Following permission from the NHS landowners the Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD) on behalf of our community are delighted to announce that an official unveiling of a noticeboard entitled Rowlands Dell will be undertaken on Saturday 13.4.24, at 10:30 hours, within the Dell, and will be unveiled by the late Dr John Rowlands family.

We are immensely grateful to the following organisations who have part funded the noticeboard to provide a legacy, historical context, updates, inform and invite support and engagement: Dowhigh Construction, the Co-op, Merseyside Police Resilience Fund, and Lemon Landscapes for the free installation.

NHS Wellness Dell Project.

After three years of consultation we have identified a three-year plan to restore the Dell as a safe, accessible haven for wildlife and health and wellness for the community, in which we hope to use the evidence-based wellness principles by bringing together blue and green.

In preparation, over the last 25 consecutive weeks our volunteers have strimmed, flailed, and continue to rake out 173 bin bags of rubbish, mountains of rubble debris, 30 agricultural bags plus 2 ½ tons of dominant damaging Irish Ivy, and created a wildlife friendly hedge utilising 300 trees and power hosed this path.

The NHS in August are funding a sunken garden and picnic/viewing area, creating a dry waterfall feature and a natural path that will provide a walkway partially around the circumference. Later, on in the year we hope to raise further funds to populate the whole Dell with zones of woodland planting.

We really can’t thank our hard-working cheerful volunteers enough for their generosity of time, endeavour and spirit.

You are welcome to attend, but space will be limited on the path.

Best Wishes,

FOMD

Together Making Maghull a Better Place to Live.

More information on our website: www.fomd.co.uk under the events tab.

Agenda.

• 1040 Dr Frank Sharp: introduce – FOMD, the Dell Project, and convey our gratitude to our brilliant supporters.
• 1045 Dr Peter Chamberlain (the current partner of the Westway Medical Centre)
• 1050 Mayor of Maghull – Cllr Ken Hughes who will describe the unrivalled contribution that Dr John Rowlands has given to Maghull.
• 1055 Mrs Catherine Rowlands – to undertake the unveiling of the Rowlands Dell noticeboard
• 1100 Photographs.
• 1105 Retire to the Hare and Hounds Pub.

Dr John Rowlands

John’s, service to Maghull has been second to none from award-winning GP¹ who co-founded the Maghull Medical Centre to unrivalled local historian².

John Kendrew Rowlands was born in County Durham, educated in Middlesbrough, graduated at Durham University in 1963 and had a variety of significant appointments in the north-east and London. He became a GP in 1971 and in 1974 he joined the pioneering Drs. R. Yorke, J. Rowlands and partners, in Maghull, until his retirement in 2002. Alongside his GP role he supported Sefton FPC, was a Medical Officer at Ashworth Hospital, lectured at Liverpool University and much more. The numerous heartfelt accounts on social media from his past patients demonstrates the high esteem he was held in, not only for his professionalism and compassion but the fact that he would often go above and beyond to support and reassure them at all times of the day/night with home visits. One of his many pioneering undertakings, involved establishing links between Alzheimer’s disease and sports related head trauma, almost 20 years before this became the accepted wisdom! He also appeared as a medical expert on numerous TV and radio programs.

Vocationally, John has written more fascinating books on the history of Maghull than anybody, which even resulted in an abundance of blue plaques around the town, indicating where famous historical residents lived. His work has also highlighted the unique pioneering role that Moss Side Hospital played in providing treatment for shellshock now known as PTSD, which prevented countless World War I soldiers being tragically shot for cowardice. He has also been a keen authority and author of many historical books on local footballers and teams.

John was our family GP when his surgery was in a semi-detached house on Liverpool Road South, before co-founding the Maghull Medical Centre. Whilst more recently we had the privilege of sharing time together as part of the commissioning process for the statue ‘Compassion in Conflict’ at Maghull North train station (2018) which commemorated Moss Side Hospital’s (School Lane, Maghull) pioneering treatment of World War I shellshock (see his interview on BBC NW Tonight³).

We will miss John for his incredible intellect, wonderful humour, storytelling, compassion, and kindness. We really can’t think of anyone who has given more to Maghull, consequently we hope ‘Rowlands Dell’ will be a living legacy to commemorate and celebrate his immense contribution.

When you are lonely and sick of heart,

Go to the friends that we know,

Bury your sorrows in doing good,

Miss me, but let me go.