Wirral Arts: Permanent Wilfred Owen exhibition to open in Wirral

Mar 2 2011 By Liam Murphy

THE UK’s first permanent exhibition commemorating war poet Wilfred Owen will open in Merseyside later this month.

Owen lived in Birkenhead between the ages of four and 14, attending the Birkenhead Institute.

He was tragically killed a week before Armistice Day, but became one of the most celebrated of the war poets and is widely studied to this day.

The opening of the exhibition will take place on March 18 – Owen’s birthday – and the gallery will focus on the importance of his formative years in the town, often overlooked in favour of his birthplace in Shropshire.

The man behind the exhibition is singer-songwriter Dean Johnson, also a former pupil of the Birkenhead Institute, who said it was time a permanent reminder was put in place to mark the famous poet’s relationship with Birkenhead and Wirral.

He said the gallery will help establish a formal tourist attraction informing and guiding visitors to other landmarks relating to the poet in the town.

Mr Johnson, who has produced a musical based on Owen’s life, entitled Bullets and Daffodils, starring Christopher Timothy, said: "His profile should be so much higher.

"In a couple of years, it will be the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One. There will be huge media interest and Wirral needs to capitalise on this exposure in a cultural way.

"The BBC has been in touch already regarding the exhibition, and is looking for assistance in making a documentary on Owen’s time here."

The gallery will be split into three main areas, focusing on his childhood in Birkenhead, the war and his poetry.

Mr Johnson said: "There are a lot of urban myths about him. Because he was a poet, people think he was snobbish and did not like Birkenhead, but he did – a lot.

"At the time he lived here, Birkenhead had 46 theatres and he was an avid theatregoer. For someone like him, a culture vulture, it was great.

"His brother described his Birkenhead years as the most happy he had."

The opening of the gallery will be sponsored by The Birkenhead YMCA, which is also keen to display artwork by its residents, people who have turned adversity into creativity and changed their lives around. Mr Johnson said: "The ethos of The Wilfred Owen Story is for individuals in 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 YMCA 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. "George has known terrible setbacks in his life but he has found an outlet in his art to come to terms with these and move forward."

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