Edward Slow is remembered as the county's "dialect poet", and although his verse appears quaint to modern ears and is humorous, it would be wrong to class him as somebody who played on the novelty of the dialect, purely for effect.

Sometimes writing more than a century ago, Slow was helping to document and preserve a way of speaking that was rapidly dying out, although there were still plenty of older people around who spoke in that dialect and accent. He was also responsible for bringing the legend of the Wiltshire Moonraker to a wider audience.

So it's no surprise that Alfred would have been attracted to Edward as a fellow social historian and conservationist - and vice versa, Alfred doing his bit by his efforts to preserve the lyrics of folk songs.

It's not known whether the two ever met, but we do know that Alfred presented a copy of Cor Cordium to Edward, as the book now belongs to poetry expert and Friends of Alfred Williams member Roy Burton. Alfred also owned at least one copy of a Slow publication - still preserved by Swindon Library and Museum Service - and even he even wrote a poem about Slow.

The new website, which has been compiled by Alan Doel, a descendant of Slow's, includes a biography, photographs and transcriptions of some of Slow's works.

Edward Slow - Wiltshire Moonraker website

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