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The Hermitage Memorial Riverside Garden
The garden and memorial sculpture are in memory of the East London civilians who were killed and injured in the Second World War, 1939 - 1945, and of the suffering of those who lost relatives, friends and homes.
Tens of thousands of men, women and children lost life and limb in the wartime bombing of London and other major cities. More than a million homes were destroyed. The most intense bombing occurred between September 1940 and May 1941 and became known as the Blitz (from the German "Blitzkrieg" meaning "lightning war"). In the first three months of the Blitz bombs rained on London almost every night.
The Port of London, with its docks, warehouses and industry, was an important strategic target for the German bombers and an easy one to locate along the Thames. Countless bombs also fell on the surrounding densely packed streets of East and South East London, which were home to many of London's poorest families. The consequences were devastating. On this site stood the Hermitage Wharf, which was hit during a massive firebomb raid on the City of London on 29 December 1940.
The memorial sculpture was designed by Wendy Taylor CBE. The symbol of the dove is intended to suggest hope, rather than dwell intrusively on the dead. Its representation as an absence signifies the loved ones who were lost. The garden and sculpture were commissioned by the Hermitage Environment Group and funded by the generous contributions of the Berkeley Group Holdings plc, the Williams Charitable Trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation and many other individuals and businesses.
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{bottom right on right-hand photo / Right side of plinth} I am conscious of having served England as I served my own country {left hand photo / rear of plinth}MARECHAL FERDINAND FOCH/ MARECHAL DE L'ARMEE/ BRITANNIQUE GRAND CROIX DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR/ MEDAILLE MILITAIRE/ MEMBRE DE L'ACADEMY FRANCAISE GCB/ MARSHAL OF FRANCE/ GENERALISSIMO OF ALLIED ARMIES/ BRITISH FIELD MARSHAL
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Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790 "Save while you are young to spend while you are old One penny saved is better than two pennies earned" Poor Richard's Savings Dedicated to the people of New orleans by Henry Wadsworth Gustine of Chicago, Illinois A.D. 1926
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Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833-1870) was born in 1833 at Fayal in the Azores where his mother's father had a plantation. He completed his education in England and was sent by his family to South Australia in 1853 where he enlisted in the mounted police. He was briefly a member of Parliament and lived in Western Australia and Ballarat before moving to Melbourne. During his time in Ballarat he suffered a severe head injury in a riding accident, was bankrupted by a fire in the livery stable and lost his infant daughter. The day after the publication of his poems (in Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes) he committed suicide on Brighton Beach in Melbourne.
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{top left} Sir Robert Grosvenor succeeded his father as Earl Grosvenor in 1802. Educated at Harrow and Cambridge he became a member of parliament, lord-lieutenant of the County of Flint and was a renowned and enthusiastic art collector. In 1831 he was created Marquess of Westminster and was a sword carrier at the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1842. Sir Robert Grosvenor had a vision for a grand development of Belgravia and Pimlico and directed its progress until his death in 1845. The name Belgravia comes from a Grosvenor title of Viscount Belgrave which is taken from a village of that name on the family estate in Cheshire. The plinth on which the statue stands is made of limestone quarried at Halkyn in the County of Flint on land belonging to the family.
{top right} The Grosvenor family came to England with William the Conqueror, and have held land in Cheshire since that time. In the seventeenth century Sir Thomas Grosvenor third baronet married Mary Davies a London heiress. Her dowry was part of the manor of Ebury, the land developed by their successors as Mayfair in the eighteenth century, followed by Belgravia and Pimlico in the nineteenth century. In 1979, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor became the sixth Duke of Westminster. He commissioned this statue in 1997. The hounds on the monument are Talbot dogs introduced to this country by the Normans as hunting dogs. Now extinct, they were the ancestral stock of the modern bloodhound. Talbot dogs were added to the Grosvenor coat of arms in the seventeenth century. The gold wheatsheaf, known in heraldry as a 'garb' appeared for the first time on the coat of arms in 1398.
{bottom left - left} Under the direction of Sir Robert Grosvenor, Thomas Cundy, the Grosvenor Estate surveyor, presented the above layout to the Grosvenor Board in 1825. From Sir Robert's vision arose the elegant buildings, grand squares and colourful gardens that are now Belgravia.
{bottom left - right} The classical terraces of Belgrave Square were designed by George Basevi architect to the Haldimand Syndicate. Most of the buildings were erected under the control of the great Victorian developer Thomas Cubitt.
{bottom right} Sir Robert Grosvenor KG, first Marquess of Westminster, 1767-1845.
When we build let us think we build for ever, John Ruskin.
