Morgan War Memorial Rededicated

The service was attended by senior directors from Morgan, current and past employees from the Stourport facility, relatives of the six men, and representatives from the Royal British Legion and the Army Reserve.

It was performed by Rev Jan Ashton, Team Vicar from Kidderminster.  Lt Col Simon Halliday TD RA, Morgan’s Director of Strategic Programmes who also serves in the Army Reserve, laid the wreath on behalf of the company.

The six – Robert Edward Burrows, Albert Walter Farley, Charles Edward Hinton, Thomas Moule, Thomas Henry Vale and Robert Wilkes – were among dozens of employees of the then ICI Steatite facility called up for active service in World War II.

The memorial, originally erected in the 1950s, was sensitively relocated a few years ago when the construction of new housing began nearby and is now located by the new main entrance to the Morgan facility. It has been topped with a new memorial stone provided by Morgan Advanced Materials to ensure the historic integrity of the memorial is respected and preserved for many more years to come.

Paul Manison of Morgan Advanced Materials explained: “With this year marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, it seemed an appropriate time to rededicate the war memorial. Six men from the company which has become Morgan Advanced Materials lost their lives serving their country and the memorial serves as a constant reminder to all our employees and visitors of the ultimate sacrifice they made.”