Monument to the Women of World War II

Monument to the Women of World War II
United Kingdom

Monument to the Women of World War II (looking west)
For the Women of the Second World War
Unveiled 9 July 2005 (2005-07-09)
Location 51°30′13″N 0°07′34″W / 51.5035°N 0.1262°W / 51.5035; -0.1262 (Monument to the Women of World War II)
Monument to the Women of World War II (looking north)

The Monument to the Women of World War II is a British national war memorial situated on Whitehall in London, to the north of the Cenotaph. It was sculpted by John W. Mills, unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II and dedicated by Baroness Boothroyd in July 2005.

Fundraising was conducted by a charitable trust set up for the purpose of establishing a memorial, with the National Heritage Memorial Fund donating towards the project. Baroness Boothroyd also raised money on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Origins

The idea for a memorial was raised with retired Major David McNally Robertson in 1997, who was informed that, while many countries had a national monument to the work that women undertook during the Second World War, the UK did not.[1] Previous campaigns had only been limited to attempting to generate funds for a plaque in York Minster with Robertson, and former gunners Edna Storr and Mildred Veal leading the campaign.[2] A fundraising trust was founded, with Baroness Boothroyd, Dame Vera Lynn and the Princess Royal joining.[1] Boothroyd became patron of the trust, with Dame Vera and the Princess Royal becoming vice–patrons. The remaining vice–patrons were John Grogan, MP for Selby; Hugh Bayley, the MP for City of York; Baroness Finlay of Llandaff and Robert Crawford.[3]

The National Heritage Memorial Fund gave £934,115 towards the cost of the memorial,[3] while £800,000 was raised by Baroness Boothroyd who chose the fund as her selected charity when she appeared on the ITV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2002.[4] The remaining funds were raised by the Memorial to the Women of World War II Fund, a charitable fund based in York.[4]

Design

The initial design involved a female Air Raid Warden sheltering children; however, this was simplified until it became the final design.[1] The bronze monument stands 22 feet (6.7 m) high,[4] 16 feet (4.9 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide.[3] The lettering on the sides replicates the typeface used on war time ration books. There are 17 individual sets of clothing and uniforms around the sides, symbolising the hundreds of different jobs women undertook in World War II and then gave back for the homecoming men at the end of the war.[5] These outfits include uniforms as worn by the Women's Land Army, Women's Royal Naval Service, a nursing cape, a police overall and a welding mask.[1]

Unveiling

The memorial was unveiled on 9 July 2005, two days after the 7/7 London bombings, by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Also in attendance at the ceremony were Baroness Boothroyd, Baroness Thatcher, Dame Vera Lynn and the Defence Secretary John Reid as well as a number of female war veterans.[5] These veterans included Nancy Wake, the Allies' most decorated servicewoman.[6] A flypast of five military helicopters took place, an Apache, Sea King, Lynx, Chinook and Merlin, which were flown by all female crews. This was followed by a flypast of two Panavia Tornado ADVs, flown by female pilots.[5]

Baroness Boothroyd, patron of the Women of World War II trust and former Speaker of the House of Commons, dedicated the memorial saying: "This monument is dedicated to all the women who served our country and to the cause of freedom, in uniform and on the home front. I hope that future generations who pass this way will ask themselves: 'what sort of women were they?' and look at our history for the answer."[5]

Vandalism

In May 2015, after the Conservative Party won a majority in a general election, the memorial was vandalised with red graffiti.[7] Downing Street called the damage "despicable", and at least 17 people were arrested following clashes in Whitehall.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Women of World War Two". United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  2. ↑ "World War II memorial campaigner from Selby dies". BBC News. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 "Memorial to Women of World War II". National Heritage Memorial Fund. 29 April 2004. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 "Memorial to war women unveiled". BBC News. 9 July 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Women's courage in Second World War commemorated". The Daily Telegraph. 9 July 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  6. ↑ Smith, David (10 July 2005). "Queen honours war's heroines". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  7. ↑ The BBC (10 May 2015). "Police arrest 15 in anti-austerity protest in London". The BBC. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Anti-Tory protesters deface war monument on Whitehall". Telegraph.co.uk. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
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