Statue

Sunbeam Weekly and the Pilgrim's Pocket

Erection date: 29/11/1991

Inscription

{Plaque at the base of the statue:}
A bronze sculpture by Peter McLean unveiled by Elsie Marks Vice Chair, Mayflower Tenants Association
Sunshine Weekly and the Pilgrims Pocket
Friday 29th November 1991.

Commissioned by
{Logo of the London Docklands Development Corporation:}

{On the boy's comic:}
Uncle Pete and Kevs
Sunbeam Weakl (presumably there should be a 'Y' at the end, but it's obscured by the boy's hand.)

{In the pilgrim's pocket:}
A-Z 1620

{Around the base of the statue:}
WHY
(+Kev)
Fecit Peter McLean 1991

The statue (next to a lamppost), comprises a (ghost of a) pilgrim father, looking over the shoulder of a small Bermondsey boy from about the 1920s (the 100th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower), and a dog (a Staffordshire bull terrier), standing on its hind legs.
The comic the boy is reading (made possible at night by the light of the lamppost) is called 'Uncle Pete and Kevs Sunbeam Weekly (actually spelt as Weakly wihout a 'Y'). This makes us wonder why the plaque calls the statue 'Sunshine' weekly, and suspect that it is a mistake.
The comic (which we believe refers to an actual comic called just 'Sunbeam') shows scenes of how America had developed since 1620, and the pilgrim is looking at it in apparent horror.
There is much other detail to be seen, including various tools and implements. In the pilgrim's pocket is a lobster claw, a fish, a crucifix, a totem pole and an A-Z dated 1620. Some sources say that the A-Z refers to New York rather than London, but we don't believe it has ever been published in America.
The pilgrim has a second pocket, and it is said that any visitor from the new world who places a small object in it will find a new and more rewarding path in life.
A nearby information board gives details about the sculptor, the Pilgrim Fathers and the native Americans who helped them.

'(+Kev)', refers to sculptor McLean's assistant, Kevin Bolger. the Latin 'Fecit' means 'made by'. The word (or initials) 'WHY' is unexplained, indeed, there's a lot about this sculpture that is unexplained, which might explain the WHY!

Site: Sunbeam Weekly and the Pilgrim's Pocket (1 memorial)

SE16, Rotherhithe Street, Cumberland Wharf

This site is expected to be very popular with American tourists commemorating the quadricentennial of the sailing of the Mayflower in 2020.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Sunbeam Weekly and the Pilgrim's Pocket

Subjects commemorated i

The Sailing of the Mayflower

The ship that carried pilgrims from Britain to the New World. There were 102 ...

Read More

Sunbeam

Children's comic published by James Henderson and Sons. It featured 'Dr Rhino...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Sunbeam Weekly and the Pilgrim's Pocket

Created by i

London Docklands Development Corporation

We did not initially recognise this logo, on at least 8 plaques in the Surrey...

Read More

Mayflower Tenants Association

Tenants and residents association in Rotherhithe, based in Mayflower Hall, 1 ...

Read More

Kevin Bolger

Peter McLean's assistant. 

Read More

Elsie Marks

Erstwhile Vice Chair of the Mayflower Tenants Association.

Read More

Peter McLean

Sculptor. A founding member of the Bermondsey Artists' Group created in 1983.

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Captain James Cook statue

Captain James Cook statue

SW1, The Mall

The original inscription stopped after "New Zealand." In 1928 the British Empire League, with the necessary approval, added the rest.

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators
Frieze of Parnassus - Roubiliac

Frieze of Parnassus - Roubiliac

SW7, Kensington Road

The monument, officially titled the Prince Consort National Memorial, celebrates Victorian achievement and Prince Albert's passions and i...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Public Record Office - Victoria

Public Record Office - Victoria

WC2, Chancery Lane, Maughan Library of King's College, ex-PRO

The first buildings to occupy this site were built in 1232 by Henry III.  The building was known as the Domus Conversorum (the House of C...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
de Gaulle statue

de Gaulle statue

SW1, Carlton Gardens, 5

See Musee de la Resistance for more information on this memorial (in French).

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators
Street Cat Bob

Street Cat Bob

N1, Islington Green

In 2007, as a homeless person living in supported housing, James Bowen was befriended by ginger cat Bob, who needed Bowen's help. Bowen w...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator

Previously viewed

St Marks, Kennington - history

St Marks, Kennington - history

SW9, Clapham Road, St Marks Church

The 1745 Association (who ought to know) writes: "The plaque on the side of the church says it was twenty-one but that may not be quite a...

19 subjects commemorated
Jack Mantle VC

Jack Mantle VC

Sailor. Born Jack Foreman Mantle in Wandsworth. He was a leading seaman on HMS Foylebank in Portland Harbour, and was in charge of a 2-pounder gun, known as a 'pom-pom'. On 4th July 1940, the ship...

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW2
1 memorial
Rowland Hill - NW3 - second erection

Rowland Hill - NW3 - second erection

NW3, Hampstead Green, Royal Free Hospital

The 1892 erection must have been on the house in which Hill lived and died, Bartram House, demolished 1905. One wonders where the plaque ...

3 subjects commemorated, 1 creator