The Atkinson Southport paid partnership
People can discover a Great War legend in which frontline soldiers were believed to receive divine aid from St George and his ghostly archers.
The Angel Of Mons exhibition opens at The Atkinson on Lord Street in Southport this Saturday (27th June 2026), running until Saturday 17th October 2026.
Families will be able to view it this Sunday (28th June 2026) as Southport Armed Forces Day takes place inside and outside The Atkinson, at Kings Gardens and other locations in Southport town centre.
One of the most remarkable supernatural phenomena of World War I is said to have occurred 22nd–23rd August 1914 during the Battle of Mons in Belgium. The tale describes a miraculous vision appearing to British troops in their moment of greatest need.
The legend of ‘The Angels of Mons’, inspired by a short story by writer Arthur Machen, quickly captured the imagination of the British public.
At a time when people were searching for hope and meaning, many came to believe that divine forces had intervened. Accounts vary, but often describe Saint George leading phantom bowmen or angels dressed in white.
Presented in partnership with Mons Memorial Museum, this exhibition explores why such beliefs took hold during wartime. It examines the connections between religion, propaganda, and the culture of war, and considers why angels became such powerful symbols of comfort and protection.
Visitors are invited to reflect on the many different realities of war and how people cope in times of crisis.
Sefton has been twinned with Mons in Belgium since 1964 and this exhibition builds on this important relationship and shared history.
This week has been a busy one with the Heritage and Participation Officer at The Atkinson and Mons Memorial Museum Curator Corentin Rousman putting together a fascinating collection of artefacts for the exhibition, some of which have travelled over from Mons.
There are also items which have been loaned by the Altcar Training Camp and from Sefton’s own collection.
Others have been loaned by Wing Commander Steve Chaskin, the former OC of 611 Squadron at RAF Woodvale near Southport.
There will be a video narrated by Southport actor Richard Lloyd-Pary telling the story of The Angels Of Mons.
Alan Taberner, a retired British Army Major and military surgeon, has donated a World War I nurses’ uniform, a stretcher, and other medical related artefacts.
Among objects taking pride of place is a painting of the Battle Of Mons by Marcel Gillis which usually hangs inside Bootle Town Hall. The original painting is in Mons, while Gillis’ second painting of the same scene is here at The Atkinson.
Joanne Chamberlain said: “In the opening throes of World War I, before trench warfare came into force, Mons was the first great battle of the conflict.
“Soldiers from the British Expeditionary Force were fighting alongside French troops when the French line collapsed, leaving the British outnumbered and cornered by the Germans.
“Some of the items show how early in the war this was – the British troops wore cloth caps and not steel helmets; we also have on display some World War I shells, which would burst overhead scattering balls of metal onto the troops below, causing enormous injury.
“The painting we have on display from Bootle Town Hall was painted by an artist who was at the battle. It shows how the shells were bursting overhead and not just into the ground.
“The British troops should never have escaped the German onslaught – but somehow they were able to get away.
“Theye were in a situation they shouldn’t have been able to have escaped – who knows?”
On 29th September 1914, the Welsh author Arthur Machen published a story called ‘The Bowmen’ in The Evening News, inspired by accounts that he had read of the fighting at Mons and an idea he had had soon after the battle.
Machen, who had already written some factual articles on the conflict for the paper, set his story at the time of the retreat from the Battle of Mons in August 1914. The story described phantom bowmen from the Battle of Agincourt, summoned by a soldier calling on St. George, destroying a German host.
Machen’s story was not, however, labelled as fiction. Machen’s story was written from a first-hand perspective.
A month or two later Machen received requests from the editors of parish magazines to reprint the story, which were granted.
The story spread, with many believing what had happened as fact; in later stories, the soldiers were saved by ‘the angels of Mons’, sometimes depicted as angels, sometimes as nurses.
Machen later said: “It seemed that my light fiction had been accepted by the congregation of this particular church as the solidest of facts; and it was then that it began to dawn on me that if I had failed in the art of letters, I had succeeded, unwittingly, in the art of deceit. The snowball of rumour that was then set rolling has been rolling ever since, growing bigger and bigger, till it is now swollen to a monstrous size.”
Variations of the story began to appear, told as authentic histories, including an account that told how the corpses of German soldiers had been found on the battlefield with arrow wounds.
Among items in the exhibition are a First World War nurses’ uniform, a stretcher and other medical equipment, in tribute to the role that medical experts played in the conflict in addition to the troops.
Joanne Chamberlain said: “Nurses have been known as ‘angels’ ever since – we had a TV series about nurses called ‘Angels’ in the 1980s.
“The exhibition opens this Saturday and is also open specially this Sunday, when Southport Armed Forces Day takes place.
“This Sunday we will have lots happening at The Atkinson including World War I re-enactors, who will be in the uniform of the Cheshire Regiment, one of the regiments which fought at Mons.
“They will be walking around, helping to bring the exhibition to life.
Corentin Rousman said: “Our first Museum in Mons opened in 1930. We have had many visitors from Britain and from Canada over the years after the involvement in the battles there.
“We have the St. Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons, where the first British soldier to be killed in World War One, and the last one, are buried.
“There was fighting at Mons in 1914 and in 1918, with the last Canadian soldier there killed just two minutes before the Armistice came into force.
“The city of Mons was not liberated until 11th November 1918 by British and Canadian troops.
“In Mons we also have a large NATO base – if a war were to begin involving NATO, the military decisions being taken would be made in Mons.
“We have been working with Joanne Chamberlain and the team at The Atkinson for the past two years to put this exhibition together.
“We are really pleased to be able to bring some of our objects which we have collected over the years. New artifacts are being donated to us all the time as they are being discovered, some of them by British family members who discover personal possessions in people’s lofts.
“Recently we were donated a British World War One bayonet which was found hidden inside a cellar in Mons. The city was under German occupation for four years, which was perhaps why it was hidden away.
“Mons has long been twinned with Sefton, and we’re pleased to be able to forge new links between people.
“Twinning is not about civic leaders, it’s about real people, and an exhibition like this shares real-life stories of people who were involved in this conflict.
“There are lots of local links. We have a story about a Southport soldier who was injured in the Battle of Mons; we have badges from soldiers of the King’s Regiment in Liverpool, which was one of the regiments which fought there.
“The Angels Of Mons exhibition is all about connecting people, about helping people to learn more about our shared histories.
“It is also about promoting peace and developing friendship and togetherness.
“We are very happy to have been working with Jo and her colleagues at The Atkinson and in Sefton to make all this happen.
“It is a great way of connecting the people of Mons and Sefton, with a lot more happening this year.”
Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Do you need advertising, PR or media support? Please message Andrew Brown or email: [email protected]
