Shropshire Star

Ceremony for naming of Oswestry town green after Wilfred Owen

The sounding of the Last Post and a release of doves of peace will be part of a poignant ceremony to mark the official naming of Oswestry's town green after First World War poet Wilfred Owen.

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The sounding of the Last Post and a release of doves of peace will be part of a poignant ceremony to mark the official naming of Oswestry's town green after First World War poet Wilfred Owen.

Residents and visitors are invited to attend the ceremony for the opening of the Wilfred Owen Green on Saturday from 1pm.

Guest of honour will be Peter Owen, the nephew of the Oswestry-born war poet, who will read some of his uncle's poetry.

The event has been organised by Shropshire Council's outdoor recreation team, which has been at the forefront of the transformation of the former railway land off the Gobowen Road.

Peter Owen said: "I am, and we all are, delighted by the council's decision to name Oswestry's town green as Wilfred Owen Green.

"With his interest in nature Wilfred would be delighted.

"Tom Owen, my grandfather, would also be particularly pleased, since it was his interest in nature that he passed on to his sons and my father Colin.

"It was when walking though damp fields that Harold's shoes were covered in buttercups and Wilfred remarked they were covered in gold. It was a phrase that Wilfred remembered and used in his poem 'Spring Offensive'."

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