Pity of War sculpture unveiled
‘On the 24th June this year we finally celebrated the unveiling of the six-foot bronze sculpture.'
The Quaker-initiated Pity of War memorial was unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum last month.
The idea for the memorial emerged from the Pity of War Trust, originally set up by five Friends from Southern Marches Area Meeting (AM) in 2019. ‘The vision was two-fold,’ Linda Hale told the Friend. ‘To create a memorial for the National Memorial Arboretum for the civilian victims of war, and to create awareness through education about the impact of armed conflict on civilians.’
‘The idea was born, however, in 2013 when our late friend Joyce Gee visited the Arboretum and noticed, among the numerous monuments to military personnel, the omission of any memorial to the millions of non-military victims of war. She remembered her own experience of growing up near London during the second world war, her terror during the blitz air raids, and the horror of seeing neighbours’ houses destroyed.’
Clun Valley Meeting and Southern Marches AM took the concern to Meeting for Sufferings. The trust’s partnership with the sculptor Peter Walker began shortly afterwards.
‘On the 24th June this year we finally celebrated the unveiling of the six-foot bronze sculpture at a memorable ceremony attended by Quaker and non-Quaker friends including the bishop of Lichfield and the lord lieutenant of Staffordshire,’ said Linda Hale.
‘We were delighted that Joyce’s two sons, Paul and Lloyd, were also able to join us, and that a choir of children from a local school were there to sing John Lennon’s “Imagine”.’
Peter Walker said the memorial in Lichfield ‘will be a place… where we hold our brothers and sisters around the world – no matter what nationality, race, faith or gender – in our thoughts.’
A poem written by a ten-year-old Yemeni child was also read out.
Small bronze copies of the statue can be found at Chester, Sheffield and Liverpool cathedrals, and at UK embassies in Paris and the UAE.
