A CAMPAIGN has been launched to save the bronze mallard on the statue of railway engineer Sir Nigel Gresley, which is planned for London’s Kings Cross station.
The seven-foot statue, commissioned by the Gresley Society Trust from award-winning sculptor Hazel Reeves, was originally designed with a mallard at the man’s feet to symbolise the world’s fastest steam locomotive, Mallard, and as a nod to Gresley’s love of wildfowl.
The locomotive Mallard, which Gresley designed, remains the holder of the world speed record for steam locomotives at 125.88 mph (202.58 km/h).
The record was achieved on 3 July 1938 on the slight downward grade of Stoke Bank south of Grantham on the East Coast Main Line, and the highest speed was recorded at milepost 90¼, between Little Bytham and Essendine.
Since few people know what Gresley (who died in 1941) looks like, the duck was included to draw attention from passersby on the busy station concourse, and to pique interest in Gresley and his achievements.
But in the face of overwhelming public support for the man and mallard design, the Gresley Society controversially decided to remove the duck when two elderly grandsons of Sir Nigel said they feared the mallard would detract from the statue’s dignity.
The ‘Save the Duck’ campaigners hope to persuade the grandsons and Gresley Society that, far from undignified, the mallard makes the sculpture endearing and engaging, and that without it the statue will go largely unnoticed.
The campaign website www.gresleyduck.org shows the hundreds of pro-duck comments made on social media from all over the world. A petition to reinstate the mallard already has over 600 signatures.
Libby Ranzetta, who started the petition, said: “This statue will be seen by millions of people but how many of them will notice it? If it goes ahead without the duck, it becomes part of the anonymous station furniture, just a bronze man.
“The duck transforms the statue into an icon, a meeting place, a conversation starter, a curiosity for children. What better way to arouse interest in Sir Nigel Gresley, whose most famous locomotive was named Mallard.”
Thousands of people turned out at Grantham railway station in September 2013, to see the Mallard, on two days loan from York Railway Museum.
BBC London’s Vanessa Feltz said: “Which is the statue that you are going to take your grandchildren to see? Which is the statue that you will make a pilgrimage to see? Which is the statue that you will take a picture of yourself next to? The one with the duck or the one without it? I’m 100% pro-duck.”
The statue is due to be unveiled on 5th April 2016, the 75th anniversary of Sir Nigel’s death.
The petition urging the Gresley Society Trust to reinstate the mallard can be found at https://www.change.org/p/the-gresley-society-trust-reinstate-the-mallard-on-the-proposed-statue-of-sir-nigel-gresley
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