British Antarctic Monument Trust

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The Fabric Committee and the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral have now given permission for the Antarctic Memorial to be installed in the crypt of the cathedral.

The site of the memorial is located adjacent to the Nelson Chamber in the crypt.  It is across the aisle from the South Atlantic Campaign Memorial and next to the memorial to the Arctic explorer Major Frederick George Jackson.  Importantly it is just outside the Education Centre: every child in London visits St Pauls once in their school career and this will give the Trust an opportunity to provide educational material about the role of Antarctic exploration and discovery and the losses sustained.

Designed by the artist Graeme Wilson and the stone mason Fergus Wessel, the circular plaque, 1100mm diameter, is to be made of riven Welsh slate with a map of Antarctica inset in white Carrara marble.  The position of South America and Southern Africa will be picked out of the surface of the riven slate and the latitude and longitude lines will be incised.  A huddle of Emperor penguins will be carved at the base of the disk. The inscription "For those who lost their lives in Antarctica in pursuit of science to benefit us all" will be cut into the smoothed periphery of the disk.  Around the rim, or edge, the title “British Antarctic Territory” and its motto “Research and discovery” will be cut and finished in palladium.  The same metal finish will be picked out on the marble of the continent to show the area of the British Antarctic Territory. The two artists names will be inscribed with the date around the bottom rim Wilson - Wessel 2011. This will position the plaque in historic terms for years to come.

A service of dedication at St Paul's is being planned for in late spring early summer of 2011.

We are grateful for the support and generosity given by the families, friends and companions of those that died as well as a number of benefactors who have contributed to our funds. We are particularly grateful to the government of the British Antarctic Territory and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust who have supported the application and contributed generously.

Those who would like to make a donation may do so by visiting our page on the Charity Choice website or downloading a Gift Aid Donation Form from this website and returning it with your cheque.

You might also like to support us by joining us at the Captain Scott Centenary event we are organising in Cardiff in partnership with the National Museum Wales on 12 June 2010.