War Walks Severn

Good sport above the Castle Walk Walk Castle the above sport Good

words he exchanged with his brother, brother, his with exchanged he words top turn left along the walkway walkway the along left turn top

along an elongated, gentle ‘S’ bend… bend… ‘S’ gentle elongated, an along

Earl of Tankerville. of Earl commissioning. Finally, the last last the Finally, commissioning. stone stairs in the corner. At the the At corner. the in stairs stone

and deepens as it glides beautifully beautifully glides it as deepens and

orchard which belonged to the the to belonged which orchard Artists’ Rifles and again after after again and Rifles Artists’ forecourt turn left and take the the take and left turn forecourt

on a more gentle, sedate pace… pace… sedate gentle, more a on

creation, but a genuine cherry cherry genuine a but creation,

follow down to the station station the to down follow He took the train to enlist in the the in enlist to train the took He

describes the Severn “The river takes takes river “The Severn the describes Orchard. Not a developer’s developer’s a Not Orchard.

Return to the staircase and and staircase the to  Return

3

we are approaching is Cherry Cherry is approaching are we The Shropshire Anglers’ Federation Federation Anglers’ Shropshire The Railway Station…” Railway

Underdale Road. The area area The Road. Underdale wrote a school essay “Description of a a of “Description essay school a wrote the 180 levers are now used. now are levers 180 the

Severn and turn left. turn and Severn

the recreation area towards towards area recreation the the Joint Railway. In 1908 Wilfred Wilfred 1908 In Railway. Joint the

least 2030, possibly longer. Only 98 of of 98 Only longer. possibly 2030, least

down the steps to the river river the to steps the down

upper path and head past past head and path upper Tom Owen, was the Asst Supt of of Supt Asst the was Owen, Tom

is likely to remain operational until at at until operational remain to likely is

steep flight of stone steps. Go Go steps. stone of flight steep

To avoid the cyclists, take the the take cyclists, the avoid  To

links with Wilfred Owen. His father, father, His Owen. Wilfred with links 6 completed in 1903. Severn Bridge box box Bridge Severn 1903. in completed

turn right. In the corner is a a is corner the In right. turn

Shrewsbury station has a host of of host a has station Shrewsbury structure was a typical LNWR design design LNWR typical a was structure

Return to Howard Street and and Street Howard to  Return

span is 150 feet – see the plaque. the see – feet 150 is span 4

The three-storey brick and timber timber and brick three-storey The

bridge in the UK. The total central central total The UK. the in bridge

station forecourt. station

world’s largest mechanical signal box. box. signal mechanical largest world’s

building you see today is from 1878. from is today see you building

The walk begins from the the from begins walk  The stressed concrete balanced cantilever cantilever balanced concrete stressed

1 Platform 3, you have a fine view of the the of view fine a have you 3, Platform

remains of the original gaol – the the – gaol original the of remains

November 1951, was the first pre- first the was 1951, November

the River Severn. Towards the end of of end the Towards Severn. River the

The entrance frontage is all that that all is frontage entrance The

circular walk. circular Castle Walk Footbridge, completed in in completed Footbridge, Walk Castle

The station’s platforms extend over over extend platforms station’s The

colonies and transportation there. there. transportation and colonies

and the station to complete a a complete to station the and

roadside. Go over the bridge. bridge. the over Go roadside. necessary by the loss of the American American the of loss the by necessary

War camp, it’s back to the river river the to back it’s camp, War

railway operating companies. companies. operating railway

and take the steps to the the to steps the take and John Hiram Haycock was made made was Haycock Hiram John

with Royal Engineers construction or or construction Engineers Royal with World War German Prisoner of of Prisoner German War World

footbridge. Go under the bridge bridge the under Go footbridge. county surveyor, and designed by by designed and surveyor, county

enlisted. Of these about 40,000 served served 40,000 about these Of enlisted.

