The Old Malthouse

 It is difficult to imagine a more beautiful location for a village than that of Atcham near Shrewsbury, standing on the banks of the Severn next to the elegant old bridge over the river (built 1769-71 by John Gwynne). Today Gwynne’s bridge is for pedestrians only and the road is carried across the river by a plainer and more recent bridge. The Romans were active in the area and the ancient church at Atcham contains stones from the Roman town of Viroconium and may also have evidence of Anglo Saxon work. It is the only one in the country dedicated to St Eata. Inside St Eata’s, near the organ, are two brass plaques; one records the names of nine local men who perished during the First World War and the other, two men killed during the Second. One of the Second World War names is that of ‘WHC Sands, Boy Royal Navy’. At the time, boys as young as 15 were allowed to join the Navy and a total of 534, aged 16 to 17 were killed.

St Eata's church, Atcham

The Old Malthouse, Atcham

Atcham’s main war memorial however is its lovely wooden-framed village hall. On the outside a plaque records that: “This building, the old malthouse, was presented by Thomas Henry 8th Lord Berwick [of nearby Attingham Hall] to the parish of Atcham to be converted into a war memorial hall in commemoration of the men of Atcham who fell in the Great War 1914-18. The Memorial Hall was opened by Colonel Charles Grant DSO of Pitchford on 31st December 1925”. The building was erected as a malthouse in the 1600s but eventually fell out of use and was converted into the Attingham estate’s carpenter’s shop in the 19th century. Amongst other work for the estate, wooden wheels were constructed there for which the iron bands were made next door in the village smithy.

When Lord Berwick donated the building to be used as a memorial hall, it was in need of repair to both the roof and floor. To raise money for the work, two large fetes were held in the grounds of Attingham Park which, with personal subscriptions, achieved the £1,350 needed. The fundraising and repairs were organised by a committee under Lord Berwick’s chairmanship and, until his death in 1947, he continued to chair the village hall committee. After 1947, the role was taken over – very successfully - by his widow Lady Teresa Berwick (killed in a car crash outside the gates of Attingham Hall in 1972).

 

Disaster at Sheerness

The small village of Llandrinio in Montgomeryshire lies close to the border with Shropshire about nine miles north of Welshpool.  Its war memorial is a striking marble obelisk standing next to the church lychgate. Listed on it are 17 local men who, “gave their lives fighting for the cause of freedom in the Great War”. At the top is the name of Stuart Ford Moorhouse of the Royal Navy who died on 26^th November 1914 whilst serving aboard HMS Bulwark.

Llandrinio war memorial

 She was one of five London-class battleships built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century. Completed in 1902, she was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and then served with the Channel and Home Fleets from 1907 to 1910, usually as a flagship. Following the start of the First World War, Bulwark was attached to the Channel Fleet to protect the British Expeditionary Force as it moved across the English Channel to France. At about 07;53 on 26^th November 1914, a huge internal explosion ripped Bulwark apart while she was moored a few miles west of Sheerness in the estuary of the River Medway. All the ship's officers were killed in the explosion and only a dozen ratings survived. A total of 741 men were lost including members of the band of the gunnery school, HMS Excellent, which was playing aboard. Only about 30 bodies were recovered after the explosion.

Explosion aboard HMS Bulwark

A naval court of enquiry, held only two days later, concluded that the disaster was probably caused by the overheating of about 30 cordite propellant charges that had been placed adjacent to a boiler-room bulkhead. The bulkhead was increasing in temperature as the boilers were fired up and this ignited the cordite charges which in turn detonated hundreds of six-inch and twelve-pounder shells stored nearby.

 

The incident remains the second most catastrophic accidental explosion in the history of the United Kingdom, exceeded only by that of the battleship Vanguard at Scapa Flow in 1917.

Shrewsbury School Old Boys' memorial

Shrewsbury School was founded in 1552 by a Royal Charter and today is one the country's leading independent boarding schools. Its main war memorial stands at the meeting place of all the avenues leading from the School. At its centre is a bronze, life-size statue of Sir Philip Sidney (one of the school’s alumni) on a large rectangular plinth and in military costume, dressed as he would have been when he was fatally wounded during the Battle of Zutphen in 1586. The front face of the pedestal incorporates a relief of a battle scene from the First World War and below it the school coat of arms. The rear of the pedestal is decorated with a picture of the battlefield at Zutphen and the remaining two sides are inscribed with the names of Old Boys of the school who died during the First World War. Architect of the whole memorial was Brook Taylor Kitchin, an Old Salopian whose son was killed in action in France at the age of 18. The sculptor was Arthur George Walker (also responsible for the memorial statue in Ironbridge). To achieve a greater likeness, Walker visited Penhurst House in Kent, the ancestral home of the Sidney family, at the invitation of Lord de L’isle, one of his descendents. 

Shrewsbury School

There, he was able to study various portraits and miniatures of Sidney, as well as the sword, helmet and armour which he wore at Zutphen. 

When the memorial was unveiled on 24^th May 1924, Lord de L’isle was present and the Burgmeister of Zutphen laid a wreath. Walker was born on 20^th October 1861 in London. Despite undertaking some important and well-known commissions however, little seems to be known about his life. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1883 and his early sculptural work including some interesting mythological figures, but later work consisted mainly of portrait busts and ecclesiastical memorials. He is perhaps best known for his statue of Florence Nightingale in Waterloo Place, London (1910). His other work includes another monument to her in St Paul’s, the figures of William Morris and Roger Payne for the Victoria and Albert Museum, a First World War memorial in Derby (as well as that at Shrewsbury), and figures of the Virgin and Child in Llandaff and Wells Cathedrals. He exhibited more than 80 works at the Royal Academy between 1884 and 1937 and died two years later.

In 1948 a low stone wall was erected, partly surrounding the Sidney memorial, inscribed with the names of Old Salopians who died during the Second World War.

Shrewsbury School war memorial