Lancelot John Barrington Walters: A Welsh Connection

One of the joys of the internet is that you never know what you'll come across. Here's a recent example that pleases me. As part of the series of biographies on the men listed on our local WW1 memorial, I have already featured details of Lancelot John Barrington-Walters (here). Before committing myself to a final version for the book I'm compiling, I always check the internet for anything I might have missed previously or something that may have been added more recently. And so it was that new information on Lancelot lead us into the Wye Valley on a quest for a previously unknown connection.

Our quest took us to the church of St Catwg (Cadoc) in the hamlet of Cwmcarvan in rural, very rural, Monmouthshire. Many thanks to Bill Powell for opening the church for us and acting as our guide.

The church dates from the 13th or 14th century but was extensively restored by the Victorians. Their intervention was quite benign and it now has a pleasing simplicity, without any of the garish embellishments that they sometimes introduced. Nowadays there is a service but once a month with a congregation of only 4 or 5. However, it is also used as a de facto village hall so it seems that the secular and religious aspects of rural life are existing side by side.

Bill pointed out something unexpected to us: a war memorial to the fallen of Cwmcarvan Parish. Unexpected because, as far as I can ascertain, the memorial is not logged on any of the usual databases. I think I'll make it as a mission to spread its existence more widely, if only to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The inscription is very weathered but Bill Powell kindly provided the following transcription:
This cross was restored in 1921 to the Glory of God and in honoured and grateful memory of the men in this parish whose names are inscribed below who laid down their lives for their country in the Great War 1914-18.
Spencer H Drummond. Capt. Rifle Brigade 1915.
Lancelot J.B. Walters. RN. Lieut. HMS Partridge 1917.
James E Winter. Pte. Lancashire Regt. 1914.
William J Edwards. Pte. South Wales Borderers. 1916.
RESQUIESCANT IN PACE

And this is what we came to see: a stained glass window dedicated to the memory of Lancelot John Barrington Walters. It's in reasonable condition, with just a little buckling of the glass. In terms of the iconography inherent in the choice of St Ariel and St Raphael as the subjects in the windows, appropriately for Lancelot's naval service, St Ariel is known as the 'anel of the waters' and St Raphael is the guardian of pilgrims on their journeys. AS he is here, he is often shown holding a fish, an allusion to a healing episode in his past.

The inscription at the bottom of the two panes shows the worst buckling so I've cropped and stitched the segments to make them a little more legible.

And what is Lancelot's connection with Cwmcarvan? The answer lies in this other window in the church, dedicated to Captain Henry Edward Walters. Captain Walters owned the nearby 'big' house, Caer Llan, for many years and was Lancelot's uncle. Given the similarity in the service histories of uncle and nephew, I can understand any special bond between them. I would have thought it was highly probable that the young Lancelot had spent time enjoying the Caer Llan estate, or is that me being fanciful?

The inscription at the bottom of the window in more detail. When Henry Walters died, the estate passed initially to this wife and then, quite shortly afterwards, to his nephew, Robnett Walters, the step-brother of Lancelot. Robnett was born in Stoke Climsland which, in a way, brings us full circle back to Cornwall.