Plaque Text
Captain George Augustus Graham
and Rednock
Erected to commemorate the contribution that Captain Graham made to the community of Dursley and his efforts reviving the Irish Wolfhound. This school building stands on the site of the country estate previously known as Oaklands, renamed Rednock by Captain Graham when he came to live here in 1865.
Born in Bath in 1833, an early pupil of Cheltenham College, George Graham's family had a strong military background and links to the Scottish Grahams of Rednock House, Port of Menteith in Perthshire. In 1852 he was commissioned into the 28th Native Infantry and served with several Bengal Army regiments in Northern India until 1862. On returning to Britain, Graham settled at Rednock where he embarked on a personal mission, lasting more than 40 years, to save the Irish Wolfhound from extinction. Through a controlled breeding programme and merticulous recording of pedigrees, the Irish Wolfhound was re-established. Graham founded the Irish Wolfhound Club in 1885, of which he was president until 1908. It was at his suggestion that the Irish Guards adopted an Irish Wolfhound as Regimental Mascot.
Within the Dursley community Captain Graham was an influential figure. He served as a magistrate, becoming Chairman of the Dursley Bench, was the first Chairman of the Parish Council and took an active part in the local church and sporting organisations.
He died here at Rednock in 1909 and is buried with his wife, Lydia Caroline, at St.Mark's Church in the town.
Erected in 2009, the centenary of Captain Graham's death, through the generosity of the international Irish Wolfhound community.