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A GENIUS REMEMBERED. The scene around Housman's statue at his birthday commemoration.

A CROWD of more than 50 people gathered in the High Street to pay homage to one of England's best loved poets 149 years after his birth in Bromsgrove.

Among those who assembled around the statue of Alfred Housman last Wednesday afternoon on the anniversary of his birth at Fockbury was Hilary Stookey, who had travelled to Bromsgrove from her home in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, especially for the occasion.

Hilary was joined by members of the Housman Society - which organised the event - civic dignitaries, councillors and other prominent townspeople.

The Court Leet bailiff and reeve, in full regalia, added a splash of colour to the proceedings.

The gathering of invited guests and a sprinkling of onlookers was welcomed by town crier Kevin Ward. He handed over to society chairman Jim Page, who welcomed their special guest Jeremy Bourne.

Jeremy, a former master at Bromsgrove School, is the editor of the Housman Journal and the author of Seventy Years at Bromsgrove School and The Westerly Wanderer - his excellent biography of AE Housman.

He later read two of Housman's poems reflecting his schooldays.

Jim Page, in a short address, said that even though some think Housman is unfashionable, it is right that the birthday of Bromsgrove's most famous son is celebrated.

"We are gearing ourselves up for a special 150th celebration next year," said Jim.

Later the guests were entertained to a buffet lunch at Housman Hall in Kidderminster Road, formerly Perry Hall, where Housman and his family lived. During the meal three youngsters, who had won a poetry reading contest organised by the society last year, each read two poems - one by Housman the other of their choice.

The three youngsters were Tom Fullwood and Elizabeth Leather, of Bromsgrove School, and Shannon Franklin, a pupil at North Bromsgrove High School. Hilary said her trip was very worthwhile. Her love of Housman's poems stemmed from her late father Raymond Grove. "He used to recite Housman when, as a young girl, he took me on walks in the country," she said. An engineer by profession, who made among other items bottle openers in his Birmingham factory, the Grove family lived for a time in Blackwell.

Raymond was well known in Bromsgrove, especially for his association with the Conservative party.

9:43am Friday 28th March 2008

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