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Marshall of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris BT GCB OBE AFC In memory of a great commander and of the brave crews of Bomber Command, more than 55,000 of whom lost their lives in the cause of freedom. The nation owes them all an immense debt.
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Jan Karski 1914-2000 1940-43, emissary of the Polish people in German-occupied Poland to the Polish government-in-exile and to the governments of France, The United Kingdom and the United States of America, a man who tried to stop the holocaust of Polish jews. Righteous Among the Nations, honorary citizen of Israel, awarded the Polish Order of the White Eagle and the American Presidential Medal of Freedom
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(top left - plaque below statue) This statue stood formerly in King William Street in the City of London where it was set up in 1845. It was removed to this site and presented to H.M. Office of Works by the Corporation of the City of London in 1936.
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Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy April 22, 1792 - March 22, 1862 Nissan 30, 5552 - Adar II 20, 5622 "I am an American, a sailor and a Jew"
Born in Philadelphia in 1792, Uriah Phillips Levy was a fifth generation American. According to family stories, he left for sea at ten years old, returnging to celebrate his bar mitzvah here at Congregation Mikveh Israel in 1805. He served with distinction in the U.S. Navy in the War of 1812 and became the first Jewish Navy Commodore - equivalent to the rank of Admiral today.
During his fifty-year career, Levy was brought before a court martial six times and killed a man in a duel-all incidents related to rampant anti-Semitism. He was dismissed twice from the Navy, but was reinstated by Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler. He went on to command the Mediterranean fleet and was appointed to head the Navy Court Martial Board by President Lincoln to head the Navy Court Martial Board during the Civil War. Levy played a key role in helping repeal the flogging of sailors, making the U.S. Navy the first in the world to abolish physical punishment.
Levy always admired Thomas Jefferson and the Bill of Rights he crafted, which safeguard liberties for all Americans. In 1834, he commissioned a statue of Jefferson, which sits in the U.S. Capitol today. In 1834, Levy purchased Monticello, Jefferson's home near Charlottesville, Virginia, which he repaired, restored and preserved for future generations.
The World War II destroyer escort USS Levy (DE-162)was named in his honor, as were the Uriah P. Levy Jewish Chapel at the Norfolk Naval base in Virginia, and the Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish Chapel at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Levy is buried at Beth Olom Cemetery in Queens, New York.
Sculptor: Gregory Pototsky
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In this building, the home of the Artistic and Literary High School, were given two piano recitals by the great composer Ferenc Liszt 1811-1886, on the days 29 October and 22 November 1844. Madrid remembers him on the centenary of his death.
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16 November 1855 - 16 November 1955. On the occasion of the centenary of David Livingstone's discovery of the Victoria Falls. Men and women of all races in, and from all parts of, The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland assembled solemnly to dedicate themselves and their country to carry on the high Christian aims and ideals which inspired David Livingstone in his mission here. Unveiled by His Excellency The Right Honourable the Lord LLewellin, G.B.E, M.C., T.D., D.L., Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and dedicated by his grace the Lord Archbishop of Central Africa, Edward Francis Paget on 16 November 1955.
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{top left}The Machine Gun Corps Old Comrades Association lives on and a century later continues to remember the brave men who fought with the Machine Gun Corps from 1915 - 1922. {top right}The Boy David by Bainbridge Copnall MBE PPRBS. A memorial to the members of the Machine Gun Corps who served in World War One. {bottom left}The original Boy David statue sculptured in bronze by Francis Derwent Wood was the model for the Machine Gun Corps memorial which stands at Hyde Park Corner and was presented to the Borough of Chelsea in 1963 but was later stolen.
This bronze fibreglass replacement was erected by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Old Comrades Association of the Machine Gun Corps.
{bottom right}This bronze fibreglass statue was sculptured by E. Bainbridge Copnall, 1903 - 1973, and set on the granite column which the sculptor donated to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
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Able seaman Albert Edward McKenzie born Bermondsey 23rd October 1898 HMS Vindictive, Zeebrugge raid 23rd April 1918 died Chatham 3rd November 1918 Awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous gallantry Our local hero
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HUGO MIFSUD THE BRITISH KNIGHTS WERE ATTACHED TO ADMINISTER THE RIGHTS AND CIVILITIES OF THE PERIOD OF THE PEOPLE OF MELITENS BY AMPLIFYING THE STUDENT SEATS. TWO PRINCE ADMINISTRATORS PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC MDCCCLXXX?? 1822
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To perpetuate on this spot the memory of Robert Milligan a merchant of London to whose genius, perseverance and guardian care the surrounding great work principally owes it's design, accomplishment and regulation. The directors and proprietors deprived by his death on the 21st May 1809 of the continuation of his invaluable services by their unanimous vote have caused this statue to be erected.