Volunteers are calling for the London Covid memorial wall to become a permanent monument
People who have lost loved ones to Covid seek government protection for the memorial wall, which serves as a place of remembrance for the victims of the pandemic.
Volunteers highlight the importance of the Covid Wall Memorial in South Bank, urging the government to make it a permanent site for bereaved families.
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A group of volunteers managing the Covid wall memorial in South Bank are asking government officials to designate the site as a permanent monument.
The wall, which was created by the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Group in March of 2021, was intended as a visual recognition of the number of people who had died from Covid.
It began as a collection of lights and hand-painted hearts painted on the 500-metre wall.
The 500-metre wall features many drawings of hearts, with the names of Covid victims written inside them by bereaved families. Credit: Ciara Tippen for City News
Now, the volunteers, a group of bereaved people who have lost loved ones to Covid, are expressing worry about the lack of formal acknowledgment from the government.
Fran Hall, who lost her husband during the pandemic, visits the memorial wall weekly to maintain it.
She told City News that safeguarding the memorial space is essential to the community.
“It’s the only national memorial we’ve got, it’s unique in that there’s nothing else like this in the whole world.”
“It’s lonely grief, but the wall gives a place where people can come, it’s always there.”
“Anyone can go there at any time of the day or night, any day of the year, and they can find their heart or they can write in the heart. And there’s a comfort in that person’s name being visible to the world.”
This year marks the fourth annual day of reflection.
This aligns with the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration’s recommendation to observe it on the first Sunday of March.
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HeadlineVolunteers are calling for the London Covid memorial wall to become a permanent monument
Short HeadlineNew efforts to make London Covid wall permanent
StandfirstPeople who have lost loved ones to Covid seek government protection for the memorial wall, which serves as a place of remembrance for the victims of the pandemic.
A group of volunteers managing the Covid wall memorial in South Bank are asking government officials to designate the site as a permanent monument.
The wall, which was created by the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Group in March of 2021, was intended as a visual recognition of the number of people who had died from Covid.
It began as a collection of lights and hand-painted hearts painted on the 500-metre wall.
The 500-metre wall features many drawings of hearts, with the names of Covid victims written inside them by bereaved families. Credit: Ciara Tippen for City News
Now, the volunteers, a group of bereaved people who have lost loved ones to Covid, are expressing worry about the lack of formal acknowledgment from the government.
Fran Hall, who lost her husband during the pandemic, visits the memorial wall weekly to maintain it.
She told City News that safeguarding the memorial space is essential to the community.
“It’s the only national memorial we’ve got, it’s unique in that there’s nothing else like this in the whole world.”
“It’s lonely grief, but the wall gives a place where people can come, it’s always there.”
“Anyone can go there at any time of the day or night, any day of the year, and they can find their heart or they can write in the heart. And there’s a comfort in that person’s name being visible to the world.”
This year marks the fourth annual day of reflection.
This aligns with the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration’s recommendation to observe it on the first Sunday of March.
