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LONDON STATUES - POLITICIANS

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LONDON STATUES - POLITICIANS      Some British Politicians who made their mark without getting the top job. But they still got a statue.     First, a gem of a trivia question: Apart from the obvious, what did British politician John Wilkes and Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth have in common?     As usual, t he accompanying portraits are courtesy of  The National Portrait Gallery :  For use in non-commercial projects (e.g. online in scholarly and non-profit publications and websites, blogs, local society newsletters and family history). JOHN WILKES (1727–1797)     Radical journalist, MP and thorn in the side of the establishment, Wilkes became a symbol of liberty and free speech through his battles with the Crown over his newspaper The North Briton . His repeated expulsions from Parliament only increased his popularity, making him one of the first truly “public” politicians. His No. 45 issue attacking the King made '45' int...
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LONDON STATUES - INTERNATIONAL

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  LONDON STATUES - INTERNATIONAL     This isn't a definitive collection. There are other statues of foreign figures in London I've already covered elsewhere (not least the American presidents , so this mops up the rest, a smorgasbord of mostly military and political leaders (.... who loom large in their own national stories).   FERDINAND FOCH (1851–1929)      Marshal Ferdinand Foch was Supreme Allied Commander during the final year of World War I, coordinating the push to victory on the Western Front.  A career soldier, he later played a key role in the Treaty of Versailles negotiations - though he felt Britain and the United States were too lenient on Germany.  Undoubtedly one of the great commanders of the war, he became the first foreign soldier to be appointed an honorary British field marshal. His strategies are still studied today.     Grosvenor Gardens      This statue, near Victoria Station was unveile...
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