stone monument for the fallen
Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial
The memorial still being worked on in stoneCIRCLE’s yard.
Paye Stonework and Restoration, the contractors for the memorial to the dead in the Iraq, Afghanistan and Gulf conflicts chose us to produce the monument. The mammoth structure was designed by Paul Day, a well-known sculptor who also produced the monument for the Battle of Britain. It commemorates both military and civilian deaths in the regions.
It was unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen on 9th March and is situated in Victoria Embankment Gardens near the MoD building.
The monument was fashioned out of Jordans Basebed Portland Stone and is composed of several huge blocks, the largest of which weighed 7000kg each.
In fact they were so heavy that stoneCIRCLE's lifting equipment could not cope with them and the company had to buy in a 15 tonne crane to help with the job. The crane now makes life much easier for the team that unloads the delivery lorries.
The production process entailed rough cutting the blocks, before the monument was dry built in the yard around a stainless steel frame, so that the edges could be pitched by hand to match the artist's requirements.
The stone is smooth and lettered on the back and front, and left rough-hewn on the other two sides, as the artist wanted to reflect the harsh, dry, rocky terrains of the countries as well as the public divisions that remain about the campaigns and the fact that the outcome was still not fully resolved.
Once finished it was dismantled and collected for delivery to the site where Paye Stonework & Restoration erected it.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the memorial’s unveiling.
More information can be found on the Guardian website.
project details
artist: Paul Day
contractor: Paye Stonework & Restoration Ltd
material: Jordans Basebed Portland Stone