Removal of Keith Park Statur From Trafalgar Square

Removal of Statue of Sir Keith Park From Trafalgar Square, Wednesday 5 May at 09.00 hrs

LONDON, May 4 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

- Permanent Bronze Statue of Park to be Unveiled in Waterloo Place on Battle of Britain Day, 15 September 2010

The memorial statue of Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park will be removed from the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London on Wednesday 5 May 2010. The removal process will commence at 09.00 hrs.

Sir Keith Park commanded Number 11 Group of Fighter Command, responsible for the defence of London and the South East of England. He therefore commanded the squadrons which bore the brunt of the Battle of Britain. The failure to defeat the RAF in 1940 is seen as Germany's first major setback in the Second World War - forcing the abandonment of the planned invasion of Britain.

Park was a New Zealander, who had fought in the First World War in the field artillery first at Gallipoli, and then the Somme where he was wounded and evacuated to England. Medically graded unfit to continue service with the artillery, Park joined the Royal Flying Corps, remaining with the air arm when it was re-formed as the Royal Air Force.

Marshal of the RAF, Lord Tedder, said of Park: "If ever any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I don't believe it is recognised how much this one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill, did to save not only this country, but the world."

Terry Smith, Chairman of the Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign, said:

"Sir Keith Park was pivotal in organising the defence of our country and capital city during the Battle of Britain, and was a key figure in ensuring the survival of our nation. The statue has been a fitting memorial to Park, situated prominently on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, in the city which he helped to defend in 1940. Park's statue has fittingly sat beneath Nelson's Column - a memorial to another great commander who likewise defended Britain from invasion 135 years earlier."

The Trafalgar Square memorial statue of Sir Keith Park was erected 6 months ago as an exceptional and one-off event, in tribute to Park's courage and leadership.

The 5 metre high statue is being donated by The Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign to the RAF Museum in Hendon, where it will be displayed to the public in a permanent gallery which holds the Battle of Britain Collection. This collection explores the history of the Battle of Britain and the aircraft that fought when the Royal Air Force stood alone against the might of Germany.

A new permanent bronze statue of Sir Keith Park will be unveiled during the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain period, on 15 September 2010, Battle of Britain Day at a formal memorial ceremony in Waterloo Place, London.

The GLA's Fourth Plinth Commissioning Programme in Trafalgar Square will recommence with Yinka Shonibare's 'Nelson's Ship in a Bottle'.

High resolution images of the removal of the statue in Trafalgar Square will be available for the media to view and download free of charge by 11am BST on 5 May from http://ww.vismedia.co.uk.

ENDS

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