Pillar of David
Reporter: by Marina Berry
Date published: 04 August 2008
HOW the memorial is expected to look with its 52 pillars representing the victims of the atrocities
THE families of people killed in the July 7 London bombings have unveiled plans for a memorial of 52 pillars — each representing an innocent victim of the atrocity.
One will commemorate Austerlands man David Foulkes, who was one of the youngest victims of the 2005 atrocities. He was 22.
The pillars will be grouped together in four interlinking clusters, representing the four separate attacks.
The £1 million stainless steel memorial will be placed in Hyde Park, London, and each three-metre column will be inscribed with the date, time and location of the attack.
A plaque inscribed with David’s name and those of the other 51 victims will be set in grass banks near the memorial.
“Angel of the North” creator Antony Gormley acted as an independent adviser for the memorial, which will be unveiled on the fourth anniversary of the bombings next year.
Each 15-18 cm square column will be slightly different, and visitors will be able to wander around them.
Grahame Russell, whose son Philip was a victim of the atrocity, said: “A lot of families’ ideas were included in the design. It’s very different.
“It reminds me that prior to July 7, these 52 people stood tall in this world, the material itself is as indestructible as the memories we have of them.
“We wanted a proper memorial so we have taken our time.”
Julie Nicholson quit her post as a vicar in Bristol because she felt unable to forgive the killer of her daughter Jennifer, who died at the same place as David, in Edgware Road.
She said she had believed it would be very difficult to find a fitting memorial, but said it honoured the people killed, adding: “All the dreams and aspirations that the 52 families have had have all been embraced somewhere in the design.”
David was a former pupil of Hulme Grammar School for Boys and Oldham Sixth Form College, and worked for the Guardian newspaper’s circulation department. He died when four suicide bombers blew up three tube trains and a London bus, killing a total of 52 people and injuring hundreds of others.
A planning application for the design has been submitted to Westminster City Council, and can be seen by members of the public on its website.
