A campaign to return a statue of Edward Jenner to Trafalgar Square has been re-launched in his 260th Anniversary year. The Statue used to stand on a fifth plinth in Trafalgar Square but was moved to Kensington Gardens in 1862. Next year sees worldwide celebration of the 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox: Edward Jenner discovered the vaccine against smallpox and was the Father of Immunology. It is therefore highly appropriate that this “Great Britain”, should be honoured in 2010 and his statue restored to its original position.
The Gloucestershire country doctor received worldwide recognition after his smallpox discovery on May 14, 1796, receiving various international honours and awards including a letter from United States President Thomas Jefferson.
In his home country it was not until after his death that a statue, with permission from Queen Victoria and support of Prince Albert, the Prince Consort and a keen supporter of vaccination, was erected in Trafalgar Square.
The statue, paid for by world subscription, was unveiled in May 1858 on the anniversary of Jenner’s birthday but sadly in 1862 the statue was removed and taken to Kensington Gardens apparently a non-military statue in Trafalgar Square was inappropriate.
However, with the 30th anniversary of the World Health Organisation announcing world eradication of smallpox, The Edward Jenner Museum wants to honour the doctor’s contribution to saving millions of lives by relocating his statue to its original site.
Sarah Parker, Director of The Edward Jenner Museum in Berkeley, said: We’ve started a petition on the Number 10 Downing Street site and support is growing. It's such a shame that people in the UK don't seem to remember who Jenner was and his significant part in the eradication of smallpox from the world. Sadly we have forgotten what a truly horrible and disfiguring disease it was, killing one in three children.
He gave the world vaccination and was at the forefront of other medical breakthroughs. His statue quite rightly used to be in Trafalgar Square; we need to get Jenner back there and back into the public’s awareness.
There is much discussion at the moment concerning the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square; it would be an ideal setting for Jenner’s statue.
To sign the online petition on the No 10 Downing Street site to return Jenner’s statue to Trafalgar Square go to
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Jenner2010
or visit the museum’s website
http://www.jennermuseum.com/
and follow the link from there.
Showing posts with label memorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memorial. Show all posts
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Edward Jenner & the Missing (Fifth) Plinth
The national spotlight is currently shining brightly on an empty plinth in Trafalgar Square. Built in 1841 the ‘Fourth plinth’ was intended for an equestrian statue but was recently the subject of a hotly contested competition by artists who desired their own brand of art fill the plinth.
Famous figures in the world of art such as Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, and Tracey Emin battled to have a spot to showcase their art in central London’s most famous of squares.
Today, a moment of fame on the world’s most famous plinth is within reach to anyone who has the inclination to apply.
Of course, Trafalgar Square’s most celebrated monument is Nelson’s Column, designed in 1843 by William Railton and erected in 1845.
But did you know that a ‘Fifth plinth’ once existed in Trafalgar Square?
On this plinth sat a statue of Dr Edward Jenner (1749-1823), the father of Immunology and the pioneer of vaccination. His work on the development of the smallpox vaccine has saved millions of lives and led to the development of vaccines that have had a significant and lasting impact on world health.
Smallpox – the ‘speckled monster’ - was greatly feared and accounted for millions of deaths around the world. In London alone, 10% of all deaths in the eighteenth century were as a result of Smallpox. Smallpox was disfiguring and horrific. It infected old and young, rich and poor. Those sufferers who survived were often blind and disfigured by spotty scars. Famous Smallpox sufferers included Queen Elizabeth I, Mozart and Queen Mary II (wife of William III). The latter was not to survive.
On 14 May 1796 Edward Jenner finally made a breakthrough with a cure for Smallpox at his country home, The Chantry, in Berkeley, Gloucestershire (now The Edward Jenner Museum). Lymph from a cowpox pustule of dairymaid Sarah Nelmes, caught from a Gloucester cow Blossom, was vaccinated by Jenner into James Phipps aged 8. Later when the boy was inoculated with smallpox, the feared symptoms failed to appear. Jenner called it ‘vaccination’ from the Latin vacca for cow.
This process marked the beginning of a worldwide eradication of a devastating disease. In the late eighteenth century, Jenner predicted: The annihilation of smallpox – the most dreadful scourge of the human species – will be the final result of this practice. The World Health Organization finally declared the world rid of the disease in 1979 following an international eradication programme. The WHO declared Smallpox one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity.
