Storyteller to be remembered

A storyteller and author from Clee Hill who died following a lengthy illness will be remembered in a radio programme.

Dennis Crowther, who lived at Clee Hill all of his life, died on April 20, aged 81, and his funeral took place on Wednesday.

He will be featured on Sunday on Kaleidoscope and the programme will be repeated on Radio Shropshire.

Mr Crowther attended school locally before working in the area. He was a runner for the Home Guard until the end of the war, when he was just 14.

His service in the Home Guard involved running errands between the Clee Hill, Corley and Bitterley platoons. One of his lasting memories of VE Day was being able to have the lights on.

Today Councillor Major Adrian Coles, who has served as the councillor for Clee Hill since 1973, said Mr Crowther was one of the area's most popular and best-known figures. His death was a great source of sadness for many people because he was intrinsically linked with the community of Clee Hill.

Councillor Coles said Mr Crowther was well regarded by those who knew him and would be sadly missed.

Tributes to Mr Crowther have poured in from friends on online websites.

His creative writing about the area was an inspiration to those who had read it.

Another friend, writing on an online tribute website, said: "Dennis was perhaps known most widely as the source of the tune known as Clee Hill, but he was a singer, storyteller, poet, musician and a much-loved all-round entertainer."

Mr Crowther's best-known work was The Battle of Titterstone Clee, which recounted his days in the Home Guard. The work made reference to local characters with whom he served, parts of the Clee Hills and some of the duties he performed.