Miniature Policeman

I wonder if it is a Whitby thing? I don’t think I have seen so many miniature statues advertising businesses. This is another one, found outside a cafe/restaurant in the town:

What’s For Lunch Betty

I do like these statuettes that are dotted around to advertise what a cafe/restaurant has for dinner:

This was taken in Whitby, and although I would have really liked a Crab Sandwich, I never actually got to try one on this visit.

Yuri Gagarin

This is London’s newest statue, a memorial to Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. It was unveiled yesterday (14th July 2011) to mark Yuri Gagarin’s visit to London.

On 12th April 1961 Yuri Gargarin became the first man in Space.  His 108 minute flight in his Vostok 1 space capsule, made him an instant hero. Off course the Soviet Union wanted to boast about its achievement of getting a man into space, that they took Gagarin on a World tour. His visit to London came weeks after a similar visit by JFK, and  an American correspondent reported with undisguised shock, that the crowds were as large and as enthusiastic for Gargarin.

Gargarin was afforded virtually the same trappings as a head of state on an official state visit. He had lunch with the Queen, a meeting with the then Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan and was driven around in a Rolls Royce with the number plate YG1.

So much was Gargarin worth in propaganda terms to the Soviet Union, they refused to let him go into space again. This was a big disappointment for Gargarin. Unfortunately, in his attempt to get back on to the space programme in 1968, when flying a training session in a Mig Fighter Plane, the plane crashed, and he was killed.

This statue is outside the British Council offices on The Mall, and was a gift from the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos.

Earl Alexander of Tunis

Earl Alexander of Tunis , originally uploaded by gary8345.

I discovered this statue on a little photo-walk I took to kill some time over the Easter weekend. I was quite struck by this, as it looks a little more dynamic than the normal statues you see in London to celebrate our war-heros.  This is Earl Alexander of Tunis, and stands outside the Guard’s Museum in Central London.

Earl Alexander of Tunis was born Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander in 1891 in London. Born to English/Irish parents, he was educated at public schools, and in 1911 was commissioned as an Office in the Irish Guards after graduating the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

When the First World War started, Alexander formed part of the original British Expeditionary Force which was sent to fight on the Western Front in France. During this time he rose to Captain in 1915, the Major in 1917, although at this time he often acted as a Lieutenant-Colonel. During his time on the Western Front, he was wounded twice, and for his bravery and sacrifice he received the Military Cross in 1916, and later that year he was appointed to the Distinguished Service Order. The citation for which read:

“For conspicuous gallantry in action. He was the life and soul of the attack, and throughout the day led forward not only his own men but men of all regiments. He held the trenches gained in spite of heavy machine gun fire.”

Rudyard Kipling, who wrote a history of the Irish Guards, said:

“it is undeniable that Colonel Alexander had the gift of handling the men on the lines to which they most readily responded… His subordinates loved him, even when he fell upon them blisteringly for their shortcomings; and his men were all his own.”

After World Was One, Alexander led units loyal to the Republic of Latvia in an attempt to eject the Bolsheviks from Latvia. He then served in Turkey and Gibraltar, before being appointed to command the 1st battalion of the Irish Guards.

In 1934, Alexander was made a temporary brigadier, and given command of the Nowshera Brigade on the Northwest Frontier in India. For his service there, and in particular for his actions in the Loe-Agra operations between February and April 1936, Alexander was that year made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India, and was mentioned in despatches.

In March 1937, Alexander was appointed as one of the aides de camp to the recently acceded  King George VI and in May returned to the United Kingdom to take part in this capacity in the state procession through London during the King’s coronation. Following the coronation celebration, Alexander returned to India, where he was made the honorary colonel of the 3rd Battalion 2nd Punjab Regiment, and then in October 1937 was promoted to the rank of Major-General making Alexander the youngest general in the British Army.  However, in 1938, he relinquished command of his brigade to return to Britain to take command of the 1st Infantry Division.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Alexander, and the 1st Infantry Division were send to France, and was part of the successful retreat from Dunkirk in May 1940. He was placed in command on the beachhead, and left Dunkirk on 3rd June after ensuring that all the British troops had been evacuated. Again, for all his efforts, Alexander was mentioned in despatches. On his return to Britain, Alexander was made General Officer, Commanding in Chief, responsible for the defence of South-West England. During this time, he was knighted.

In February 1942, after the Japanese invasion of Burma, he was sent to India, where he became a full General. He was put in command of the Fourteenth Army, but left all the tactical conduct of the campaign to his corps commander, while he handled the more political aspects of relations with the commander of the Chinese forces. Once again, Alexander was mentioned in despatches for his Burma Service, and once they had completed their fighting, and had returned to India.

