Saving Private Roberts? — Merched Chwarel

The Ceunant Isaf Family and the Great War

- by Elin Tomos

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Yn ystod y cyfnod clo, mi nes i wylio Saving Private Ryan am y tro cyntaf – ffilm sy’n dilyn ymdrech criw o filwyr yn ystod yr Ail Ryfel Byd i ddod o hyd, ac i achub ‘Private Ryan’, yr unig un allan o bedwar brawd sydd dal yn fyw. Yn ôl y sôn, mae’r ffilm i ryw raddau yn seiliedig ar hanes y brodyr Niland o Tonawanda, Efrog Newydd: Edward, Preston, Robert a Fredrick. Un teulu o blith nifer a gollodd mwy nag un mab yn ystod y Rhyfeloedd Byd

Wedi gwylio’r ffilm, mi nes i ddechrau meddwl yn nes at adra’ – a gofyn, ysgwni faint o frodyr fu ynghlwm â’r brwydro yn Nyffryn Peris? Gan graffu’n benodol ar ddigwyddiadau’r Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf, dyma gipolwg ar hanes pedwar o frodyr a ymrestrodd ym 1914: Robert ‘Bob’ Roberts (g. 1887), John Edward Roberts (g. 1890), Thomas ‘Tommy’ neu ‘Twm’ Roberts (g. 1893) a Josiah ‘Jos’ Roberts (g. 1895).

Does dim gwadu’r ffaith mai teuluoedd mawrion oes Fictoria a wnaeth y Rhyfel Mawr yn bosib.[2] Ac un o’r teuluoedd mawrion hynny, oedd teulu Hannah ac Edward Roberts, Ceunant Isaf, Nantperis. Allan o’r un-ar-ddeg o blant a anwyd, bu farw dau yn ystod eu plentyndod, gan adael naw: Robert (Bob), John, Thomas (Tommy neu Twm), Josiah (Jos neu Jo), Mary, Eliza, Idwal, Owen a Margaret….Darllen eu hanes nhw yma

During lockdown, I watched Saving Private Ryan for, I must admit, the first time; a film that follows the efforts of a group of soldiers during World War II to find and rescue 'Private Ryan', the only surviving son of four brothers. The film is said to be loosely based on the story of the Niland brothers from Tonawanda, New York: Edward, Preston, Robert, and Fredrick. One of many, many, families who lost more than one son during the World Wars.

After watching the film, I started looking closer to home - and wondered how many local brothers were involved in the fighting? Looking specifically at the First World War, here is a snapshot of the story of four brothers who enlisted in 1914: Robert ‘Bob’ Edward Roberts (b. 1887), John Edward Roberts (b. 1890), Thomas ‘Tommy’ ‘Twm’ Roberts (b. 1893) and Josiah ‘Jos’ Roberts (b. 1895).

There is no denying that the large families that marked the Victorian era made the Great War possible. One of those large families was the family of Ceunant Isaf, Nantperis. Of the eleven children born to Edward and Hannah Roberts, two died in infancy, leaving nine: Robert (Bob), John, Thomas (Tommy or Twm), Josiah (Jos or Jo), Mary, Eliza, Idwal, Owen and Margaret…. read their story here