John Brunt VC

There are at least nine VC winners commemorated on Shropshire war memorials (see my post below for details). All earned their reward for outstanding valour and courage but perhaps the best known of them is Cpt John Brunt. His reputation for inspired leadership, personal bravery, coolness under fire and lack of concern for his own safety earned him a place in history as a real 'Boys Own' hero.

He was born in the tiny south Shropshire hamlet of Priestweston on 6th Dec 1922 and educated at Ellesmere College. When the 2WW broke out he was commissioned into the Sherwood Forestors. Respected by his men for his determination and courage, he was awarded the MC and then a posthumous VC for gallantry shown in action near Faenza, Italy just days after his 22nd birthday. His citation records: "...the house near which Capt. Brunt's Platoon was dug in was destroyed by intense mortar fire. The Captain, rallying his remaining men ... continued to hold the enemy although heavily outnumbered. Personally firing a Bren gun, he killed about 14 and then, his ammunition exhausted, he fired a Piat and 2-inch mortar left by casualties. This aggressive defence allowed him to re-occupy his previous position and get his wounded away."

The Germans retreated but the next day Brunt was drinking a cup of tea when a mortar shell fell at his feet killing him outright. There are a number of memorials to him. In Paddock Wood, where his parents lived, the pub was re-named the 'John Brunt VC' and remained so until the 1990s and there is a beautiful rose-window to his memory in the church there. In Shropshire, the John Brunt Memorial Cricket Pavilion at Ellesmere College was opened in 1970 and, more recently, the Shropshire War Memorial Association arranged for a small plaque to his memory to be placed in a road-side wall at Priestweston. For more information you can follow this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brunt

Battlefield crosses

Quite a number of churches in Shropshire have old wooden crosses as memorials to the men whose names are on them. Some are more prominent than others. St Laurence's in Ludlow has three in the main porch, others are hidden away such as Lydham where they are in the vestry. They fascinate me. Clearly they have been brought back from the battlefield where they marked the grave of the dead soldier. When and how and by whom were they brought back though? The only internet reference I can find is on the Hellfire Corner site but it doesn't really answer the questions:

http://www.fylde.demon.co.uk/crosses.htm

The churches in Shropshire where I have identified them are:

Billingsley; Bitterley; Claverley; Ford; Ludlow; Lydham; Norton in Hales; Ruyton XI Towns and Lydbury North.

Does anybody know any other examples?

PS I have recently come across some further information about these crosses which forms part of the WW1 memorial in Cruckmeole school. It states that they were often made by local French carpenters. Largely because of the quantity involved and the inevitably chaotic conditions which prevailed, the small metal tags giving name, rank etc were sometimes obtained from slot machines on railway stations and other places. When the wooden crosses were eventually replaced with stone markers, realising their historical significance, the IWGC sent them home to the families or gave them to organisations such as Toc H. The remainder were, appropriately, burnt and the ashes scattered over the cemetery.

Battlefield church

The battle of Shrewsbury, fought on 21st July 1403, is perhaps best known from Shakespeare's Henry IV part 1. In 1399 Henry had come to the throne with the aid of the powerful Percy family from Northumberland. The alliance was not to last however. Feeling that Henry had failed to reward them adequately, the Percy's with their allies marched south in rebellion. A hurriedly raised Royal army set off westwards from Nottingham and met them at Shrewsbury, where a bloody battle was fought just north of the town. Thousands lost their lives and although the King emerged victorious, his losses exceeded those of the rebels.

Soon after, a chantry chapel was established on the battle site as a memorial to those who had died. The chapel was endowed so that chaplains could offer prayers for the souls of those who had lost their lives in the battle and for the King. Today, Battlefield church still stands on the site as undoubtedly the oldest and most impressive war memorial in Shropshire. The building of such a chapel was a common medieval response to a local battle but few if any examples have remained as complete and well preserved as Battlefield's. Though it stands isolated in a field off the A49 road, regular services are still held there and, as if to bring it up to date in 'war memorial' terms, a marble plaque in the church remembers those parishioners who fell in the two world wars. Make a visit if you can. I understand the key is available from a nearby house.

Locomotive memorial

I suppose like most counties, Shropshire has its share of unusual and imaginative memorials. At Alberbury church an aeroplane propellor has been made into a cross, at Jackfield a footbridge across the Severn serves as a memorial to the dead of both world wars and at Monkhopton church a stone cider press forms part of the village memorial. My favourite however is a Stanier 8F locomotive which served during a long working life in places such as Persia, Iran and Egypt. In 1968 it was transferred to the Severn Valley Railway in its early days as a heritage steam railway attraction. In 1986 it was dedicated as a memorial to all the British railwaymen who gave their lives in World War Two (see plaque above). The locomotive is shortly to be displayed at the Education Centre at Highley station on the SVR along with a roll of honour of all railway 'sappers' who died in the same war. For more details try the Stanier 8F Locomotive Society's website:

http://www.8fsociety.co.uk/014.htm

Shropshire VC winners

I have a particular interest in local winners of the Victoria Cross who are commemorted on Shropshire war memorials. The ones I have identified so far are as follows:

Cpt John Brunt - Ellesmere College & Priestweston
Maj C Yate - Madeley
TOL Wilkinson - Quatt
A/S WC Williams - Stanton Lacy
Cpt H Ackroyd - Shrewsbury School
WN Stone - St Mary's, Shrewsbury
Maj W LaTouche Congreve - Haslehurst Memorial Hall, West Felton
TT Pryce - St Giles', Shrewsbury & Shrewsbury School

Is anyone out there aware of any others that I have missed or have any information about any of the gallant men in the list? If so, please let me know by posting here. Thanks.