Ammanford's Centenary Tree uprooted by vandals

The incident happened just weeks after the tree had been planted by members to celebrate the centenary of the town's Legion branch.

That same night that the tree was vandalised on the lawned area near the entrance from Wind Street, the ‘Lone Soldier’ monument was defaced and all of the memorial benches were tipped over.

Sadly, exactly the same thing happened 24 hours after the Lone Soldier was first erected in Ammanford Park on Remembrance Day, 2019. The following day it had been permanently defaced with scratches and mud had been thrown at it.

“Whoever did this has no idea the suffering that the soldiers had to go through during both World Wars,” commented British Legion branch president Major Kenneth Burton. “The tree was planted with great pride for the sacrifices that this town has made, but to find that it has now been cut down and disappeared from sight is a very sad reflection indeed.”

The seeds of the Ammanford British Legion were planted in 1917 to support the soldiers who had begun returning from the conflict in France, wounded and suffering from mental exhaustion. When the war finally ended, the workload in caring for the soldiers increased considerably resulting in the Ammanford branch of the Royal British Legion being established on September 18, 1921. This made it the first officially registered British Legion branch in the UK. Since then it has gone on to raise thousands of pounds through its Poppy Appeals and other fund raising activities and last year alone the branch raised over £18,000.

“Because of the sacrifices that have been made, people like this are free to go around vandalising these important tributes to soldiers.”

All matters have now been reported to the police and investigations are taking place. If anyone has any information which might help the police with their enquiries they’re asked to contact them on 101.