Statue of the Viscount Slim, London
Statue of the Viscount Slim | |
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Artist | Ivor Roberts-Jones |
Year | 1993 |
Type | Sculpture |
Medium | Sculpture: Bronze Pedestal: Portland stone |
Subject | William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim |
Dimensions | 3 m (9.8 ft) |
Location | Whitehall, City of Westminster, London SW1, England, United Kingdom |
51°30′14″N 0°07′33″W / 51.5038°N 0.1259°W |
The statue of
History
The campaign to erect a memorial to Slim was launched by the Burma Star Association in early 1988,[1] when eight sculptors were invited to submit designs for a statue. Of these, five agreed to compete: Roberts-Jones, James Butler, David Norris, Christopher Marvell and Michael Rizzello. An appeal for subscriptions was launched in The Independent newspaper on 28 June, by which time planning permission had been obtained for a site near the statue of Montgomery on Whitehall.[2] The competition's assessors requested that the artists respect the wishes of the second Viscount Slim to depict his father "as all the troops who served under his command in Burma will remember him ... in Bush hat and jungle dress".[1]
Roberts-Jones's winning competition entry was singled out for praise by Slim's widow, who thought that the sculptor had got "Bill's stance and jawline just right", and by his son.
The statue was unveiled by Queen
Inscriptions
The inscriptions on the Portland stone pedestal were carved by David Kindersley.[7]
Pedestal | Front | FIELD MARSHAL
THE VISCOUNT SLIM KG. GCB. GCMG. GCVO. GBE. DSO. MC. 14TH ARMY. BURMA 1943–1945 GOVERNOR GENERAL AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF AUSTRALIA 1953–1960 |
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Back |
COMMANDER IN CHIEF ALLIED LAND FORCES SOUTH EAST ASIA CHIEF OF THE IMPERIAL GENERAL STAFF GOVERNOR AND CONSTABLE WINDSOR CASTLE | |
Left and right | DEFEAT INTO VICTORY | |
Vertical surfaces of step | Front | ARAKAN
|
Right | CHINDWIN | |
Back | IRRAWADDY · MANDALAY · MEIKTILA | |
Left | RANGOON · SITTANG | |
Statue's self-base | Back, right | IVOR ROBERTS JONES R.A. |
Back, left | CAST BY
MERIDIAN FINE ART LONDON |
References
- ^ a b c d Black 2013, p. 136
- ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 425–426
- ^ Black 2013, p. 138
- ^ Black 2013, pp. 135, 137
- ^ a b Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 426
- ^ Black 2013, pp. 138–139
- ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 425
Bibliography
- Black, Jonathan (2013), "The Last Icon-Maker: Ivor Roberts-Jones and the Public Statue", in Black, Jonathan; Ayres, Sara (eds.), Abstraction and Reality: The Sculpture of Ivor Roberts-Jones, London: Philip Wilson Publishers, pp. 107–147, ISBN 978-1781300107
- Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011), Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1, Public Sculpture of Britain, vol. 14, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, ISBN 978-1-84631-691-3
External links
- Plaque: Slim statue at London Remembers