Shropshire youngsters imagine back story to Dawley's Pig On The Wall for competition

The youngsters are being invited to use their imagination to trotter out a short story in the competition being run by the Friends of Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

But the real tale behind the postcard is a mix of mystery, folklore, a court case, and a controversy that has pitched Dawley against the Black Country town of Gornal Wood in the rightful claim to the legend. The Dawley pig on the wall picture is being used to stimulate the creativity of children aged between seven and 14 in the literacy competition which starts on Monday and runs until June 16, with winning entries announced on June 30.

The photo, taken from the museum's archives, is said to show Percy the pig, who lived in a sty at the rear of the Unicorn pub in Little Dawley, along with landlord Ernest Fletcher, on the left, and John Price, of Manor Farm, Little Dawley.

But the more familiar postcard, which was clearly based on it, bears the image of Dawley's most famous son, Captain Matthew Webb, and the caption: "Who was it that put the pig on the wall to see Captain Webb's procession pass?"

Dawley-born Webb became the first person to swim the English Channel in August 1875 and a memorial in his honour was erected in Dawley in 1909.

A popular version of the postcard's inspiration is that when Webb visited Dawley to great rejoicings only a few days after his epic feat, the pig climbed on the wall to watch the parade as it passed through Little Dawley.

However, another explanation is that it was produced in 1909 by Dawley photographic firm Baldwin Bros as a bit of a joke, and one to which Mr Fletcher failed to see the funny side.

In 2004 a descendant, Ivor Baldwin, checked the correct details with his then 90-year-old father Ted Baldwin, of Dawley. Ted was actually christened Edwin, after his professional photographer father.

Ivor told us back then: "The guy on the photograph was Ernest Fletcher, licensee of the Unicorn, Little Dawley. My dad told me the story.

"That moustache was painted on Mr Fletcher because he was embarrassed and didn't want to be recognised. When he used to go to the pig sty the pig used to hear his voice and come running out and jump up on the wall there, so the photo was not set up as such. He used to get his leg pulled about it."

Ivor's grandfather Edwin Baldwin, and Edwin's brother George then created a montage image. "They put a drinking fountain in Dawley in honour of Captain Webb in 1909. My grandfather and his brother did this postcard for that event."

A further twist in the tale was provided in research by Alan Heighway as part of a book shining the spotlight on the work of photographers Charles and Kath Bartlam. At the time of the pig on the wall postcard Charles was a partner in what was then Baldwin Bros. & Bartlam, but later set up his own studio in Madeley.

According to Alan, it is Bartlam's later version of the postcard which is most widely known. He said Bartlam was taken to court by Ernest Fletcher for not having his permission to use his image. Bartlam lost the case and was fined, but asked the judge for permission to alter the features of the publican, resulting in the image well known today. His book project led to a headstone, etched with a copy of the pig on the wall postcard, being placed on the previously unmarked grave of Charles and Kath Bartlam in Madeley.

Many claim the pig on the wall legend comes from Gornal Wood, near Dudley, where local church groups would organise Sunday parades complete with banners and bands. The pig was allegedly put on the wall to watch the band go by.

The 2017 Friends' short story competition follows on the success of last year's, which was based around a photo of an elephant walking across the Iron Bridge in 1932. Entries are being invited from local schools or individuals, weaving a story around events surrounding the picture. More information from judy.mondon@ironbridge.org.uk or at 01952 435900.