Elephant sculpture memorial to babies
A BRONZE baby elephant sculpture is to be installed in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens in memory of victims of the baby ashes scandal.
The memorial – designed by Kelpies sculptor Andy Scott – will stand about two metres high and be embossed with a coat of forget-me-not flowers.
It will be the second memorial to the hundreds of babies whose ashes were buried or otherwise disposed of at the city’s Mortonhall Crematorium over decades, while parents were being told by staff that none were available after cremation.
A memorial garden was opened in the grounds of the crematorium in December 2015 but some parents have said they can’t go back to Mortonhall.
Parents were asked to decide between the elephant design and a rocking horse.
Scott’s memorial will take up to a year to create and install.
It will feature small footprints leading up to the elephant’s trunk, which is curved as if cradling an invisible infant. An inscription on the plinth will carry a simple description of the nature of the memorial.
Edinburgh councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “We needed to reflect the wishes of those affected parents who felt a second memorial should be created in addition to the tranquil walled garden at Mortonhall as they felt unable to go back to the crematorium.
“The baby elephant design is very fitting as it shows Edinburgh will not forget what happened in the past and the site in West Princes Street Gardens will give affected parents and other visitors a place for quiet reflection.”
Scott said: “I am deeply humbled to undertake this memorial sculpture for the affected parents of Mortonhall.
“I’ve tried to encapsulate emotions of grief and loss but with a sense of uplifting hope for the future.
“The sculpture echoes the adage, ‘Elephants never forget.’ I hope the approachable simplicity of the sculpture coupled with its engraved surface of forget-me-not flowers will create a fitting memorial.
“I hope the sculpture is used, played with, hugged and loved.”