RESIDENTS of a tiny Ceredigion coastal village finally received the belated chance to honour their eight ‘lost’ war heroes when the hamlet’s new war memorial was unveiled on Remembrance Sunday.

Until now, Aberarth never had a memorial to those from the village who lost their lives in both world wars.

But having raised £500 to build the memorial themselves, villagers were able to at last recognise the supreme sacrifice of eight of their own at a moving ceremony on Sunday morning.

Four men from the village lost their lives in the First World War and four more in the Second World War.

The memorial, situated on community council land near the Welsh Coast Path, is the brainchild of Dyffryn Arth community councillor David Owen.

“As a child I didn’t think anyone from Aberarth had served in or lost their lives in the two world wars,” he told the Cambrian News.

“Last year was the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War and I just thought it disgraceful that we didn’t have a memorial in the village.

“Yes, there’s a memorial in the church half a mile out of the village, but that commemorates the war dead of a number of parishes.

“There’s nothing to signify those who actually came from Aberarth.”

Cllr Owen added he was “indebted” to the resp­onse of locals for their cash contributions as well as giving up their time to work on the memorial.

“The history society, gardening club, Aberarth Hall and various individuals all contributed,” he said. “The Aberaeron branch of the Royal British Legion were ready to help out but, thanks to the generosity of local people, we didn’t need their support in the end.

“The memorial bears a red poppy and a Welsh poppy with the words ‘Aberarth’ underneath in gold. We felt that was a nice touch as Aberarth does not have a village sign.”