Hyde Park sculptures evoke two nations' sacrifice in war

An artist's impression of the Hyde Park sculptures.

A $3 million memorial commemorating the bonds between Britain and New Zealand and both countries' losses during wars will be dedicated in London's Hyde Park in November.

The memorial, paid for by the New Zealand Government, is to be unveiled on Armistice Day, November 11, before 300 representatives of the Army, Navy and Air Force, war veterans, members of Parliament and journalists.

It will be the first time in decades the New Zealand defence forces have paraded in London.

The memorial, in a prominent corner of Hyde Park, consists of 16 bronze standards, each representing a component of the special bond shared by the two countries, says the latest issue of the Army News.

The paper says the dedication is likely to be the biggest event in London on Armistice Day and will be attended by thousands of New Zealanders living in or visiting England. It will mark the closing of the Year of the Veterans campaign and the 90th anniversary of the New Zealand Returned Services Association.

The 16 bronze sculptures feature words and images evoking the theme of the memorial: New Zealand identity, the long relationship with Britain and the two nations' shared wars.

Fran Dibble, who helped her husband Paul Dibble to create the memorial, told Army News the sculptures were made to stand in semi-grid formations "calling to mind soldiers in procession, pohutukawa markers around Maori ancestral sites, or Celtic remains like standing stones".

"The forward-leaning angle of the standards gives them a defiant pose reminiscent of warriors during the haka, the defensive bat in cricket and the barrel of a shouldered gun."

- NZPA