The First UK Permanent Wilfred Owen Exhibition to open in Birkenhead

Wilfred Owen

The first ever permanent UK exhibition to renowned World War I poet Wilfred Owen opens on March 18 in Birkenhead – near where he grew up - just in time for the hundredth anniversary of the start of WW1 in two years time.

He is known for his shocking and realistic war poetry on the horrors of the trenches and gas warfare. Some of his best known works include Dulce et Decorum Est, Anthem for Doomed Youth and Futility. In 1985, Owen was one of the 16 Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey’s Poet’s Corner.

Operating as a information centre and art gallery, The Wilfred Owen Story, at 34 Argyle Street, Birkenhead, is the first designated cultural memorial to the poet anywhere in the North West.
Owen settled in Birkenhead with his family in 1897 when he was four years old in lodgings in the back streets of the town, and left when he was fourteen in 1906, a fact often overlooked in favour of his birthplace in Shropshire.

The influences and experiences of the places he lived and the education he received at Birkenhead Institute gave him the tools to become one of the greatest war poets ever. Owen was killed in action just one week before Armistice Day.

The exhibition opens on the anniversary date of his birthday and it is hoped it will become a focal tourist attraction to inform and guide visitors to the other landmarks that relate to the poet in the town. Argyle Street is steeped in history. Wilfred learned to swim at the public baths there and No. 34 is in a terrace that received an English Heritage Blue Plaque plaque on the same day as the Owens’ home at 7 Elm Grove, Birkenhead. The Argyle Street property received the plaque because the American ambassador signed the end of Slavery Act there.

There will be regular art shows, plus poetry and music workshops and performances, and the community will be encouraged to find and use their voice to the same effect as the iconic figure that the building aims to honour.

The idea for the exhibition came from local songwriter Dean Johnson, who has produced a musical, Bullets and Daffodils, based on Owen’s life and starring Christopher Timothy. Like Owen, Dean is a former old boy of Birkenhead Institute and feels strongly that Wilfred should be honoured in the Wirral

Said Dean: “His profile should be so much higher here. In a couple of years it will be the hundredth anniversary of the start of World War One and there will be huge media interest. The Wirral needs to capitalise on this exposure in a cultural way. The BBC have been in touch already regarding the exhibition and is looking for assistance in making a documentary on Owen’s time here.

“The ethos of The Wilfred Owen Story is for individuals within the community to find their own voice and use it to the same cathartic effect, in the same way as Owen used his. The involvement of the Birkenhead YMCA, as sponsors, fits perfectly with this, and our first guest artist is George Gardner (http://www.birkenheadymca.co.uk/), whose work is simply outstanding, a true original."

There will also be a live performance of Bullets & Daffodils, narrated by John Gorman, at Eaton Estate, Eccleston Cheshire on March 22, in front of The Duke and Duchess of Westminster, tickets are by invitation only but a donation of £20 is required.

The Wilfred Owen Story at 34 Argyle Street, Birkenhead, opens its doors at 3pm on Friday 18 March. Admission is FREE.

Open Tuesday -Saturday 10am -5pm (also open Sunday in July and August)

For more info go to http://www.visitwirral.com/site/attractions-and-activities/the-wilfred-owen-story-and-gallery-p285031

Road Directions

By Car from Liverpool
Use the Queensway (old) tunnel. Stay to the left as you leave the tunnel and double back (lane 20) to the toll booth. Upon leaving the toll booth, turn left after the traffic lights into Market Street. At the end of Market Street you must turn left again into Hamilton Street. Stay on the right and follow road as it curves around to the right. At the traffic lights, turn right into Argyle Street.
By Car from Motorway M53
Leave the M53 immediately after J1 by the dock link road (signed Wallasey, Docks). At roundabout at end of link road, turn right towards Birkenhead, over swing bridge, past oil depot and go straight on at small roundabout. At large roundabout (with church in middle) take third exit, Laird Street, signposted Birkenhead and continue for 1.4 miles (2.2 km), past shops and Birkenhead Market, and turn left at roundabout into Argyle Street.
Public Transport Directions
Public Transport
There is a regular and reliable underground rail link from Liverpool and The Wirral. Take any wirral line train to Hamilton Square station. Leave the station from the main exit and turn right for 50 yards to Hamilton Square. There is then a pleasant stroll through Hamilton Square Gardens and the gallery is just off there on Argyle Street.

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