Memorial and the site of a First First a of site the and Memorial

Follow the river to the the to river the  Follow

The prison built by Thomas Telford, Telford, Thomas by built prison The 5

from English railway companies had had companies railway English from

Via the Abbey, the Owen Owen the Abbey, the Via

By the end of 1917, 180,000 men men 180,000 1917, of end the By small car park. park. car small right off the edge of the path. “ path. the of edge the off right

Owen family links. links. family Owen Turn right and pause in the the in pause and right Turn

bridge with 10 feet not uncommon uncommon not feet 10 with bridge

predominantly on the Western Front. Front. Western the on predominantly

and over the Dana footbridge. footbridge. Dana the over and

Orchard and four houses with with houses four and Orchard foot bridge. Deeper water below the the below water Deeper bridge. foot

Palestine and Russia, as well as as well as Russia, and Palestine

century suburb of Cherry Cherry of suburb century

in Egypt, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, Egypt, in

attractive turn of the 19th/20th 19th/20th the of turn attractive

a lampman in this area. They died died They area. this in lampman a

follows a riverside path to the the to path riverside a follows shunters, a fireman, a signalman and and signalman a fireman, a shunters,

From the station the walk walk the station the From worked as booking clerks, porters, porters, clerks, booking as worked

Great Western Joint Railway who who Railway Joint Western Great

steep steps steep of the London & North Western and and Western North & London the of

well-surfaced footpaths. Some Some footpaths. well-surfaced plaque by Sidney Hunt to the 42 men men 42 the to Hunt Sidney by plaque

mostly pavements and and pavements mostly Terrain: On the wall is an impressive bronze bronze impressive an is wall the On

Easy Grade: 20 yards. 20

to Platform 3 and turn right for for right turn and 3 Platform to 3 miles / 5 km 5 / miles 3 Distance:

ticket hall entrance. Take the lift lift the Take entrance. hall ticket

the Trenches Trenches the

to Platform 3, on the left of the the of left the on 3, Platform to

Facing the station, go to the lift lift the to go station, the  Facing 2

a train here. train a Tracks to to Tracks Harold, were through the window of of window the through were Harold,

& Return to the main road and cross the bridge over the War Walks Severn. At the end of the bridge take the steps down to the riverside path. Turn left and on the Home Front follow the river, passing under the railway bridge to climb the flight of steps you took on the outward leg and back over the Dana footbridge to the station.

By the end of the War almost 1 in 4 of the male population had volunteered or been conscripted, over five million men. The experience of saying farewell at the local railway station was one shared by many of their families.

The part played by the railways in the daily lives of the Owen family are echoed in the imagery of Owen’s The Send Off

Down the close, darkening lanes they sang their way Written byKeith Pybus.PhotographybyGordon Dickins.Artwork byMACreative Ltd To the siding-shed, Walk 9 And lined the train with faces grimly gay.

… Wilfred Owen and the Then, unmoved, signals nodded, and a lamp Tracks to the Trenches Winked to the guard. by Keith Pybus & Gordon Dickins So secretly, like wrongs hushed-up, they went.

They were not ours:

We never heard to which front these were sent.

Discover more about World War 1 in Shropshire at: www.shropshireremembers.org.uk www.shropshiresgreatoutdoors.co.uk/walking/war-walks/. www.shropshirewalking.co.uk UNDERDALE

T E E E R Allotments U T N S 7 E Continue to Underdale Road K V N R A A and turn left. Your goal is No E P T E W CASTLEFIELDS Y A N E 26 the right hand of the pair on G E N N R OR TH ST REET D the right hand side of the road. O Y F S UNDERD E High up it bears the name L T D S D ALE A Hawthorn Villas. A A AV O C O R R ASHLEY ST T E R R E Weir L A Imagine the rural tranquillity prior H E O C O T R Footbridge A O E W Former S D C to the motoring age. In these streets AR IA R M O D R E K U S Prison O BRADFORD ST R TR D N S Wilfred Owen spent some ten years; E T E E C N O C T I R perhaps half his short life by the time V U M E START S S E C he left here for the Berlitz School in T EN A T

