Ergon House, Horseferry Road/Dean Ryle Street London SW1
Tricky to find and even trickier to capture on camera. Ada sits high on a building between Dean Ryle Street and Horseferry Road. In an age of perpetually looking down at smartphones it seems counterintuitive to look up, but there she stands, surveying London’s continually changing landscape.
Ada is best known as a mathematician and technology pioneer, at a time when few women entered those fields. She worked closely with Charles Babbage on the analytical engines —mechanical prototypes of the computer — and is sometimes credited as being the world’s first computer programmer.
Did you know??????? She is celebrated on the second Tuesday of every October, which has become known as Ada Lovelace Day.
The punchcards behind her are an early form of computer memory that would have been used with Babbage on the analytical engine had it been built. Apparently the cards contain two coded puzzles contributed by a team of international scientists. Clearly I’d be able to crack them if they weren’t so far away…..
Having a bad day? Then think of the plight of Violette Szabo, Special Agent. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was secretly formed for the purpose of recruiting agents of many nationalities, who would volunteer to fight for freedom, by performing acts of sabotage in countries occupied by the enemy during the Second World War.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, she joined the Women’s Land Army and the Auxillary Territorial Service before joining the SOE where she underwent extensive training as a field agent. Her training was put to the test in several missions, none more so than her final mission. Thwarted by the SS, her group made a getaway held off by Szabo shooting at the enemy before she was finally captured, tortured and interrogated. Transferred to Ravensbrück concentration camp she kept up the morale of the other imprisoned resistance fighters by beginning to organize an escape from the camp. Unfortunately, in February 1945 the Germans discovered her plans and she was taken to the execution block where she was shot and killed at the age of 23.
Szabo was one of 117 Special Agents who did not survive their missions to France and her statue represents the bravery and fortitude of all who died for the freedom of others.
It is a pleasure to meet suffragist Millicent Garrett Fawcett in Parliament Square whose statue was the first woman to be included in an area consisting of 11 male statues.
The campaign was led by writer and activist Caroline Criado Perez who, by pointing out there were 98 statues of men called John, and only 128 named women statues in the UK, inspired me to take this journey of statues in the first place.
Commissioned as part of the centenary year of the 1918 Representation of the People Act (which gave some women over 30 the right to vote), the plinth includes photos of other prominent suffragettes and suffragists, hence, in essence, the presence of noted women in the Square now exceeds that of men.
Leader of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)Fawcett was sister to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson – the first woman to qualify as a doctor in 1865. Fawcett co-founded Newnham College, Cambridge – one of the first colleges for women – as part of her efforts to improve women’s access to higher education. She died in 1929, one year after all women were permitted to vote on the same terms as men.
I love this statue, although every time I see it, the cloth that bears such a poignant statement, ‘Courage calls to courage everywhere’ always reminds me of a newly ironed tea towel. Go figure.
I spend time nearby watching other people’s interaction with it, selfies, poses, all of it. It’s also intriguing to watch folk just sit down next to it, seemingly oblivious to it, contented to be part of the photos of passers-by. On this occasion I have managed to dodge them all. Result.
No statues of Welsh women anywhere in Wales. I’m not talking about female representation. I’m sure there are angels in cemeteries or nymphs set in marble with one or two breasts tastefully displayed. But real women. Women who breathed and achieved in their home country.
In 2016 a group of women in Cardiff wanted to address this. Initially setting out to have one statue honouring a real Welsh woman, the Monumental Welsh Women (MWW) Campaign came about. Working with the Women’s Equality Network in Wales they drew up a list of 100 Welsh women to celebrate the centenary of women getting the vote in 1918. Narrowing the list to 5 it was, as democracy dictates, put to a public vote to find the one woman to be immortalised. Spearheaded by BBC broadcasts, the public chose their favourite and the winner announced in January 2019.
The response was immense, and, with so many contenders, why stop at one? And so the Campaign has set about honouring all 5 of the shortlisted women, and given themselves a target of getting all 5 in place in just 5 years. You’ve got to love a challenge.
This is how I find Betty Campbell, the first of five Welsh women. Campbell became the first black head teacher in Wales and was a champion of multiculturalism. Born in to poverty in Cardiff’s Tiger Bay (now Cardiff Bay) she faced adversity in education and as a teacher, but was determined to ensure the school curriculum included black history to fairly and accurately represent the past.
I have got in touch with Julie from MWW via the Invisible Women website which I stumbled upon during early research. It appears I am not the only one to lament the lack of female statues. The site spotlights up and coming women monuments and highlights places where they are sadly lacking. Julie agrees to meet me by Campbell and it was a real insight into commissioning, fundraising and the statue detail.
And there is a lot of detail. At the foot of the statue, Julie talks me through the children, depicted from all ages, the map of Tiger Bay, the inclusion of Campbell’s favourite books and song references and the input from Campbell’s family to ensure the teacher was captured. Touchingly, there is also a small seat so you can sit among the school children so you can immerse yourself in the piece of art. Beautiful.
Staying in Winchester, on Jewry street stands the wonderful statue of Licoricia and her youngest son Asher at 5 years old. I start taking the obligatory photos to record my visit and overhear an enthusiastic volunteer taking new students on a tour of the city, glancing at the statue before steering them elsewhere.
I flinch at the vagueness of it as they walk away, but in all honesty I too know nothing about her. I’ve fitted the visit in on my travels and have done no research. I figured when time is tight I can just find the position, take a few selfies and study later. This has its advantages when you have constraints but I’m missing important snippets of information, and wonder if I would appreciate the statue and the journey more.
