1 July

ARCHIVE

Gilbert Ledward (1888-1960)

Photograph of Commando for the war memorial in Westminster Abbey, 1946

h 21.5, w 14.7 cm Donated by Mrs Simon, 1988

When I first saw the newscuttings and photographs of Ledward's
Westminster Abbey memorial I was struck by the almost unreal
similarity between the artist's work and the real people he used
as his models. When I looked at the archive material again later
the resemblance in the actual images was less strong than I
remembered. The photographs seemed rather blurred and the
cuttings rather faded and the resemblance was therefore less
clear. If people are concerned and we make a memorial to the
brave, who have fallen for the defence of our country, we cannot
meet them again. The memory of the individuals stop being added
to as events have stopped the person's life. Do national monuments
claim the individuals for the memory of the country as a whole? On
the radio yesterday (30 June 1998) it was reported that a family had
pressed for a DNA-test to identify a pilot who was assumed to be
unidentified. The family reclaimed their relative and the body was
removed and put in a separate grave. Generations to come will be
told about past events but history will also be rewritten and
reinterpreted as new events give different perspectives.

Quiz: Can you see something slightly unusual about the photograph?
A: The Commando not the art work is on a turning table and the artist
and the piece are facing the photographer not the life model.