Bushbury, Wednesfield and Heath Town

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The Heath Town Memorial consists of a statue of a soldier standing on a plinth, which has bronze panels set into the sides. The panels depict naval and aerial scenes. Click the image for a Closer Look at one of the panels Depicting the take-off of an aeroplane, the panel sadly shows the esteem in which this memorial is held by some of the local youths.

As I mentioned earlier, this memorial has suffered at the hands of vandals and apart from the graffiti, the soldier's rifle has been stolen. An interesting aspect of this memorial is that the soldier is looking towards the lich gates of Holy Trinity Church, which are in themselves a memorial to the fallen. The panels set into the sides of the gates bear the names of the dead, and Kipling's famous words Their Name Liveth for Evermore are engraved above the arch.

Wednesfield

Close to Heath Town is the village of Wednesfield. The village has another type of memorial. This is in the form of a bronze tablet mounted on a granite pillar which is located in a garden of remembrance. The entry to the garden is opposite the main door to St. Thomas's church. The garden is very peaceful and, beneath a weeping willow, there is the memorial.

I took this photograph in the autumn, just after a rain storm. 

Click the Image to read the names

One name on the memorial is that of one Alexandra Howard LEWIS. He was a local man who was wounded whilst serving with the 1^st battalion of the Leicester Regiment. He died as a result of these wounds on the 13^th of December 1918, just a month after the end of the fighting. What is interesting about this man is that he is buried in the churchyard which is just a short walk from the memorial. He is buried in a commonwealth war grave together with his brother, Samuel John LEWIS of the 6^th battalion South Staffordshire Regiment. Samuel was four years older than his brother and he died some 5 months later - on the 17^th of April 1919. There is no medal index card at the Public Record Office in Kew for Samuel so I can only assume that he never went overseas. Both men came from Low Hill in Wolverhampton.

Opposite the entrance to the memorial gardens in Wednesfield is St Thomas' Church.  The Rood is also a War Memorial and contains the names of the men of the parish who never returned.

In this picture (from a video) you can see the panels either side of the altar which bear the One Hundred & Twelve names.

The names are preceded by the following words.

Greater love hath no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends.  This rood, erected by the people of Wednesfield to the glory of God is in revered and grateful memory of the Wednesfield men who laid down their lives in the cause of freedom and righteousness during the Great War of 1914 - 1918.

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.  In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die and their departure is taken for misery.  But they are in peace, the righteous live for ever more,  their reward also is with the lord and the care of them is with the most high. 

Old Heath

From Heath Town, a short journey along Deans Road takes you to the main Willenhall Road. Just before the Willenhall Road, there is a memorial which has some unusual features. From a distance, it looks like a very common memorial, in the form of a stone cross. What makes this memorial unusual are the names which is bears. This memorial bears the names of civilians killed during the second world war

One name from the Second World War has particular significance for me. It is the name of Cadet J.A. Hollowood. John Amos Hollowood was a member of the Air Training Corps and was killed during the War. For years I had been unable to discover the circumstances of his death, until this year, when - through the Wolverhampton Express & Star Newspaper, his story was told by his brother and a former member of his squadron.

John was with a group of cadets at RAF Shobdon, which was the home of No. 4 Glider Pilot Training School.  He was a passenger in a towing aircraft which crashed.  John was mortally wounded and died a few days later at RAF Creedenhill (Hereford).  According to the Station Commander, Wg Cdr H.P. Simpson, his death was due to "War Operations". He is buried in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Heath Town in a grave marked by a CWGC headstone.

I mentioned that this name was significant, well, I was a member of the Air Training Corps for many years, and the discovery of his grave bought home the totality of the war in which he was killed. This memorial, and John Hollowood's grave are, to me, a perfect testament to the totality of modern war.

Bushbury

I am constantly amazed by the variety of memorials, and Bushbury memorial is very different from the others in and around the town.

Bushbury's memorial is a playing field. Until recently it was unmarked, but the local people erected a tablet to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the opening of the field. Click the image below for a Closer Look This tablet however has recently fallen victim to vandals, as you will see.

Inside the Church or St Mary, Bushbury's parish chuirch, there are three memorials.

The names on this memorial are...

This is the main memorial which bears the names of the men of the parish who lost their lives in the Great War.

There is a memorial near the west door to a single officer.

The memorial below is to the 21st Battalion South Staffordshire (Wolverhampton) Home Guard.

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