Fortunately, The Arc (formerly the Winchester Discovery Centre) has a leaflet. A highly successful and intelligent Jewish businesswoman, she was tragically murdered in 1277, the details of which are unknown. The leaflet goes on to give details of the Jewish community in 13th century Winchester and about the sculpture itself – the artist also created the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on coins since 1998.
The tragic end of her life gives real poignancy to her being depicted with her young child, who presumably was forced out of England with the rest of the Jewish community in 1290. It feels like there is much more to learn and to understand.
I feel I’m rushing around. I’ve got a 5-hour drive home this afternoon so find myself just stopping momentarily at places. On visiting new spots I’m not sure what parking protocol is and my concern about being somewhere I shouldn’t be plays on my mind. This is how it is when I pull up to Greta Thunberg outside Winchester University’s West Downs Centre. It is a Sunday so manage to pull up close outside the building, but I’m worried about getting a parking ticket. I just need 5 mins. Not long enough to fully take in the artwork, circle round it deep in thought, and view from all angles, but long enough to visit, take some snaps and go.
Greta’s statue is rare in the fact it has been created when the subject is still very much alive and active. You can imagine no council wants to fork out thousands of pounds for the protagonist to disgrace themself months after the installation. It’s hard to picture Greta in a bar room brawl or staggering out of a nightclub with powder around her nose at 4 in the morning, but who knows when she has so much life ahead of her?
I’m learning along the way here, not just about who these women are and how to steer myself across the UK, but how statues come about. Margaret Thatcher’s Grantham statue came in at the tune of £300,000 so it is not a decision given lightly. The bigger the statue, invariably, the higher the price tag. Materials aren’t free. Time and precision is not free. Nor is the installation and subsequent upkeep costs. Captured lifesize as her younger self and at a cost of £24,000 it weighs in considerably cheaper than other monuments and yet evoked criticism and anti-social behaviour. Sadly, the statue was moved in 2024 to the University’s courtyard garden and now stands with her back to a glass wall, which, as the artist points out, makes it less accessible as an art piece, with the opportunity missed of walking round the whole piece as art intended.
Another weekend, another visit. This time to Hampshire where I can visit friends as well as family. I’m packing a lot in this summer. While work occupies me during the week, my boys are away so filling my weekends up with my statue pursuits is a much needed distraction.
On the road back to Leeds I can take in three women. There’s an ongoing rail dispute which isn’t to be resolved until much later. Ironically, the first visit is to Charlotte Mary Yonge who was an important benefactor to the immigrant workers and their families that arrived in Eastleigh to toil in the railway industry. It doesn’t seem much to ask that people are paid fairly and kept safe while doing their jobs. To think the struggle has continued through generations is disheartening to say the least.
On this occasion, having a car and being able to do a quick pit stop between the models has proved useful. Due to said strike, I can rock up at Eastleigh train station and there is room in the car park. At the station a few people walk into the forecourt and walk out again looking dazed and confused, somehow missing the strike information. This means I have the statue to myself.
Situated outside the station, taking a seat on a bench with room for company, sits local author and teacher Yonge who gave Eastleigh its name. I love the invitation to sit awhile with a local public figure. Statues all too often feel unrelatable and intangible. Having a bench is an opportunity to look up close at artwork and almost be at one with it. It is a style that has really taken off, if statues have a fashion….
I rope another friend in to a statue visit. This one is in Grantham which happens to be the birthplace of this particular lady (the statue, not Louise…)
We have entered the height of summer and the day starts with a bright blue sky. Perfect photography weather. Louise and I arrive early in the town. Embarrassed to ask for directions for this particular visit, Louise kindly steps in to find the way and we walk down the road past Sir Issac Newton’s monument to find the statue on St Peter’s Hill Green. High on a plinth stands Margaret Thatcher, aka, ‘The Iron Lady’ who became, in 1979, the first female prime minister in Europe. A controversial figure (and still to this day – don’t get me started on milk in schools!) She is pictured in the full ceremonial robes worn by the members of the House of Lords. Her elevated position is something I feel Thatcher would have approved of. Controversially, the statue was rejected for installation in Parliament Square at a risk of statue saturation/protest/vandalism (pick your story) so subsequently took its place here in May 2022 where reportedly it was egged within hours of its unveiling.
We visit on a peaceful day and I love that I captured Louise in the background of the shots, whether she wanted to be or not….
Social Reformer, Statistician and Founder of Modern Medicine
This is the first but certainly not the last tribute to Florence Nightingale. She stands at Waterloo Place – a short walk from the Stafford but up so high I’m struggling to take a decent shot. Created by Arthur George Walker, it shows her as ‘the Lady with the Lamp’, a nickname she earned on her nightly inspection rounds in the hospitals of the Crimean war and was unveiled in the midst of the First World War in 1915, with little fanfare, as was appropriate given wartime.
We’ve come across Karen Newman’s work before and will see it again. Yesterday’s Anayat Noor Khan bust and later Special Agent Violet Szabo. Today it is Nancy Wake hidden to the side of a bar. I feel conscious that my casual wear signals that I’m not staying in the hotel as I approach the doorman at the Stafford Hotel, but I’m permitted in and start searching. I find her in the corner and take in the similarity of Newman’s Khan bust, partly because Wake (and indeed Szabo) are of the same era. In the World War 2 she joined the French Resistance and later the Special Operations Executive where she undertook several dangerous missions in the lead up to D-Day on 6th June 1944.
The American Bar at the Stafford was frequented by Wake where she would enjoy a tipple of gin and tonic and had a reserved bar stool. In her honour, the bar makes a cocktail named, ‘White Mouse’ – the name given to her by the Gestapo because of her ability to evade capture.
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