Boost given to campaign for restoration of Alfred Salter statues

Dr Salter's Daydream, stolen in 2011,  from the
http://www.salterstatues.co.uk website

This week's Southwark News reports that Ladbrokes has donated £5000 to the Salter Statues Campaign.  Installed in 1991 next to the Angel Public House, sculptress Diane Gorvin's "Dr Salter's Daydream" statues were stolen in 2011, three years after the bronze "Nature Girls" statues were stolen from Surrey Water (leaving just the red shoes) and some of the animals from the farmyard collection were stolen from outside Surrey Docks Farm.  None of them were recovered and they were almost certainly melted down for their scrap value.  The sad remains of "Nature Girls" have been completely removed, and the surviving animals from the farmyard set have been moved to within the Surrey Dock Farms grounds.

"Dr Salter's Daydream" showed Dr Alfred Salter sitting on a seat, waving at his daughter Joyce and the family cat.  Joyce, the only daughter of Alfred and Ada Salter, had died at the age of eight of scarlet fever.  Alfred and Ada Salter were campaigners for improved public health support and social reform, basing much  of their work in the Bermondsey area.  Both were active and held important positions in the community.  I'll write more about them soon.  The group was charming, and much loved by local residents, who started the campaign for their replacement.

The Salter Statues Campaign needs to generate £100,000, but the Southwark News story says that Southwark Council has promised to match-fund whatever the community generate.  With the Ladbrokes contribution they have now reached £29,400, which takes them closer to the £50,000 they need to enable them to reach the grand total.  

As well as replacing the missing statues, the fund will include enough to add a statue of Ada to the group, and will provide additional security to prevent a repeat of the 2011 theft (although the Campaign's website doesn't actually specify what sort of security will be provided, unless I've missed it).

You can find out more about the campaign at the Salter Statues Campaign website, from which the above photograph is taken:  www.salterstatues.co.uk.