Welsh who would enjoy watching The First Fifteen.

Martin thank you for pointing out the programme.

Regards

Myrtle

[Aneurin]

Seen this here in Wales and not over impressed. Gareth Thomas is a great Welsh player and a nice guy but as a rugby player he is hardly well placed (though obviously sincere) to comment on Great War matters. The BBC blurb also confuses the casual reader by mentioning '20,000 killed' in the same sentence as Mametz Wood. Searing as the attack on the wood was it cost the Welsh Division about 4,000 casualties (not killed) - awful, but not the 20,000 of 1 July.

Bernard

I watched "The First Fifteen" this evening and this seems a harsh assessment of this 25 minute programme.

At no point did Gareth Thomas "comment on Great War matters" as such: that was left to Richard Holmes and other historians. Thomas only appeared in the progamme for his reactions on learning that one of his predecessors as captain of the Welsh rugby team died of wounds received when leading his men at Mametz Wood. His comments at the graveside of JL Williams were particularly moving. How many other current professional sportsmen have been reduced to tears in such circumstances? He may be no Great War expert, but as a captain of Wales, who was better "well placed" than Gareth Thomas to express such views? Certainly not me.

I cannot comment on the "BBC blurb" (though it was actually an HTV production). However, though Gareth Edwards (perhaps the greatest rugby player of all time and also a previous Welsh captain) did refer to 70,000 dying in one day, the programme narrator immediately made it quite clear that the number of killed and wounded at Mametz Wood was 4,000.

Since the 1980s, Welsh television has covered the story of Mametz Wood on several occasions, describing the battle in a conventional manner. However, this programme was a welcome attempt to cover these events from a rather different perspective: that of two of the many sporting heros of Wales who lost their lives. In so doing, a number of interesting points were made, by Richard Holmes and others, about the importance of sportsmen in pre-WW1 Welsh society and the role of sportmen in the war.

In reminding the Welsh public about Johnny Williams and Dick Thomas, two outstanding but now largely forgotten rugby heroes, the producers of this programme provided a fitting tribute to their memory.

[Bernardlewis]

Glad you enjoyed it Aneurin but I was disappointed. Just a matter of personal taste I guess.

Bernard

[burlington]

As the originator of this post I must confess, to my great shame , that I missed it!