World’s first permanent Wilfred Owen exhibition opens in Wirral

Mar 19 2011 by Lorna Hughes, Liverpool Echo

THE world’s first permanent exhibition dedicated to war poet Wilfred Owen opened in Wirral.

Owen lived in Birkenhead between the ages of four and 14 and was a pupil at the Birkenhead Institute.

He was killed a week before Armistice Day but became one of the most celebrated of the war poets. His work, including masterpiece Dulce et Decorum Est, is still widely studied.

The Mayor of Wirral Councillor Alan Jennings opened the exhibition and gallery in Argyle Street yesterday on what would have been Owen’s birthday.

It will focus on the importance of his formative years in the town which organisers believe has been overlooked in favour of his birthplace in Shropshire.

The man behind the exhibition, singer-songwriter Dean Johnson, is also a former pupil of the Birkenhead Institute.

He hopes the gallery will help establish a formal tourist attraction, guiding visitors to other landmarks in the town associated with the poet.

The gallery is split into three main areas focusing on Owen’s childhood in Birkenhead, the war and his poetry.