Air Vice Marshal Sir Keith Park, later Air Chief Marshal, commanded No. 11 Group RAF from April to December 1940. No. 11 Group had responsibility for air defence of the south-east of England, including London, and so Park was in charge of the group that bore the brunt of Hitler’s attacks in the Battle of Britain.
There has been a movement to commemorate Park on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. Boris Johnson initially indicated that he supported the idea, but in the end has decided to continue the Fourth Plinth project of changing artworks. As I have said before, I rather like the Fourth Plinth and I am glad that the project, for the time being at least, will continue. I expressed my support for Yinka Shonibare’s Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle for the next installation.
However, the fact that the Fourth Plinth is not available does not mean that that there cannot be a statue of Sir Keith Park in the centre of London. While I understand the logic of putting a senior RAF person on a square that has army and navy figures already, there is a risk that Sir Keith would become as famous as some of the other statues on Trafalgar Square. Can you tell me what Henry Havelock, Charles James Napier or Andrew Cunningham did? Equally, despite the campaign’s statement to the contrary, the plinth is not empty. From an artistic point of view, the Fourth Plinth is shaped and sized for an equestrian statue – in the north-east corner, George IV is on horseback.
It would be unfortunate if the campaign to commemorate Park were to end. It would be equally unfortunate if it were to focus on overturning a given decision, potentially annoying people who support the Fourth Plinth project, when there are other places that could be considered. Leicester Square is undergoing redevelopment; there are spaces on both sides of the Ministry of Defence Main Building. Situated between the Embankment and Whitehall, lots of people walk past on the way between Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square.
A final thought; I do hope that this campaign, worthy though it is, is not the first of a series to replace the Fourth Plinth with something permanent.
xD.
Charles Napier is immortalised for his “peccavi” line…
Indeed. Nevertheless, I think even fewer people would pick up a Latin pun than even know who Napier was!
I’ve changed my view from back in February. Sir Keith Park should still not be on the fourth plinth, but should be outside St Clement Danes in the Strand next to his boss Lord Dowding, rather than elsewhere in Trafalgar Square.
http://tinyurl.com/5pf2y4
The Fourth Plinth is excellent as a moveable feast, but the best sculptures I have seen there were the first four (and perhaps the most recent).
I’d suggest that
what we really need for the fourth plinth are a lot of unknown British artists with new ideas. Maybe one per month.
Actually, putting him by St Clement Dane’s is a rather good idea. The northern side of the church bears the scars of WW2 so it might be an effective way of reminding people what he and the rest of the Few were up against.
The Fourth Plinth is large and any sculpture to fill it would be expensive, hence why they need to stay for a relatively long period.
xD.
Havelock captured Lucknow in 1857 during the Indian Rebellion against the British. He was a nice Protestant bloke and a career officer at the time when most officers bought their titles. He was much hyped as the “saviour of India” at the time. His best career move was to die of malaria before returning to England, thus assuring mythical hero status.
Today, I guess, the Havelock statue is more a reminder of British imperialism in India than of Havelock’s actions. I think it should stay where it is. The future will reinterpret these statues and it’s interesting to see what new perspectives that will emerge.