Anti-Air War Memorial

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Anti-Air War Memorial
Pankhurst Memorial, 29 May 2011 (4).JPG
Anti-Air War Memorial in 2011, prior to restoration
LocationHigh Road, Woodford Green, London, England
DesignerEric Benfield
Materialstone
Opening date20 October 1935
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameAnti Air War Memorial
Designated22 February 1979
Reference no. 1081040

The Anti-Air War Memorial is located in Woodford Green, London, England. [1] It was commissioned and erected by the socialist suffragist Sylvia Pankhurst in 1935 as "a protest against war in the air". [2] [3] It is Britain's first anti-war memorial, [4] and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. [3]

Woodford Green part of the suburb of Woodford in East London, England

Woodford Green is a district of Redbridge in London, England. Historically part of Essex, it was absorbed into Greater London in 1965 and is mainly in the London Borough of Redbridge, with a small part in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Woodford Green adjoins South Woodford to the south, and Woodford Bridge, Woodford Wells to the north, towards Epping Forest and Highams Park to the west.

Sylvia Pankhurst British suffragist, anti-colonialist

Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst was an English campaigner for the suffragette movement, a prominent left communist and later an activist in the cause of anti-fascism. She spent much of her later life agitating on behalf of Ethiopia, where she eventually moved.

The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England’s official list of buildings, monuments, parks and gardens, wrecks, battlefields and World Heritage Sites. It is maintained by Historic England and brings together these different designations as a single resource even though they vary in the type of legal protection afforded to each. Conservation areas do not appear on the NHLE since they are designated by the relevant local planning authority.

Contents

History

Pankhurst held strong pacifist and anti-war beliefs as a result of witnessing Zeppelin raids on London during World War I. [1] In 1932, she expressed opposition to England's bombing of Burma and India, and in 1935 was vocal against Mussolini's aerial attacks on Ethiopia. [1] One of the inscriptions on the memorial dedicates it to "those who in 1932 upheld the right to use bombing aeroplanes", an ironic reference to the participants of the 1932 World Disarmament Conference, who voted to maintain the right to use aerial bombing in warfare. [1] In the words of the sculptor, "Those who had preserved bombing were politically and morally dead, and this was their gravestone". [5]

Pacifism opposition to war and violence

Pacifism is opposition to war, militarism, or violence. The word pacifism was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud (1864–1921) and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ahimsa, which is a core philosophy in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. While modern connotations are recent, having been explicated since the 19th century, ancient references abound.

Anti-war movement

An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts, or to anti-war books, paintings, and other works of art. Many activists distinguish between anti-war movements and peace movements. Anti-war activists work through protest and other grassroots means to attempt to pressure a government to put an end to a particular war or conflict.

Zeppelin airship type

A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874 and developed in detail in 1893. They were patented in Germany in 1895 and in the United States in 1899. After the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the word zeppelin came to be commonly used to refer to all rigid airships. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. During World War I, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and scouts, killing over 500 people in bombing raids in Britain.

The memorial was unveiled on 20 October 1935 by R. P. Zaphiro, secretary of the Imperial Ethiopian Legation. [1] [3] Also present were socialist friends of Pankhurst's, such as James Ranger. [5] On its first night in place, the memorial was vandalised and it was later stolen; a replacement was built by Benfield and unveiled on 4 July 1936. [1] The second unveiling was attended by representatives of Germany, France, Hungary, Austria and British Guyana, as well as Ethiopia. [1]

James "Jim" Ranger was a British politician. He was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford South from 1945–50, having unsuccessfully fought the pre-war Ilford constituency in a 1937 by-election and being selected to fight the general election for that seat in 1939 or 1940; which was postponed due to the Second World War.

In 1979, the memorial was given a Grade II heritage listing in recognition of its special historic interest, under the name "Anti-Abyssinian War Memorial"; the record was corrected at the time of the restoration in 2014. [3]

In the 1980s, the memorial became a focus for anti-nuclear activists and an annual Peace Picnic was held there. [1] In 1985, for the memorial's 50th anniversary, local resident Sylvia Ayling organised a street march and re-enactment of the unveiling, this time by peace activist Maggie Freake. [6]

Anti-nuclear movement social movement

The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, or international level. Major anti-nuclear groups include Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Peace Action and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. The initial objective of the movement was nuclear disarmament, though since the late 1960s opposition has included the use of nuclear power. Many anti-nuclear groups oppose both nuclear power and nuclear weapons. The formation of green parties in the 1970s and 1980s was often a direct result of anti-nuclear politics.

In 1996 the stone bomb was stolen from the top of the memorial and later recovered by police in Epping Forest. It was repaired and returned to its plinth, with all costs covered by the Borough of Redbridge and Pankhurst's son, Richard. [1] [6]

Epping Forest royal forest

Epping Forest is a 2,400-hectare (5,900-acre) area of ancient woodland between Epping in Essex to the north, and Forest Gate in Greater London to the south, straddling the border between London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation. An area of 1,728 hectares is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation. It gives its name to the Epping Forest local government district, which covers part of it.

London Borough of Redbridge London borough in United Kingdom

The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough in East London, England.

Richard Keir Pethick Pankhurst OBE was a British academic, founding member of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, and former professor at the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. His books have been reviewed in scholarly journals, with Edward Ullendorff calling his The Ethiopians as another testimony to his "remarkable diligence and industry in the service of Ethiopian studies". He is known for his research on economic history and socio-cultural studies on Ethiopia.

In 2014, the memorial was refurbished. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament organised a re-dedication ceremony, which was held to coincide with World Disarmament Day. [2] [4] [7] Speakers included Pankhurst's biographer Katherine Connelly, and a message from her son Richard was read. [7]

Description

The memorial is in the form of a plinth topped by a pyramid, on which a stone bomb is mounted, as if it had fallen vertically onto the tip of the pyramid. It was designed by sculptor Eric Benfield. [3] [5]

The memorial was built on land owned by Pankhurst opposite the home she shared with Silvio Corio, Red Cottage. [1] In 1939 the cottage was demolished and four houses were built on the land; in 2009 a local developer demolished those houses and replaced them with apartment buildings. However, the memorial has remained intact throughout these redevelopments. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "The Stone Bomb and Sculptor Eric Benfield, by Patrick Wright". sylviapankhurst.com. Retrieved 13 April 2016.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  2. 1 2 "Redbridge Trades Council: Sylvia Pankhurst Anti-Air War Memorial in Woodford Green refurbished". redbridgetradescouncil.blogspot.co.nz. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Historic England. "ANTI AIR WAR MEMORIAL (1081040)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Pankhurst memorial restored to original name". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "PMSA". pmsa.org.uk. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  6. 1 2 "Keeping the Flame Going: The Stone Bomb in Recent Years – Sylvia Ayling". sylviapankhurst.com. Retrieved 13 April 2016.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  7. 1 2 "Sylvia Pankhurst anti-air war memorial re-dedicated Left Unity". leftunity.org. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)

Coordinates: 51°37′01″N0°01′33″E / 51.61696°N 0.02570°E / 51.61696; 0.02570

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