Revisited: The Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice

On Monday 3^rd October I just happened to catch an episode of the BBC’s Inside Out and as often happens, they began running a feature which I was quickly lured into by recognition of the location in which they were filming – Postman’s Park. Now immediately I had a feeling that what was about to be covered was The Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice and sure enough that’s what it was and it reminded me of the blog I’d drafted a while ago and only recently posted, which in light of this programme I thought was worth revisiting.

The Watt's Memorial in Postman's Park

The segment introduced historian Dr John Price and his book ‘Heroes of Postman’s Park: Heroic Self-Sacrifice in Victorian London’ in which he reveals the full details of the lives and untimely deaths of all sixty-two people commemorated on the memorial. I hadn’t come across the book when I wrote the original blog so I decided to do a little bit more research and also came across the fact that there is also a free app which can be used at home, or at the site itself, which brings to life the people who feature of the wall; the camera recognising the tablet in question and presenting the user with an individual profile. This brings to life what ordinarily are abstract names on a memorial. For each individual the profile includes ‘a description of the incident in which they died and details of all the key people involved, allowing the user to gain different perspectives on the circumstances. Events, locations and places of interest can be viewed on interactive maps and the app is extensive illustrated, with pictures of people and places.’(1) This is a really great interactive way to engage people with what is fascinating memorial and to tell the important histories of the people which it commemorates.

Just some on the tablets that adorn the wall.

But what captured my interest most was the fact that this feature on Inside Out was essentially a publicity campaign for the Friends of the Watt’s memorial, established in 2015, who wish to complete Watt’s memorial and fill the remaining tablets as its creator, George Frederick Watts, originally intended. It was explained that Dr Price thinks it likely that Watt’s selected the remaining people and that the list remains in an archive somewhere as yet undiscovered. Dr Price also explained that the Friends hope to make the new tablets as similar as possible to the original, with the original kiln being shown and even discussion of whether it might be possible recommissioned it and produce the remaining tiles.

This struck me as an interesting concept on two levels. Firstly, I asked myself the question – should we finish something that someone in the past began and which was only left incomplete because of that person’s death, and which has now become a piece of history in its own right (albeit incomplete). Or, like the Friends have proposed, should we be looking to complete a memorial like this? The second question I then had was what if there is not a definitive list? And does a list by Watts even matter given that additions were made after his death, the memorial including individuals who were not considered by Watts but were selected by his wife who took over the management of the memorial after his death in 1904? As a result there are a number of individuals whose death’s date beyond that – most before 1927, but there is also one exception, Leigh Pitt a reprographic operator who saved a drowning boy from a canal in 2007 but lost his life in doing so. Clearly this extends beyond what Watts could ever have conceived for the memorial, so how does that factor in to what the Friends hope to do. Curiosity got the better of me and so I tweeted to ask but my question has been left unanswered.

I think this project asks some interesting questions about the way in which we manage and view memorials and whether that should be restricted to preservation or more interventionist activity. It’s certainly given me food for thought and I’ll be interested to see what occurs in the coming months or even years.  

(1)   http://www.postmanspark.org.uk/