Living stories behind graves

A cemetery is not, concedes Shropshire author and local historian Peter Francis, something which readily springs to mind as a subject for a book.

But he is hoping to grab people’s attention and interest with his new book - “A Matter of Life and Death, The Secrets of Shrewsbury Cemetery” - which delves into the living stories behind the gravestones in the county town’s cemetery.

“I think people will be intrigued. I think it will catch people’s attention because it’s slightly different, and slightly quirky. When they read it they will enjoy it because in a way it’s the story of Shrewsbury.

“A lot of the luminaries of the town are buried in the cemetery and by telling the story of their lives I’m telling the story of the town from an unusual angle,” he said.

Mr Francis is from Snailbeach, and his book will be launched at Snailbeach village hall on Tuesday, November 14, at 7.30pm, with a display of photographs, entertainment, and refreshments.

Mr Francis said: “I have a longstanding interest in local history. A friend of mine had done a fair bit of research about some aspects of the cemetery - the military aspects, and one or two others - and at my request took me on a tour of the cemetery pointing out interesting graves.

“That got me fascinated, and thinking that there must be lots of stories there to be told. When I started to look into it it was almost as if there was a book that had to be written. There were stories there which I thought ought to be told.

“There are some fairly well known people buried there, fascinating people who have led interesting lives, and those who have died in tragic or heroic ways, whose stories have been forgotten, and deserve to be told.

“The more I looked into it, the more fascinating it became. I have always been somebody who loves wandering around graveyards and reading the inscriptions. When you talk to people, their first reaction is that a cemetery is a strange subject for a book. But then they will say that in truth they enjoy wandering around cemeteries too.

“The book almost wrote itself in a way.”

Mr Francis, who is a mediator for Acas, began researching the book in his spare time about three years ago.

“One job I had to do was wander around the cemetery reading inscriptions and noting the ones that sounded interesting, and then there were many hours spent in the archives office, in particular looking through the back copies of the Shrewsbury Chronicle, where you quite often come across an obituary of a particular person.”

Among those buried in the cemetery are many of Shrewsbury’s mayors, people who have died in wars including two who fought in the historic Charge of the Heavy Brigade in the Crimean War, and even some German and Italian prisoners-of-war.

There are too victims of tragedies, such as drownings in the River Severn, rail crashes, and fires.

High profile figures like footballing legend Arthur Rowley, author Mary Webb, and Hilda Murrell, whose murder gave rise to many conspiracy theories, are also commemorated in the cemetery.

Mr Francis has written or been involved with several previous books, including “Hasty Pudding & Kettle Broth”, “On The High Road” and, with others, “Never On A Sunday”.

However, he said: “This is the first book I have done commercially, if you know what I mean. It’s an exciting adventure for me. It’s the first one where I have sold the idea to a commercial publisher, and they have said ‘yes, we will run with that.’ I would like to pay tribute to the publisher. Anybody who can look at a book about a cemetery and see its commercial possibilities gets my vote.”

* “A Matter of Life and Death, The Secrets of Shrewsbury Cemetery” is published by Logaston Press, and costs £9.95.