Appeal launched to restore Shropshire's Great War poet Wilfred Owen's memorial

An appeal has been launched to restore a memorial to Shropshire's Great War poet Wilfred Owen to its former glory.

nostalgia pic. Shrewsbury. The unveiling of a Wilfred Owen memorial called Symmetry at Shrewsbury Abbey on Saturday, June 12, 1993. A black and white version of the picture was carried in the Shropshire Star of June 14 with the caption: 'A memorial was unveiled in the grounds of Shrewsbury Abbey on Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Shropshire war poet Wilfred Owen, born in Oswestry. The sculpture was designed by Paul de Monchaux. The Bishop of Shrewsbury, the Right Rev John Davies, president of the Wilfred Owen Association (right), and Mr Peter Owen, nephew of Wilfred Owen, are at the seat-shaped memorial.' This is a print in the Shropshire Star picture archive and the photographer was Gail Turner, a Shropshire Star staff photographer, so it is Shropshire Star copyright. Library code: Shrewsbury nostalgia 2020..

The memorial in the grounds of Shrewsbury Abbey was inaugurated in June 1993 but is showing the effects of ageing and weathering, and now the Wilfred Owen Association wants to spruce it up.

Called Symmetry, it was formally unveiled by children of Wilfred Owen School, and 25 white doves – one for every year of Owen's life – were released to mark the moment.

Designed by Paul de Monchaux, the pale granite abstract structure, which has the dual function of a bench, is carved with the inscription "I am the enemy you killed my friend."

Owen, who lived in Shrewsbury, was killed in action just one week before the end of the conflict in 1918.

Wilfred Owen was killed in action in 1918.

Launching the appeal are Caroline Thewles and Helen McPhail, both members of the Wilfred Owen Association.

Refurbishment by a leading specialist in conservation and restoration of monuments and memorials will cost around £6,500, although much has already been raised, both through a donation by Veolia and through the generosity of individuals who were central to the original concept and design.

The appeal to raise the remainder is being launched to members of the association and also the general public.

Caroline said: "The memorial is not damaged in any way, but it is in serious need of restoration and we have appointed Taylor Pearce to do the job that includes cleaning and pointing the granite and surrounding York stone base and repainting the incised lettering on the four granite base slabs."

The work is likely to be done during the summer, with the hope being that the memorial will be rededicated and unveiled towards the end of the summer.

The sculpture was commissioned by the Wilfred Owen Association to celebrate the centenary of Owen's birth, and is based on a response to Owen's poem Strange Meeting where the poet imagines the experience of two soldiers from opposite sides meeting in the underworld after their violent death in a hand-to-hand struggle.

The granite of the sculpture echoes the scooped tunnel, described in the poem, down which the narrator passes on his last journey to this meeting.

Owen was born in Oswestry in March 1893 but the family moved from Birkenhead to Shrewsbury in 1906, the family home being not far from the abbey, in Monkmoor Road.

Cheques in support of the appeal should be made payable to The Wilfred Owen Association (write SYMMETRY on the back and name and address) and sent to Caroline Thewles, The Merchant’s House, 79 Coton Hill, Shrewsbury SY1 2DP.

Donations can also be made by BACS using account name The Wilfred Owen Association; sort code 30.97.62; and account number 00454221.