Wilfred Owen Memorial

Outside Shrewsbury Abbey is a memorial to the war poet, Wilfred Owen. Created by Paul de Monchaux, ‘Symmetry’ was commissioned by the Wilfred Owen Association to commemorate his life and work and was unveiled in June 1993.

The sculpture represents pontoon bridges over the Sambre canal where Wilfred Owen was killed, expressing the significance of the poet as bridge builder and communicator. The stark shape is also supposed to represent the structure of the trenches lined with duckboards whilst symmetries in the design reflect symmetries in Owen's poem strange meeting, from which the inscription ‘I am the enemy you killed’ is taken.  

Due to its location, surrounded by trees, the sculpture is inevitably spattered with bird poo which lessens the poignancy of the tribute, but a lot of thought was obviously given to the creation of this monument to a significant poet.

Grounds of Shrewsbury Abbey

Shrewsbury

SY2 6BS

You can read about Wilfred Owen’s statue in Ostwestry here.