'Rare' man who 'helped shape' Merseyside town laid to rest

Former Birkenhead MP Frank Field was laid to rest at one of Merseyside’s most historic sites.

The former Labour minister and crossbench peer, who represented the town of Birkenhead from 1979 until 2019, has been buried at Birkenhead Priory - which was followed by a memorial service on June 17. Although Mr Field was originally from London, local politicians and his family said he came to love the town of Birkenhead for its people and stood up for them.

In April 2024, it was announced he had died and tributes came in from across the political spectrum.

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Those who spoke to the ECHO at the memorial service said he was a leader in his approach to politics and his Christian faith, working late hours to help people, lobbying for Cammell Laird shipyard contracts, and how he “played a big part in shaping the culture of our town.” Many people in the town still remember him and feel he added a personal touch to politics.

Lord Field’s final resting place can be found near the entrance of the priory’s chapter house which was built in 1150 and now remains the oldest building still standing in the whole of Merseyside. The site, which is completely free to visit, is open between 1pm and 5pm Wednesday to Friday and between 10am and 5pm at the weekend.

In the Liverpool ECHO in 2016, Lord Field wrote that he often visited the site and praised the volunteers there as “this group of people that keep the Priory open, both for us golden oldies but, more importantly, for schools.

He added that the chapel "possesses a wonderful Ninian Comper window," adding: "Only beautiful people appear in Comper windows, and he was a couple of generations before modern advertising sold its products by emphasising human beauty."

On June 17, his younger brother Peter told the ECHO: “He saw something in Birkenhead which possibly nobody else saw. The resilience in the people.

"The wanting to do things and to work,” adding: “It’s heart wrenching, really tearful. My daughter said to me “thank god the service is over in London because that was quite big” and I said “don’t you worry about that darling because it’s going to be nothing to what Birkenhead does” and I was proved right.

“The people turned out. He was a one off, absolutely a one off. Didn’t care for himself too much and sometimes I think he cared for other people too much and neglected himself a little bit.”

Dame Patricia Routledge DBE who spoke at the memorial service said Lord Field was “a rare person” and it moved her, as someone from Birkenhead, how passionate he was about the town. She added: “I enjoyed a rich friendship with Frank Field for nearly 40 years and we would meet in London and dine together. I had wonderful conversations with him.”

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