An unusual design and an interesting debate

 The main war memorial in the town of Bridgnorth in east Shropshire stands at one of the highest in the town in Castle Park. It is a 7’6” statue of a soldier with his rifle and fixed bayonet on his back, wearing a tin hat, carrying his equipment and with his right arm thrust forward and upward. It stands on a stepped plinth and base of local Alveley stone, around which are listed (unusually, in order of rank) those from the town who fell in the two world wars. 

The statue is the work and design of Captain Adrian Jones MVD RBS, a well- known Shropshire born sculptor and painter. The soldier’s stance is unusual in that he appears to be taking part in an act of military aggression rather than the more common one of mourning and, as a result, has been the subject of some debate and occasional controversy over the years. A common view is that he is pointing forward as he advances on the enemy at the head of his men (though another local story has it that, having just been demobbed, he is holding up his hand in an effort to stop the train leaving without him from the station below!). However the Programme for the unveiling ceremony on 9th March 1922 states clearly that the sculptor was “endeavouring to demonstrate the stupendous moral and military effort by the Empire … and what more fitting symbol than a realistic soldier hurling a bomb with all his energy and strength and thereby ‘doing his bit’ “. In his memoirs, Jones himself said that he had “designed it to pay tribute to the undaunted courage of a Shropshire lad”. A recent biography of Jones ('Triumph: The Life & Art of Captain Adrian Jones' by Robert S Burns) has re-opened the debate:  “The only possible credence for the bomb story is the soldier’s open palm, for nothing else in his pose suggests throwing. The front leg is not braced for effort; rather it appears simply to be taking a slightly uphill step forward. Plainly if a sculptor intends to depict a bomber, he must include a hand grenade or similar device. It is more probable that … [the] soldier is urging advance on the enemy hilltop position ahead”. The debate continues therefore and quite possibly may now never be resolved. Opinions would be welcome however!