Pictured above 6th Earl of Dartmouth,
Prince of Wales and Viscount Lewisham
Photograph courtesy of Terry Price showing the Prince of Wales meeting First World War Veterans in Dartmouth Park |
Visit to Dartmouth Park
of Edward, Prince of Wales,
in 1923
In 1923 the extremely popular Prince of Wales, visited the West Midlands, and part of his tour was to attend a ceremony in West Bromwich to officially hand over the freehold of Dartmouth Park and to attend the unveiling of the new War Memorial by the 6th Earl. The freehold of the park was given to West Bromwich by the 6th Earl and I quote: “in recognition of the share West Bromwich men have had in our victory and especially in memory of those who have fallen in the war, some of whom served with and under Lord Lewisham on the East Coast of Egypt and in Palestine………..He ends by saying: “our wishes and intentions are that Dartmouth Park should remain for all time an open space for the benefit of the people.”
Memories of people who were present on the day -
Jean Hill remembers her mom, who would have been 13 years old at the time telling her about the day being a great treat. At the time she was attending Lyng Lane School and on the morning of the Prince’s visit all the school children in West Bromwich were walked up to the Park and waited around the War Memorial for the Prince to arrive. They were given a bun to eat whilst they waited. Her comment on the visit was how handsome he was and what a treasured memory for them all.
Mrs Margaret Little remembers her father, Maurice Jones, who was also present when the Prince visited the Park, telling her of his proud moment with the Prince. He was a Grenadier Guard and one of the guards of honour for the Prince and it was Maurice who very proudly opened the door of the car for the Prince on his arrival. |
