Living war memorial planted in 1928
OUT of the many war memorials in the Black Country, the Coseley Ave- nue of Remembrance is one of the most unique. The Avenue was planted in 1928, the year after the Birmingham New Road was opened and trees were planted for around three miles in memory of servicemen from the Coseley Urban District who gave their lives in the First World War.
The Urban District of Coseley was a large area formed when the huge parish of Sedgley was divided. The Urban District consisted of four villages of the ancient Sedgley manor and parish with Coseley at the centre and it stretched from Parkfields in the north to Woodsetton and Parkes Hall in the south and from Sedgley Beacon in the west to Bradley, Princes End and Gospel Oak in the east, bordering on Wednesbury steelworks. It was stated around 350 trees were planted in memory of Coseley men, however the exact number has been lost, despite research I carried out at Dudley Archives. Each tree was also said to have a metal disc with the serviceman’s name and number, but after extensive enquiries with Dudley and Wolverhampton councils, no trace of what happened to the discs was ever found.
Although Dudley Council erected a new memorial on the area known as Grange Park opposite Silver Jubilee Park in the 1990s that also mentioned the Avenue of Remembrance, the full length of the trees was still not recognised or acknowledged, and those in Wolverhampton’s part of the former Urban District weren’t recognised at all at the time, probably due to the loss of history and heritage with Coseley’s 1966 division between three councils, the third being West Bromwich which became Sandwell in 1974.
From 2012 to 2015 I researched the number of men from the Coseley Urban District who died in the First World War and I found a total of 379. Research had separately been carried out by Lawson Hunt from Sedgley Local History Society and Coseley war researcher Michael Harris has also researched the servicemen. At the same time I started my research I contacted Dudley and Wolverhampton councils to raise their awareness of the memorial trees. By 2012 only around 28 original trees were left and I felt it important for Dudley and Wolverhampton to both recognise their significance as a memorial. In order to create a near complete row of trees from Parkfields to Priory Road, both councils planted more trees and now recognised that all trees along this stretch of the Birmingham New Road are memorial trees, both originals, later additions and new plantings.
Wolverhampton Council also created a stone memorial to acknowledge the Avenue of Remembrance in their part of Coseley and in the last few years Michael Harris campaigned
379 men from Coseley Urban District died in the First World War
for a larger memorial for Grange Park which was erected behind the 1990s memorial. This stone also contains the Coseley coat of arms and an additional memorial was created for Grange Park commemorating Thomas Barratt, VC. Thomas was a private in the South Staffordshire Regiment who was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously and he was the only Coseley serviceman to be awarded this honour. Other servicemen from Coseley who died in the First World War did receive other honours, Sergeant Harold Pearce was awarded the Military Medal and Private Edwin Langford was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Many Coseley families lost two sons in the First World War, including my greatgreat-grandparents from Wallbrook whose sons William and James Caddick
lost their lives. James died in Amara military hospital in Iraq and William died in action at Loos and sadly he was never found, but is commemorated on the Loos memorial. One family from Swan Village lost three sons, John, George and William Perks, while two families lost both father and son, George T. Lloyd senior and junior from Parkfields and Joseph and David Elwell from the Coseley part of Bradley.
Among the other men who lost their lives were Private Reverend William H. Dimmock who was the minister of Bradley Methodist Church (which was in Coseley, not Bilston) and who had previously been minister of Hurst Hill Methodist Church. William had served as a regular private. Private Norman Binns who died was the son of a former mini ster of Bradley Methodist Church, while Private James Jeffreys Walker was the son of the vicar of St Chad’s Church. Another serviceman who gave his life was Private John Shipton, son of Emma Shipton from the Gospel Oak pub, who was well
known as Mother Shipton. Out of all the soldiers, sailors and one airman who died, only one had an officer rank. He was Second Lieutenant Mervyn Fellows from The Gorge, Hurst Hill. I also have a distant family connection to Mervyn Fellows as his sister married one of my grandad’s uncles.
When the Avenue of Remembrance was planted in May 1928, a ceremony was organised that included First World War veterans and was conducted by the vicar of St Chad’s Church, Reverend J.C. Rose, who had replaced Reverend Walker by this time and the vicar was assisted by Reverend A.L. Barnes, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. The Reverend Rose was also an honorary chaplain to the armed forces. The Express and Star reported on May 28, 1928, that the Last Post and Reveille were played by the South Staffordshire Regiment and the National Anthem was performed by the 6th Battalion of the South Staffordsshire Regiment.
Although the plantings by Dudley and Wolverhampton councils between 2012 and 2015 have resulted in a complete avenue of trees again, out of the original trees planted in 1928 only 24 remain. There are three at Parkfields, two at Lanesfield, one by the corner of Ivyhouse Lane near Roseville and one opposite Vicarage Road West as the Birmingham New Road heads towards the Sedgley Road junction. However, a near complete row still exists in the Deepfields area between Rookery Road and just south of Meadow Lane. Four more of the original trees were lost to disease between 2012 and 2016.
I have created a website about the Coseley Memorial Trees that features many photos of the surviving original trees as well as replacement trees from the 1950s and ’60s and more recent plantings. The website also includes images of the memorials at Roseville and Lanesfield as well as a list of all Coseley servicemen who gave their lives. In addition, the website also gives details of all the other Coseley memorials including those at churches, as well as memorials outside the Coseley area where men from the district are commemorated. Hopefully my website will give more people an awareness of the Coseley Avenue of Remembrance and the significance of the trees that run for around three miles along the Birmingham New Road. My website can be found at www. mattm7924.wixsite.com/coseleyme morialtrees