HMS Shropshire and Atcham

 

This plaque, now on display in Shrewsbury Castle Military Museum, was a gift from The Admiralty to Atcham Rural Council in 1943.  Atcham is a village in Shropshire not far from Shrewsbury.
The council was one of those to ‘adopt’ a ship during the Second World War: adoption meant a number of things, from knitting socks for the sailors to financial aid.  Curiously, it must have been very soon after this presentation (perhaps?) that HMS Shropshire was gifted to the Royal Australian Navy, as it was in late 1943.

Interestingly, this is another example of a single loggerhead; and another instance of the tongue being depicted in a 'disc', not lolling, shape. The shape - presumably - is a protruding tongue which is then folded over.  Is that right? Does anyone know the true interpretation?

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Bloody place

 
This loggerheads design is the standard one for Shrewsbury Borough Council (as was) in the 1930s - flaring fur, very red tongues, staring slightly to their left. 

You'll find it on the 'execution plaque' at the top of Pride Hill in the centre of Shrewsbury.

This marks the spot (almost) where Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the last prince of an independent Wales was executed in 1283, not to mention some rebels of the 1403 rebellion.
The plaque was erected by Shrewsbury Borough Council sometime in the first half of the last century.

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Wide-mouthed loggerheads

 

This small plaque appears over the door on Wesley House in Shrewsbury's Fish Street. The building dates back to the 1400s; it's so named because John Wesley, the founder of the Methodists, preached from it in 1761.
In 2019, it was converted - in a respectful way - and is now a bed & breakfast.

The plaque is not be confused with an insurance mark, but it's not quite clear what its function is - if indeed it has one. Certainly these particular loggerheads have the widest mouths of all loggerheads we've seen!

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