So far, it is the only disease to ever be eradicated from the world.
International Recognition
Jenner’s research was duly acknowledged internationally. Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States was a keen supporter of vaccination. In a letter to Jenner in 1806 he wrote: Yours is the comfortable reflection that mankind can never forget that you have lived. Future nations will know by history only that the loathsome small-pox has existed and by you has been extirpated.
Showered with a variety of international honours, gifts and medals, Jenner was also acknowledged with many statues. The first was erected in 1825 in Gloucester Cathedral, a few miles from his home town of Berkeley inscribed simply ‘Jenner’. Other commissions followed and statues around the world in major cities can be found in Italy, France, and Tokyo - the latter stands in the gardens of the National Museum.
Following permission from Queen Victoria, a statue to Jenner was erected in Trafalgar Square in recognition of his enormous contribution to the welfare of mankind. Top of the list of donors for the statue was America, followed by Russia.
Britain was last.
Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, a keen supporter of vaccination and himself the leading British contributor to the memorial fund, presided over the inaugural occasion on the anniversary of Jenner’s birth in May 1858. According to reports of the occasion anyone who was anyone was there and all agreed it was an excellent likeness to Jenner.
Removal of Statue
However, not long afterwards the statue was removed. A non-military character sitting reflectively but not astride a horse, was thought inappropriate in Trafalgar Square. The Times supported its relocation and Parliament similarly demanded it be removed. The medical profession led by The Lancet and the British Medical Journal were furious and fought vigorously to preserve the statue. Punch naturally joined in the bitter debate getting straight to the point:
England’s ingratitude still blots
The escutcheon of the brave and free;
I saved you many million spots
And now you grudge one spot for me
The Prince Consort, Jenner’s main supporter died in December 1861 and by 1862 Jenner’s statue had been moved to Kensington Gardens, the first to be placed there. It currently still stands in the Italian Gardens. Many however commented that it was entirely out of place.
St George’s Hospital originally sited at Hyde Park Corner, put in a bid for the statue in 1896 on the centennial anniversary of Jenner’s great discoveries. Jenner had been a student there and the illustrious surgeon, John Hunter, Jenner’s mentor and friend, had been a surgeon at the hospital. It is just as well the statue wasn’t moved again as this site is now a hotel.
Jenner continues to sit resplendent in his Kensington surroundings but it is perhaps ironic that they are ‘Italian’ gardens. Shunned by the British establishment, he was forcibly removed from his rightful place in the heart of London’s Trafalgar Square. One can speculate whether these new artworks are worthy of such a place. What would the puritanical Victorian press for instance make of today’s debate?
New Demand to re-instate Jenner Statue
2009 marks 260 years since Jenner’s birth and the 30th anniversary of the eradication of Smallpox. Ironically, it is a disease that has all but been forgotten by the world following Dr Jenner’s pioneering research.
Jenner has been cast into the shade for long enough. It is time for one of the world’s forgotten heroes to have his statue reinstated in Trafalgar Square in its rightful place. This would be a fitting tribute to Jenner and his victory in mankind’s ‘war’ on disease.
Join our campaign to get Dr Jenner’s statue reinstated.
Sign up now:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Jenner2010/
Sarah Parker
Director
The Edward Jenner Museum, Berkeley, Gloucestershire
http://www.jennermuseum.com/ info@edwardjenner.co.uk
Sources: John Empson BSc BLitt – Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, September 1996
Famous figures in the world of art such as Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, and Tracey Emin battled to have a spot to showcase their art in central London’s most famous of squares.
Today, a moment of fame on the world’s most famous plinth is within reach to anyone who has the inclination to apply.
Of course, Trafalgar Square’s most celebrated monument is Nelson’s Column, designed in 1843 by William Railton and erected in 1845.
But did you know that a ‘Fifth plinth’ once existed in Trafalgar Square?
On this plinth sat a statue of Dr Edward Jenner (1749-1823), the father of Immunology and the pioneer of vaccination. His work on the development of the smallpox vaccine has saved millions of lives and led to the development of vaccines that have had a significant and lasting impact on world health.
