£400,000 appeal for war heroine's statue

nlnews@archant.co.uk
10 September 2009

AN APPEAL has been launched to raise £400,000 for a statue of Crimean war heroine and nurse Mary Seacole.

Entrepreneur Alexander Amosu, who was born and bred in Tottenham, was on a judging panel to choose the statue design to honour the Jamaican nurse. She became as famous as Florence Nightingale for her work treating soldiers and is thought to have helped the 57th Middlesex regiment, which included soldiers from Haringey, on the battlefield at Sebastapol in 1855.

The statue will be erected opposite the Houses of Parliament in early 2011, but only if cash to fund the project is raised.

Lord Soley of Hammersmith, chairman of the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal, said: "Frankly she is a wonderful example of the contribution made to Britain from the ethnic minority community throughout the years, she's a good example of what a mixed society we are and Tottenham is a good example of that too."

A corporate sponsor has already pledged £50,000 with another £50,000 earmarked from a Brixton Academy concert later this year.

Jamaican Mary Seacole travelled to the Crimea in the 1850s using her own money to treat wounded British soldiers when she was not one of the 40 nurses chosen by Florence Nightingale to visit the war's frontline.

Artist Martin Jennings' design was selected from a shortlist of eight and the final statue and disc behind it will be cast from bronze. He said: "The sculpture represents her marching defiantly forward into an oncoming wind, as if confronting head-on some of the personal resistance she had constantly to battle."

To make a donation e-mail contact@maryseacoleappeal.org.uk