A fitting tribute to Martin Wood, the world’s tallest and second-longest serving Town Crier in the world!
Standing at an impressive 7ft 2in, the town crier of Shrewsbury is a familiar face in the area.
Martin Wood is not only the world’s tallest Town Crier, he is also the second-longest serving Town Crier having been ‘Oh Yay-ing’ for an impressive 40 years!
As a fitting tribute to his service, the Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery has installed an exhibition to celebrate his dedication to the role, and I was delighted to be invited to attend a pre-launch of his exhibition on Friday 31 May, which featured the unveiling of a specially commissioned oil painting by local artist Jacob Gourley, proudly displayed as the exhibition’s centrepiece.
Curated by the editor of My Shrewsbury Magazine, Katy Rink alongside Maggie Love who is a town guide, the exhibition is being held between Saturday 1 June and Sunday 23 June. Whenever possible, Martin will be there in person to happily sign autographs, and on the days when he can’t be there in person, there is a life-size cut-out of him!
Currently, in the UK alone there are over 800 Town Criers, and their roles involve sharing both good and sad news, including Royal proclamations.
In fact, one of Martin’s happiest announcements in his four decades as a Town Crier was leading the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday announcement at Clarence House back in August 2000, when he broke into song singing ‘happy birthday’ and the surrounding crowds joined in.
Along with seeing his portrait being unveiled, I decided that he was truly deserving of a High Sheriff’s Award, which I was delighted to surprise him with.
If you do get chance to visit the exhibition at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, it’s well worth a visit and thoroughly receommended.