Smallpox – the ‘speckled monster’ - was greatly feared and accounted for millions of deaths around the world. In London alone, 10% of all deaths in the eighteenth century were as a result of Smallpox. Smallpox was disfiguring and horrific. It infected old and young, rich and poor. Those sufferers who survived were often blind and disfigured by spotty scars. Famous Smallpox sufferers included Queen Elizabeth I, Mozart and Queen Mary II (wife of William III). The latter was not to survive.
On 14 May 1796 Edward Jenner finally made a breakthrough with a cure for Smallpox at his country home, The Chantry, in Berkeley, Gloucestershire (now The Edward Jenner Museum). Lymph from a cowpox pustule of dairymaid Sarah Nelmes, caught from a Gloucester cow Blossom, was vaccinated by Jenner into James Phipps aged 8. Later when the boy was inoculated with smallpox, the feared symptoms failed to appear. Jenner called it ‘vaccination’ from the Latin vacca for cow.
This process marked the beginning of a worldwide eradication of a devastating disease. In the late eighteenth century, Jenner predicted: The annihilation of smallpox – the most dreadful scourge of the human species – will be the final result of this practice. The World Health Organization finally declared the world rid of the disease in 1979 following an international eradication programme. The WHO declared Smallpox one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity.
So far, it is the only disease to ever be eradicated from the world.
International Recognition
Jenner’s research was duly acknowledged internationally. Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States was a keen supporter of vaccination. In a letter to Jenner in 1806 he wrote: Yours is the comfortable reflection that mankind can never forget that you have lived. Future nations will know by history only that the loathsome small-pox has existed and by you has been extirpated.
Showered with a variety of international honours, gifts and medals, Jenner was also acknowledged with many statues. The first was erected in 1825 in Gloucester Cathedral, a few miles from his home town of Berkeley inscribed simply ‘Jenner’. Other commissions followed and statues around the world in major cities can be found in Italy, France, and Tokyo - the latter stands in the gardens of the National Museum.
Following permission from Queen Victoria, a statue to Jenner was erected in Trafalgar Square in recognition of his enormous contribution to the welfare of mankind. Top of the list of donors for the statue was America, followed by Russia.
Britain was last.
Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, a keen supporter of vaccination and himself the leading British contributor to the memorial fund, presided over the inaugural occasion on the anniversary of Jenner’s birth in May 1858. According to reports of the occasion anyone who was anyone was there and all agreed it was an excellent likeness to Jenner.
Removal of Statue
However, not long afterwards the statue was removed. A non-military character sitting reflectively but not astride a horse, was thought inappropriate in Trafalgar Square. The Times supported its relocation and Parliament similarly demanded it be removed. The medical profession led by The Lancet and the British Medical Journal were furious and fought vigorously to preserve the statue. Punch naturally joined in the bitter debate getting straight to the point:
England’s ingratitude still blots
The escutcheon of the brave and free;
I saved you many million spots
And now you grudge one spot for me
The Prince Consort, Jenner’s main supporter died in December 1861 and by 1862 Jenner’s statue had been moved to Kensington Gardens, the first to be placed there. It currently still stands in the Italian Gardens. Many however commented that it was entirely out of place.
St George’s Hospital originally sited at Hyde Park Corner, put in a bid for the statue in 1896 on the centennial anniversary of Jenner’s great discoveries. Jenner had been a student there and the illustrious surgeon, John Hunter, Jenner’s mentor and friend, had been a surgeon at the hospital. It is just as well the statue wasn’t moved again as this site is now a hotel.
Jenner continues to sit resplendent in his Kensington surroundings but it is perhaps ironic that they are ‘Italian’ gardens. Shunned by the British establishment, he was forcibly removed from his rightful place in the heart of London’s Trafalgar Square. One can speculate whether these new artworks are worthy of such a place. What would the puritanical Victorian press for instance make of today’s debate?
New Demand to re-instate Jenner Statue
2009 marks 260 years since Jenner’s birth and the 30th anniversary of the eradication of Smallpox. Ironically, it is a disease that has all but been forgotten by the world following Dr Jenner’s pioneering research.
Jenner has been cast into the shade for long enough. It is time for one of the world’s forgotten heroes to have his statue reinstated in Trafalgar Square in its rightful place. This would be a fitting tribute to Jenner and his victory in mankind’s ‘war’ on disease.
