Photograph remembers the ultimate sacrifice made by 72 Shrewsbury men

One of Shropshire’s oldest companies yesterday (Thursday) remembered 72 men from a small area of Shrewsbury who lost their lives in World War One.

Morris Lubricants, based at Castle Foregate, Shrewsbury and Ken Bishop, of St Michael’s War Memorial Conservation Group, arranged for 72 men and women to line up outside the company’s headquarters to represent those that lost their lives.

Eight blood relatives of the late servicemen, town mayor Councillor Jon Tandy, Brigadier Gerhard Wheeler, commander of 143 Brigade in the West Midlands, two standard bearers, firemen, Royal Mail postmen, staff from Morris Lubricants and HSS Hire and ex-servicemen joined together to make up the 72.

The late servicemen all lived in a small area stretching from Castle Foregate to the Flaxmill in Shrewsbury and some worked at Thomas Corbett Iron Works, which is now home to Morris Lubricants.

“The photograph represents in real time what 72 people look like and brings home the ultimate sacrifice made by these men who went off to war and never returned,” said Mr Bishop.

“The casualties in the First World War were unbelievable. The 72 doesn’t include the Castlefields area of Shrewsbury where another 80 men lost their lives in the war.”

Andrew Goddard,Morris Lubricants’ managing director, was moved to action after hearing about a forgotten war memorial, which bears the names of the 72, at the former St Michael’s Church, now the Masonic Hall for the town’s Lodges. It’s the only memorial totally dedicated to WWI in Shrewsbury.

As a first step, Mr Goddard pledged to pay for the memorial to be cleaned and the company is working with Mr Bishop to organise a service on Monday, August 4, 2014 to mark the centenary of the start of WW1.

Built by public subscription in 1921, the memorial stands beneath a large oak tree near the church and remembers servicemen from various regiments who didn’t return from the war.

“It’s a very touching story of a war memorial that had, until recently, been forgotten and the magnitude of the fact that 72 men from such a small area of Shrewsbury went to war and didn’t come home,” said Mr Goddard. “Some of them worked in the buildings that we now own. I think it’s very important that we remember the ultimate sacrifice made by these 72 men.”

Cllr Tandy said he felt privileged to have been invited to the photocall. “After nearly 100 years we are still remembering these 72 men from this part of Shrewsbury who sacrificed their lives in the First World War,” he added.

Gwendoline Roberts from Bomere Heath and her sister Doreen Swannick of Heath Farm, were there to remember their late uncle Thomas Gwilt, who died at the age of 24 whilst serving with the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry.

“I am thrilled that these 72 men are being remembered after all these years,” said Mrs Roberts, while Mrs Swannick said: “I would like to than Ken Bishop for all his hard work and kindness.”

Looking ahead to the service on August 4 next year, Mr Bishop wants everyone attending to hold a candle and blow it out in recognition of the comment made by Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary from 1905-’16, at the outbreak of WW1: "The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our time".

As Morris Lubricants’ founder James Kent Morris first set up in business as a grocer and candlemaker in Shrewsbury in 1869, Mr Goddard and customer services manager Stuart Holloway plan to make the candles for the service themselves.

“We think it’s fitting that we should make the candles for the service as that is how our business first started,” said Mr Goddard, who now heads Britain’s leading family-owned, independent oil blenders and marketers.