London – Central London – Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice

Located in Postman’s Park and on the site of the former graveyard of St Botolph’s Aldersgate church is this memorial to those brave individuals who have died through acts of great self-sacrifice. This is the idea of George Frederic Watts, a painter and sculptor, who wanted the bravery of ordinary men, women and children to be remembered for generations to come. The memorial opened in 1900 and most of the tiles were produced by William De Morgan (later on Royal Doulton produced the tiles), but the project slowly ground to a halt and by 1931 only 53 of the planned 120 tiles were in use. The church has recently started adding more tiles again, bringing the original concept back to life.

There was a memorial held in the church in December 1905, a year after Watts had died, which was attended by the Bishop of London. A statue of Watts was unveiled and the Bishop referred to the “humility of character and simplicity of life” of the former painter.

Some of the names on the memorial, with some tragic stories amongst them.