Join our campaign to get Dr Jenner’s statue reinstated.
Sign up now:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Jenner2010/
Sarah Parker
Director
The Edward Jenner Museum, Berkeley, Gloucestershire
http://www.jennermuseum.com/ info@edwardjenner.co.uk
Sources: John Empson BSc BLitt – Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, September 1996
Friday, 3 July 2009
The Lion, Waterloo
The Lion, Waterloo
Originally uploaded by TMR Davies
For some reason, inverting the image of this picture has made the Lion's expression far more superior.
Don't know why!
Christ Church and Downend Cricket Ground: Britannia Crash
Christ Church and Downend Cricket Ground: Brittania Crash
Originally uploaded by TMR Davies
I used to think nothing ever important happened where lived, until I heard the story of the Britannia aircraft crash in 1957, the actual crash site is in woods just a few minutes walk from my home. The jet clipped the church pictured above before crashing a few hundred yards away, amazingly not on any houses. It could have been so different. It made world headlines and the event was commemorated by a plinth and small service in 2007.
The picture was taken on a sunny evening with cricket being played. So quiet and peaceful. How many were aware of what had happened here over 50 years ago? Until the crash Downend was best known for being the birthplace of Victorian cricketer W G Grace, who played on this small cricket ground.
Thursday, 18 June 2009
American Troops B & W
American Troops B & W
Originally uploaded by TMR Davies
We can recreate war torn Europe very easily in Worcestershire!
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Living Memory Passing Into History: Happy Birthday Harry!
Today Harry Patch celebrates his 111th birthday, a special milestone in anyone's book but Harry is the last surviving Tommy who fought in the trenches of World War 1. A very modest man he didn't even start talking about his WW1 experiences until he was over 90. Since then he's achieved celebrity status and been awarded many accolades and medals from admirers.
While not wishing to dwell on the subject of mortality, Harry is at the moment a tangible and living link with the horror of WW1 but in the future there will be no one left who can describe those events first hand. This was reinforced a couple of weeks a go when the last survivor of the Titanic died. Although she was only 6 weeks old on 14th April 1912 she was never the less personally affected by the disaster and again was an actual link with the event and had a story to tell.
Once the "first person" has gone we are left with history or heritage. It is why it is important to glean what we can from the living before they are no longer with us. Once gone only their stories remain, that can be in danger of being amended or suffer from Chinese Whsipers, so losing their validity and reality.
So this is what the title of this post is about, when living memory passes into history.
Let's wish Harry a very Happy Birthday, but not forget that his like will not be seen again. We must honour and remember all our histories and heritage, whether it be personal, regional, national or international.
It's why I do the job I do. It's what makes it so rewarding: and important for future generations who are currently living somebody else's "eventual history".
While not wishing to dwell on the subject of mortality, Harry is at the moment a tangible and living link with the horror of WW1 but in the future there will be no one left who can describe those events first hand. This was reinforced a couple of weeks a go when the last survivor of the Titanic died. Although she was only 6 weeks old on 14th April 1912 she was never the less personally affected by the disaster and again was an actual link with the event and had a story to tell.
Once the "first person" has gone we are left with history or heritage. It is why it is important to glean what we can from the living before they are no longer with us. Once gone only their stories remain, that can be in danger of being amended or suffer from Chinese Whsipers, so losing their validity and reality.
So this is what the title of this post is about, when living memory passes into history.
Let's wish Harry a very Happy Birthday, but not forget that his like will not be seen again. We must honour and remember all our histories and heritage, whether it be personal, regional, national or international.
It's why I do the job I do. It's what makes it so rewarding: and important for future generations who are currently living somebody else's "eventual history".
Monday, 15 June 2009
Human Skull.
Human Skull.
Originally uploaded by TMR Davies
A rather moody scene from a very well known murder room in Gloucestershire.
Friday, 12 June 2009
Sherman Memorial, Slapton Sands
Sherman Memorial, Slapton Sands
Originally uploaded by TMR Davies
A simple yet moving memorial to all those hundreds of US soldiers who lost their lives when a squadron of German E-Boats got amongst the training exercise for D Day, which due to the wrong radio frequencies could not call for support.
This was a "swimming tank", that sank during training and was raised a few years ago.
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