William Shaw, a man on a mission

By Runcorn And Widnes Weekly News on Jan 15, 09 12:03 PM in 1800-1899

SAILORS from all over the world and boatmen and watermen everywhere came to know William Shaw.

As the missioner who served Runcorn's maritime community for nearly half a century, he was, in the words of David Sterry, the speaker at the January meeting of the Runcorn Historical Society, "A remarkable man who left a remarkable legacy for his descendants."

William Shaw's descendants include great-grandson Peter Shaw and he and his family, along with other relatives, were among those who came to hear David Sterry's illustrated talk entitled Mission Ashore.

The speaker became interested in the story of William Shaw when some friends from Warrington approached him and told him they lived next door to a man called Peter Shaw, William's great-grandson.

With the help of history society archivist Alex Cowan and society members Jean and Irvine Popplewell, of Moughland Lane, Runcorn, who supplied him with lots of material, David set about compiling what became a fascinating account of the life of the missioner.

Jean Popplewell (nee Shaw) is the granddaughter of the late Billy Shaw, proprietor of the old tobacco shop in Top Locks.

William Shaw himself first went to sea as a cabin boy at the age of 11 in 1853 and, after serving as a merchant seamen, spent a couple of years in the Royal Navy before joining the Liverpool City Police Force in September 1864, transferring to the River Police in June 1865.

William Shaw was married in Liverpool and he and his wife, Mary, moved to Toxteth, where he joined a Bible class which contained a band of mission workers.

While with the River Police, he figured in several acts of heroism and was awarded a certificate for gallantry for saving a drowning man. He also dived into the river to rescue a woman and continued his shift in his wet clothes, subsequently developing pneumonia.

The Mersey Mission to Seamen was keen to extend its work to Runcorn and William Shaw took the post in 1875, when his wife was carrying their seventh child.

He started his mission work in the old Customs House at the Bottom Locks of the Bridgewater Canal, formerly called St Peter's Mission, and with the help of seven volunteers (four boys and three girls) set about visiting seamen and boatmen in their homes, recording 7,447 visits in one year.

The Shaw family's first home was at 99 Shaw Street, Runcorn, and it was not until 1891 that they moved to 22 Waterloo Road.

Newspaper reports recorded his tireless efforts on behalf of the maritime community and their families, particularly during times of distress as a result of unemployment, a situation exacerbated when the Bridgewater Canal was frozen over and boatmen could not earn any wages. During a four-day period, Shaw's soup kitchens served 468 free meals.

On one Sunday alone, 128 children were regaled with tea and buns. His untiring efforts were recognised by the Mersey Mission to Seaman who awarded him a £10 bonus, to be paid quarterly.

Mary Shaw became more involved in her husband's work, even though there were two more additions to their ever-growing family.

The year 1891 also marked the laying of the foundation stone for the building on Station Road of the town's Mersey Mission to Seamen.

Drunkenness was rife among the maritime community and many sailors were drowned in the local docks when returning to their vessels. As a result, William Shaw was instrumental in paving the way for the formation of the Runcorn Life Saving and Grappling Corps. He raised money to defray the cost of funeral expenses and established seamen's graves in Runcorn Cemetery which can still be seen today.

By 1901 William and Mary's Waterloo Road home was also doubling as a seamen's hospital and Mary worked tirelessly to restore the sailors back to full health.

Their "hospital home" was the forerunner of the old Runcorn Cottage Hospital.
Concluding his absorbing story, David Sterry quoted the words of local historian Bert Starkey: "If ever a man deserved to be remembered it was William Shaw."