Statue: George Orwell statue
Erection date: 7/11/2017
{On the plinth:}
George Orwell
{On the wall behind:}
If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
At 6' 2" Orwell was a tall man, but this statue is 2.5 metres (over 8'). He struggled with ill-health most of his life and died of tuberculosis. The constant smoking was surely a contributory factor but at that time the dangers of smoking were not recognised. It's odd that this and the only other 4 smoking statues we can think of, in London, have all been erected since the acquisition of this knowledge: Oscar Wilde (by that pro-smoking sculptor Maggi Hambling), Sherlock Holmes and Churchill in 50 years of Peace. And a relief portrait of Brunel at Paddington Station depicts him with an insouciant cigar in his mouth.
The Guardian informs that this statue was privately funded "through a trust founded by the late Labour MP Ben Whitaker." It's said to be the only statue to Orwell.
Site: George Orwell statue (1 memorial)
W1, Hallam Street, o/s BBC
Orwell worked at the BBC during WW2 but, also relevant, his views on language and verbal clarity explain the BBC providing a home for his statue. The name of the BBC show 'Room 101' is inspired by a room of torture in Orwell's novel '1984'. Orwell is said to have named that after a room in which he worked during WW2, in Broadcasting House, outside which this statue is sited.
Go to map of other memorials in this area