G CLEVLAND Bordeaux. E

L Railway T

Bus S Station TAN ST

A KER CHERRY

April 1902 when Wilfred was 9, he Station C VIL LE S wrote, “Grandpa has given me as T ORCHARD T E CRO much garden as what you see from E WMER R E RO the dining room window. I have got T AD S L about six potatoes planted… We are L E CANON STREET W Y going to Market this afternoon and I L O might buy some seeds.” No doubt the H botany which appears in the poetry, WHITEHALL ST BISHOP STREET took root in the garden here. Whitehall Y Abbey A Mansion W 8 H Return the way you have come I G E H A KI S B B NG to Cleveland Street. The large T English E Y STREE AG R T B house with polychrome bricks E ET Bridge F O R E G A was originally known as No 1 T E WY P Cleveland Place. L E C O Tom Owen had risen to Assistant Superintendent. The Owens lived here from 1907 to 1910; Wilfred Supermarket Greyfriars ‘discovered his poetic vocation’ Footbridge during a holiday in Cheshire. 0 MILES ¼ Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. The Owen family lived behind the Shropshire Council 100049049.2016 left hand of the two doors which give on to Underdale Road [now No 18] In the unheated attic bedroom he place where Owen began to find his own poetic voice. The house is little altered, shared with Harold. Only Wilfred was entitled to work at the table and chair, and he would still feel at home in his attic bedroom.” christened his ‘study.’ A boy opposite would see Wilfred, wrapped in blankets and working by candlelight at his table. Here in 1908 he wrote ‘Description of a Most of Owen’s letters were Railway Station at a busy Time of Day.’ “The first striking impression on entering written to his mother, Susan, who one of our large stations at a busy time is the number of people crowding the kept nearly every word written platforms & jostling and hurrying to and fro apparently in the greatest confusion by her first child. She received … here all classes & conditions meet & every conceivable type may be seen …” 554 letters over the years, but Miraculously, this essay now graces the august portals of the Oxford University it wasn’t until 1956 that this Faculty of English library, Owen Collection. correspondence was discovered. They were kept in no particular From their top floor the boys would have a view over the meadows to the town. order, and were tied up with string, wool and odd bits of ribbon or The family discovered the delights of the tape. church at Uffington and the walk along the river to the ferry. On their way home, ! Cross over the road and turn back along Monkmoor Road as far as Wilfred commented how the buttercups Canon Street. Go to the far end. had blessed with gold Harold’s boots. Owen transplants this image from the On the right is Wilmot House 54 Canon Street [occupied 1897 to 1900 when Severnside meadows to the Western Wilfred would be approximately 4 to 7]. Harold was born there 5th September Front for Spring Offensive [1918]. 1897 his father appears on the birth certificate as “relief clerk”. The Owens were 9 the first tenants and named the house after their ‘Lost Eden’ Plas Wilmot Continue along Underdale Road to # Return to Monkmoor Road and turn left as far as Whitehall Mansion Tankerville Street Built 1578 – 1582 for Richard Prynce, a lawyer and MP with a lucrative legal Tankerville Street was built above a practice. He became one of the richest men in the kingdom outside the cutting excavated in the 1860s. Never aristocracy. ‘Whitehall’ was built with stone taken from the old Abbey buildings, used and incompetently filled in, the houses on the northern side subsided, and which was whitewashed until the nineteenth century. were replaced in the late 20th century. Traces of subsidence can also be observed in the semi-detached pairs on the opposite side. $ On the other side of Monkmoor Road take Whitehall Street round to the Abbey grounds 9 Turn left when you reach Monkmoor Road as far as “Mahim” No 69. The Wilfred Owen Association created the Memorial in Merrivale granite by They rented Mahim from the builder/developer for £1 a week. It was named Paul de Monchaux. The sculpture was designed with reference to Owen’s Strange after Tom Owen’s time with the railways in India. The family pronounced it Meeting. It was unveiled by pupils of the Wilfred Owen School, followed by the Mayhim, though the Indian way would be Maheem. release of twenty-five doves.

Monkmoor Road is dramatically different. Wilfred saw the vast expanse of the Inside the Abbey behind the reception desk the poet’s name appears on the old race course. Today there are houses. Today it is a through-road and very ‘Great War’ memorial tablet. Whilst the bells of the Abbey rang out for the busy with cars. In 1910, it petered out into fields. Armistice, his parents received the telegram announcing his death.

Wilfred was at the Technical School when he wrote the first poems he was to % Cross the road and keeping to the right of the car park head for the keep. right hand corner.

​Mahim was listed in 2014 for its “intactness: the house is little altered since the The Shropshire World War One Anniversaries Group has created a panel to a Owen family left, retaining its plan and the majority of its fixtures and fittings German prisoner-of-war camp. At first the redundant buildings of the Midland from the early years of the C20 that Owen would recognise ... ” Peter Owen, Railway Wagon and Carriage Works housed German civilians, “enemy aliens”. the poet’s nephew, said “The landscape of the area where (Wilfred) grew up By December 1916 the number of prisoners of war had passed 560. The scruffy appeared in the verses he wrote in the trenches of wartime France.” The English buildings had received a dramatic face-lift. The panel has much more detail. Heritage Designation Director added: “Far from the Western Front, (it) is the