Thousands volunteered across Britain to fight for King and Country in the Great War of 1914 to 1918 before conscription was necessary. As soon as the local Company was called up in August 1914 a group of volunteers left together by carriage from Govilon Post Office. They joined "A" Company of the 3rd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment. So proud were some of the fathers that their sons were going off to war that they were keen to get into the picture too.
By 1918 the conflict had claimed the lives of 12 sons and daughters of the village. They had died in France, Belgium and Turkey. At least 4 of them were killed in the same battle at Ypres in Belgium in May 1915. In this battle alone only 29 of the 500 men in "A" and "D" Company of the 3rd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment who arrived in France in February 1915 were left alive on the morning of May 10th For further information visit www.blaenau-gwent.gov.uk.
The Memorial in Govilon is unusual in that it commemorates a civilian casualty – May Prosser. It is believed she was killed in a local munitions factory.
A further plaque was added to remember the two casualties of the 1939 to 1945 conflict.
The Memorial is built in sandstone from the local quarry. Although originally situated in the centre of the village it was moved in 1937. It now provides an impressive entrance to the King George V Recreation Ground at the western entrance of the village.
In 2005 the British Legion helped restore the site to provide a fitting tribute to those who died during the two World Wars. The Memorial was re-opened by the school children of the village in a ceremony on the 11th November.
