Members may be interested in the Bridgnorth War Memorials Website at:
http://www.greglewin.co.uk/Memorial/
This website grew out of the cover article that I wrote for the March 2014 Journal. The research has now become something of an obsession!
The website contains more than 160 biographies of men who died in the Great War and who are named on Bridgnorth War Memorials. At present it includes the Civic Memorial in Castle Gardens and the memorials in St Mary Magdalene and St Leonards but I hope to add more as I find them.
The site also has a few photographs of the men and an interesting selection of the letters they wrote home from the Front.
I would be most grateful for your corrections and comments.
I am interested to find out information concerning three names which have resisted any of the lines of research I have tried. They are L/Corp F.C.BULL, Private R.H.TAYLOR and FRANK CARTWRIGHT.
If you have photos, letters or interesting anecdotes concerning any of these men, I should be delighted to hear from you.
Best Wishes,
Greg Lewin
Hi Gwynne,
Thanks for the comments and for the suggestions.
The Grammar School boards are on my to do list - there was a photo of the tiled panel in one of the papers a while ago and I think it is also on the school's web site.
I missed the reference to the list of the fallen in your book so I have not seen that yet - I'll make it my next port of call!
I spent some time over the weekend going through the booklet which lives under the memorial in St Leonards. There is no author named but I assume that this is the biography you mean. It contains some interesting photos and some extra background information. Now that I know who wrote it I will add a credit!
I'm only just beginning to look around for other memorials. I suspect that most of the churches and chapels in town have them. Given the number of police officers who died I'd be surprised if there wasn't a memorial in the Police Station at some time.
Are you involved in the memorial project mentioned in Friday's BJ?
Thanks again,
Greg.
Hello Greg
I refer to your comment, "Given the number of police officers who died I'd be surprised if there wasn't a memorial in the Police Station at some time."
The 1903 Ordnance Survey map shows that the Police Station in Whitburn Street, Bridgnorth is the same one that was in use until the late 1960's when the new Police Station was built on Westgate / Wenlock Road so it might be worth calling there to see if anything survives.
Having said that it has been suggested to me that it is perhaps more likely that any war memorial would have been done on a County basis so perhaps you should have a trip to Shrewsbury to check whether anything survived the move from Swan Hill to Monkmoor in the 1970's.
Mike
Hi Mike,
I called in at the Police Station today, but it is now almost abandoned. The one officer manning the desk was not local and didn't know the building. I left my contact details but I'm not holding my breath.
Thanks for the suggestion about a County memorial but I'm only really looking for local memorials at the moment.
Thanks,
Greg
I have now added the War Memorials from Bridgnorth Grammar School which are preserved at the Bridgnorth Endowed School. These add twenty one names which are not on the other memorials.
I am still trying to identify the following men from the other memorials:
L/Corp F.C.BULL (Castle Gardens)
Private R.H.TAYLOR (Castle Gardens)
FRANK CARTWRIGHT (St Leonards)
WILLIAM M WILLIAMS (St Mary Magdalene).
Best wishes,
Greg Lewin
I have now added the memorials from the Bridgnorth Deanery churches at Oldbury and Astley Abbotts.
Does anyone know if there is a memorial in the Stoneway Chapel on Cartway?
Regards,
Greg
I have now added Tasley and Quatford (which mainly covers soldiers from Eardington).
Many more details / photos have been added to the biographies already on the site.
Thank you for all the contributions.
Best wishes,
Greg Lewin
Now almost finished adding servicemen from Worfield.
Follow progress on Twitter @BridgnorthHeros
Best wishes,
Greg Lewin
Thank you Greg. I found a little more information about my grandfather on this site. I'm planning on visiting Bridgnorth next year and see the memorials.
Nora
Now almost finished adding short biographies of the men named on the War Memorial in Claverley Church.
http://www.greglewin.co.uk/Memorial/Claverley.php
Follow progress on Twitter @BridgnorthHeros
Greg.
The website now has biographies of more than 350 men who appear on First World War Memorials in the Bridgnorth are. Recent additions include Highley, Chelmarsh and Morville. Full list here:
http://www.greglewin.co.uk/Memorial
Follow progress on Twitter @BridgnorthHeros
Greg.
Just added pages for Ditton Priors and Stockton.
http://www.greglewin.co.uk/Memorial
Happy New Year!
Greg
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Hi Greg,
Congratulations on some excellent research and making it all available on your marvellous web site. I'm glad my book proved useful in your research and thank you for giving me credit in your sources.
In addition to the sources you list, are you aware of the following?
a) The two WW1 memorial boards in the former Grammar School (now the Endowed)
b) The list of fallen published in the 14th August 1920 issue of the Bridgnorth Journal.
c) Many years ago, Channel 4 TV listed a war memorial (WW1 or WW2 ?) in Bridgnorth Fire Station. My own enquiries have failed to locate such a memorial.
d) Graham Hodgson compiled a biography of the 55 men listed on the memorial board in St Leonard's Church. I'm told Graham died in 2013.
e) As you may know, most Military memorial headstones are not together but can be found throughout Bridgnorth cemetery.
Good luck with your continuing research.
Gwynne