St. Helens Memorial Shelter
The St. Helens Memorial Shelter, positioned on the Green, at the corner of Upper Green Road and Vine Road, was erected in 1951 in memory of Dr. Wilfred Metcalfe Chambers, of Upper Green who had been the St. Helens doctor from 1936 until his death in November 1948.
The Shelter was built by Weaver Brothers of Bembridge and funded by public subscription and donations of materials. About £125 had been raised by subscription, predominately from St. Helens people plus a donation from Mr. Chua Toh Hus, a Singapore Chinese merchant who had been a patient of Dr. Chambers when he was principle medical officer in British Malaya. Dr. Chambers moved to St. Helens after he retired from his Malayan appointment.
As well as the financial contributions, the tiles were given by Lady Baldwin from buildings on her Castle House estate; the oak beams were fashioned from oak grown on Sir John Thornycroft's estate at Steyne, Bembridge, and were given by him; the stone flags around the shelter were given by Ryde Corporation; and Weaver Brothers of Bembridge gave the memorial plaque.
The shelter was dedicated by the Ven. E. J. K. Roberts (Archdeacon) on the last Sunday of August 1951.[1]
In 2001 the Shelter was refurbished by the Isle of Wight Council and furnished by St. Helens Parish Council. An additional inscription was added to the plaque in memory of Mark Chappell, a local youth who had died following a motor accident in March 1988.
- ↑ Isle of Wight County Press, 1 September 1951
