Freddie, or “Scoop”

Alfred William Bowdler
1898 - 1979

Freddie, or “Scoop”, has he was called, was born in Malinslee in 1898, and was baptised at Dawley Church on 26 th June 1898. He was the son of William Henry, a nail maker, and Elizabeth Bowdler.

He was well known in the Dawley area, and worked has a newspaper correspondent for the Wellington Journal and Shrewsbury News; hence the nickname “Scoop”. He was always prepared to get his scoop first, and would always take his bicycle with him where-ever he went; even when walking the dog.

Fred had an inquisitive mind; one story is told about him buying a new television set from Kendall’s in Dawley. A few days later, he took it to pieces, and when he put it back together again, he’d got a couple of pieces left over. He phoned Kendall’s to ask where they went, and Mr Kendall told him that he should not do such things, as the television was still under guarantee. Fred replied that it was his and he was entitled to find out how it worked.

It is strongly believed that Fred was the first to come up with the idea of Dawley Newtown accommodating the overspill people from Birmingham. He had voiced the idea in an article in a Birmingham newspaper in 1955.