In July 1942, Alexander was recalled to Britain. He was then selected to take part in “Operation Torch” the invasion of North Africa., and was made Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Command, and made responsible for the conduct of the campaign in the desert of North Africa. Alexander presided over Montgomery’s victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein, and the advance to Tripoli, for which he was made a knight grand cross of the Order of the Bath.

After the Anglo-American forces from Operation Torch and the Eighth Army converged in Tunisia in February 1943, they were brought under the unified command of a newly-formed 18th Army Group  headquarters, commanded by Alexander and reporting to Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean at the Allied Forces Headquarters. The Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered by May 1943, and Alexander’s command became the 15th Army Group, which was still under Eisenhower’s command, and responsible for mounting the invasion of Sicily.

When Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied Commander for the planned Normandy Landing,  he suggested that Alexander become ground forces commander, as he was popular with both British and US officers. However, this request was denied, and Alexander  remained in command of the 15th Army Group, and, with the support of numerous allied commanders, controversially authorised the bombing of the historic abbey at Cassino, which resulted in little advance on the German Winter Line defences. It was not until the fourth attempt that the Winter Line was breached by the Allies, and Alexander’s forces moved on to capture Rome in June 1944.

Alexander remained in command of 15th Army Group, for most of the Italian Campaign, until December 1944, when he relinquished his command to become the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Headquarters, responsible for all military operations in the Mediterranean Theatre, and was promoted to the rank of field marshal.

As a reward for his leadership in North Africa and Italy, Alexander was given a peerage and was created Viscount Alexander of Tunis and Errigal in the County of Donegal.

In 1946 Alexander was appointed Governor-General to Canada, and spent a great deal of time travelling around Canada during his 5 years as Governor. Amongst Canadians, Alexander proved to be a popular viceroy, despite the calls for a Canadian-born governor general that had preceded his appointment. Not only did he have a much praised military reputation, but he was also a charismatic figure with an easy ability to communicate with people.

Alexander departed the office of Governor General of Canada in early 1952, after Churchill asked him to return to London to take the post of Minister of Defence in the British government, as the ageing Churchill had found it increasingly difficult to cope with holding that portfolio concurrently with that of prime minister. In March 1952, Alexander was made Earl Alexander of Tunis by the new Queen, and was appointed to the organising committee for the the Queen’s coronation, where he carried the Sovereign’s Orb in the state procession during the coronation.

As Earl. he served as the British defence minister until 1954, when he retired from politics and, in 1959, the Queen appointed Alexander to the Order of Merit.

Alexander died on 16 June 1969 of a perforated aorta.His funeral was held on 24 June 1969 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and is buried near his family’s home in Ridge, Hertfordshire.

After researching the Earl, I am so pleased that this statue has made him look so active. He was obviously a popular leader, and a very brave man.

Raoul Wallenberg

Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish humanitarian who worked in Budapest, Hungary, during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust. Between July and December 1944, he issued protective passports (Schutzpasses) and housed Jews in buildings established as Swedish territory, saving tens of thousands of lives.

Unfortunately, his life after the war is a bit of a mystery. He was captured by the Soviet Union in January 1945 under suspicion of espionage on behalf of the Americans. He was later reported to have died in detention in March 1945. However in 1957 after pressure from the Swedish Government, the Soviet Union released a document dated July 17, 1947, which stated “I report that the prisoner Wallenberg who is well-known to you, died suddenly in his cell this night, probably as a result of a heart attack or heart failure”. This was contradicted in a later report in 1991 which said that Wallenberg was executed in 1947 in Lubyanka prison. Despite this there have been many sightings of Wallenberg after this date, with the last reported sighting in prison in 1987. Wallenberg’s niece is still working to uncover the truth of what actually happened to her uncle.

Raoul Wallenberg is remembered all around the World for his humanitarian work. There are monuments and memorials on every continent. The picture above is from the memorial in London, which stands outside the Western Marble Arch Synagogue. Many honours have been bestowed on Wallenberg, with the most important being at the Yad Vashem memorial in Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.

As a result of the good work that Raoul Wallenberg carried out in 1944, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund, Sweden was established, as an international educational center dedicated to a single mission, “to foster and promote humanitarian thought and action”.

Jelly Babies at Marble Arch

Jelly Babies at Marble Arch, originally uploaded by gary8345.

Just before Christmas on a shopping expedition, I passed what I at first thought was either a Christmas decoration or an advertising gimmick, and brought a big smile to my face. In fact on further research it turns out its a sculpture by Mauro Peruccheti.

The sculpture is a family of what appear to be giant Jelly Babies. They are part of the City of Sculpture Festival which is running up to the 2012 London Olympics. However, you have to be quick to see the Jelly Babies, they are only on display until April 2011.

A real shame, as they are a colourful addition to Marble Arch, which over the years has just become a giant roundabout. I have yet to see the sculpture at night, as I am sure they look even better lit up.