Storm-Swept Memorial Bench Returns Home After 80 Mile Voyage

A bench washed away from Wales during a storm. It traveled eighty miles up the coast. The bench ended up in Cumbria. People found the bench on a beach there. This bench was a tribute to Bill Batcock.

The bench was swept into the Irish Sea last December. Strong winds carried it from Anglesey. A Facebook group discovered the bench, and members contacted Bill’s daughter, Helen Wharton. Helen was very surprised by the news.

Helen said her dad was an adventurer and thinks he’d find it funny. He loved the outdoors very much. The family didn’t know it was missing, and Storm Darragh took it in December.

Helen received a message with a photo asking if it was her bench. She couldn’t believe it, and said it was strange. Helen lives in Warrington now.

The bench was placed on Anglesey. It sat at Bull Head near Bull Bay. The location honored Mr. Batcock, who loved the Welsh coast and mountains. He passed away from leukaemia in 2018.

He wanted the bench there for the view, overlooking the sea and mountains. The bench had words from his poem, and the inscription said, “For me, it has to be the sea.” Helen thinks it’s ironic now.

She said the bench’s journey was lovely and noted that the plaque intrigued locals. Helen said her dad would never stay put and it felt typical of him.

Helen and her family are going to Cumbria. They will collect the bench this Friday and plan to return it to Anglesey. It will go back to its original spot.