GILFACH GOCH COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEMORIAL BENCH INAUGURATED

First Minister Mark Drakeford unveiled a special COVID memorial bench in Gilfach Goch today (Wednesday), and said the need to remember is “very real”.

Addressing a crowd of locals in torrential rain accompanied by rumbles of thunder, Mr Drakeford said not a family in Wales had been untouched by the pandemic. “The need to remember is very real. The fact that there will be a place here in Gilfach Goch where people can come and do that simple act of remembrance will be really important in many, many lives for many, many years to come.”

          
First Minister Mark Drakeford inaugurated a Covid memorial bench in Gilfach Goch. Seen with Reverend Rachel Wheeler and council clerk Dawn Walters

Gilfach Goch Community Council had wanted a bench as a permanent tribute to the more than 50 people in the village who sadly died during the coronavirus pandemic. The bench is also testimony to the way in which the village residents came together to support one another.

“This bench is sited in a beautiful location where we can sit and pay tribute to those who lost their lives in our community and to pay tribute to those who worked so tirelessly to support us through the pandemic,” said Community Council Chair Liz Price.

Young people in Gilfach Goch were the first to sit on the newly inaugurated bench

RCT Councillor Aurfron Roberts said: “The bench is very significant in that it’s bringing together two parts of the community that lost loved ones during the pandemic. I think it’s good for our community that we’re united over it and let’s hope it’s onwards and upwards for our community.”

The council’s intention is that the bench should offer a place for reflection and remembrance, and it encourages its use by the public.

Production and delivery were repeatedly delayed, partly due to the effects of the pandemic.

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