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The Hull People's Memorial

The Hull People's Memorial was unveiled at 10:00 hrs on the 12^th May 2018. Award-winning author Val Wood 'cut the tape', declaring the memorial open, in front of Admiral of The Humber and Lord Mayor, Councillor John Hewitt. Other dignitaries included Member of Parliament for Hull West and Hessle, Emma Hardy; Leader of Kingston upon Hull City Council, Stephen Brady and Aldeman Mary Glew. Even more importantly, the unveiling was attended by several hundred locals and visitors, including a large number of veterans of the bombing of our city during World War Two.

{Left to right} Val Wood, Alan Brigham (Chair) and Chris Brigham (Treasurer) stand in front of The Hull People's Memorial

The Memorial is in the shape of a globe, representing the close community of Kingston upon Hull, one one the most isolated cities in the UK, being some 55 kilometres from its nearest significant neighbour, York. For much of its history, including during the two Great Wars, Kingston upon Hull has only had itself to turn to in times of crisis. The globe then, seemed to be and ideal shape to represent the community of this great northern city. Around the top of the globe are a number of cut-out ash leaves, these represent the people who were taken from the community during the air raids of World Wars one and two. Captured below these, surrounding the entire globe, are the fallen leaves which list those who paid the ultimate price with the loss of their life. During more than five years of research it became clear that not everyone who died within the city boundary could ever be identified. Some would be simply passing through the city, their identity unknown. Some would simply vanish under the falling bombs and subsequent conflagrations. Others are still likely to lie undiscovered having been buried under the tons of rubble or deep within unmapped cellars and tunnels of the old town. To remind us of the unknown fallen, a number of leaves around the memorial remain empty, bearing no names at all.

The ash was chosen as it is an ancient symbol of healing, of rebirth, and therefore very significant as the city's survivors, living in the most devastated place in the whole UK, were all but ignored by Central Government and left to rebuild Kingston upon Hull with little, or no, help from London. A plaque on the side of Festival House, in Jameson Street, marks the first reparation funding reaching the city in the early 1950s. Hull still has acres of bombed land with many of its 'temporary car parks' (bombsites) having tarmacked over to make them more permanent. Many other sites lay fenced off and desolate to this day. Perhaps the ash recovers too slowly where compared to the cities of the south?