TWO ‘remarkable’ Rugbeians from different generations of the town’s history are set to be commemorated in a special peace garden at a town centre church.
St Andrew’s Church has announced plans to create a peace garden in memory of former Lawrence Sheriff School headmaster Dr Rex Pogson, which will also feature a memorial to the Rev Geoffrey Studdert-Kennedy – better known as Woodbine Willie from his time as an army chaplain on the Western Front in the First World War.
The garden will be situated in a quiet grassy spot in front of the church’s west tower.
A plaque will commemorate Dr Pogson and also contain the memorial to Woodbine Willie – whose life, writings and witness Rex greatly admired.
Canon Edmund Newey, the Rector of St Andrew’s, said: ‘We are so pleased that our dear friend Rex is being commemorated alongside one of his great heroes, the poet and priest ‘Woodbine Willie’.
“Rex’s contribution to the life of our town and county was remarkable for its breadth and depth and he is hugely missed by so many people.
“Working closely with Rex’s family and with the Friends of St Andrew’s Church, we look forward to this new Peace Garden being a blessing for all the people of our town.’
Dr Pogson, who died in 2024, was Headmaster of Lawrence Sheriff School from 1985 to 1998, and was active in the community through his work and support for The Bradby Club, The Rotary Club of Rugby, and St Andrew’s Church.
The memorial will be a boulder, mounted on a plinth that will be inscribed with quotations from Rev Studdert-Kennedy’s writings.
A blue plaque commemorating ‘Woodbine Willie’ adorns the wall of a building in nearby Windsor Court that was his home during his time as assistant curate of St Andrew’s from 1910 to 1912.
His nickname refers to the brand of cigarettes he would give to the soldiers he encountered in the daily horrors of the war, though his support was also in words and direct action.
In 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross after going into no man’s land at Messines Ridge to help the wounded.
A campaign to raise £28,000 for the new peace garden will be launched with a special community celebration of music and song at the church on Saturday June 27, at 4pm.
It will be a concert inspired by the life and work of Dr Pogson and will include a variety of contributions drawn from his friends, collaborators and family.
Admission will be free with donations in aid of the peace garden and Myton Hospice.
To make a donation and for more information, email [email protected] or collect a donation form from the church.
