‘Hitler’ pub sign may be changed

Nov 8 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

A PUB in Wirral could be forced to change its sign, after locals dubbed it “the Adolf” because of its resemblance to the Nazi leader.

The JD Wetherspoon pub, John Masefield, has a portrait of the former Poet Laureate hanging outside it to celebrate its connection with the famous writer, who trained for a life at sea aboard HMS Conway, then moored in the Mersey.

How-ever, the part- icular image chosen to represent the connec- tion bears such an uncanny resemblance to Adolf Hitler that locals have now taken to call- ing it “the Adolf” days before it is even due to open.

Eddie Gershon, spokesman for JD Weth- erspoons, said the port- rait had been prepared “in good faith” and they had been unaware of the resemblance.

But Mr Gershon said they were taking the issue “very seriously” and would look at whether it needed to be changed.

He stressed that the similarity was accidental, and added: “It’s not our intention to cause offence.”

Local councillor Steve Niblock said he had noticed the similarity in the sign and, when a taxi driver told him the pub, on New Chester Road, New Ferry, was being referred to as “the Adolf”, had contacted Wetherspoons about it.

Cllr Niblock said: “I said to Wetherspoons if you put ‘John Mase- field’ into a search engine you get all sorts of different pictures of him and it’s just unfort- unate they chose one which looks like this.”

liammurphy@dailypost.co.uk