County bid to join international Mayflower group
Shropshire is bidding to raise the profile of its unique part in the epic voyage of the Mayflower by seeking membership of an international consortium set up for the 400th anniversary.
And the group organising local celebrations and activities, called Shropshire's Mayflower Children, has been putting the final touches to a special logo giving what they are doing a "brand."
Secretary Mike Brogden said: "There's a consortium of a dozen local authorities in England, Holland and America who got together to form what is called the Mayflower 400 Compact which is planning all sorts of things and has its headquarters in Plymouth.
"Shropshire is doing its hardest to get membership of this group. They set themselves up without knowing who the More children were in Shropshire. We weren't included.
"Tim Jenkins on Shropshire Council has been negotiating for us to join. I wish I could tell you they had said yes, but we haven't heard yet.
"If that happens it would be rather good. There's a lot of publicity associated with that 400 group and it would be good to be part of that."
The four children of the More family, of Larden Hall, near Much Wenlock, were packed off on the Mayflower for America by Samuel More amid a bitter marital bust up in which he had questioned whether he was their father. Only one of them survived.
Meanwhile MA Creative of Shrewsbury has come up with a logo for the group which will go before members next month for final approval of the design.
Mike said: "The general design has been agreed and it is due for final approval on March 29. We are grateful for financial support from the Millichope Foundation for the design of the logo."
The voyage of the Mayflower in 1620 took some of the first colonists to America and as such is an important part of that country's history.
