Heroic victims of technology
Memorials in Postman's Park
Hand-lettered tiles on a wall under a shelter commemorate the lives of ordinary people who lost their lives trying to save others.
The tiles were the idea of the painter G F Watts (1817-1904). The hand-lettered tiles were made by Doulton.
Watts sympathised with the poor of London who lived in dreadful conditions. He made no attempt to hide his dislike of the greedy upper classes.
The park was popular with workers from the nearby old General Post Office who used it at lunch time. That is how it got its name.
Watts's wanted to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. No one backed him so he created the memorial himself in a gallery in a public gardens in a former churchyard.
Submitted by: Andrew Hunt, 21 January 2007
