NHS chief hails virus memorial
He backs Mail v drive for St Paul’s tribute on behalf of all health staff
NHS ENGLAND’S chief executive has today given his heartfelt support to the Daily Mail’s campaign to help create a lasting memorial to honour the victims of the pandemic.
Speaking on behalf of all health staff who have worked tirelessly to fight Covid-19 and save lives, Sir Simon Stevens ‘warmly welcomed’ plans for a stunning tribute at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The London landmark is planning a breathtaking new entrance and a chapel will house screens showing a virtual book of remembrance containing the names and photographs of lost loved ones.
Generous Mail readers have stepped in to help raise the £2.3million needed for the oak portico, donating an incredible £65,500 in just two days. It takes the total already raised by St Paul’s to more than half a million pounds.
Backing the campaign, Sir Simon said NHS hospitals had treated 400,000 seriously ill patients with Covid-19 – which has claimed the lives of 127,524 across the UK to date.
‘Nurses, doctors, and countless other staff have witnessed first-hand the terrible toll this virus has inflicted,’ he said. ‘The hugely successful NHS vaccine programme – the biggest in the health service’s history and the fastest in Europe – is helping us to emerge from this pandemic.
‘But as restrictions lift and we return to a more normal way of life, it is right that we honour and remember all those whose lives were taken by this cruel virus.’
Sir Simon, pictured, added: ‘That is why on behalf of all those across the NHS, we warmly welcome the memorial planned for St Paul’s Cathedral. Few of us have remained untouched by what is the greatest public health emergency in a century. This important initiative will help bring consolation to families across the country.’
St Paul’s hopes to raise the funds by midsummer, so work can be completed in time for the second anniversary of the start of the pandemic next March.
The portico will be engraved with the words ‘ Remember Me’ and a chapel will house screens to display the touching virtual book of remembrance launched last year.
Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, who together with the Dean of St Paul’s Dr David Ison first came up with the idea of an online book of remembrance, said it was ‘ hugely fitting’ that the cathedral should house the permanent memorial. She said St Paul’s was ‘a symbol of the nation’s collective experiences, both triumphs and tragedies’.
‘It would create a focal point for everyone, of all faiths and none, to remember, reflect and cherish lost loved ones, as part of the collective healing process for our country,’ she added.
The multi-faith memorial dedicated to the lives lost – directly or indirectly – to Covid already has the backing of Prince Charles, grieving families and politicians across the UK. Leaders from the Sikh, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish faiths are also wholeheartedly supporting the memorial which is open to everyone from all of the UK nations and of any faith or none.
Umesh Chander Sharma, of the Hindu Council (UK), said: ‘The idea of having a physical memorial to remember and respect them all is a very thoughtful and welcoming one. It will provide an opportunity to the whole nation to grieve together and a feeling that we are all members of big family regardless of our colour, religion or nationality.’
Lord Singh of Wimbledon, of the Network of Sikh Organisations, added: ‘This virus doesn’t distinguish between people and it reminds us that we are all one humanity, our destinies are completely entwined, and we should look to the future as one people. Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain of Maidenhead Synagogue said it was important to have a ‘site of collective mourning’ after the ‘biggest peacetime trauma’ was inflicted on the country.
He added: ‘We need to grieve, to remember and to commemorate, and this memorial will be an important step in the healing process.’
Donations have flooded in with £65,500 being donated to the St Paul’s crowdfunding website since the Mail’s campaign launched on Saturday.
The donations take the total raised to £505,500 – with £440,000 being raised previously by St Paul’s since it set up the site in February.
Many donors are grieving rela
‘Symbol of the nation’s collective experiences’
tives who have welcomed the opportunity to remember those lost with a permanent tribute. Julia abbitt who gave in memory of her father, who died of Covid-19 last april, wrote: ‘This important memorial is much needed as we must not forget the dreadful toll on the population and our loved ones are not just a statistic, but they all have names – names not numbers.’
another donor Tracy Wallis said: ‘ For our beautiful mum Linda Williams. She loved St Paul’s so to have a permanent memorial for her there would be incredible. She added: ‘ So many lives have been lost to this horrific virus. We will remember them always.’ and Sara Fellows, who paid tribute to her ‘ amazing’ father, who died last March, said: ‘I feel his loss everyday, but this allows me to know he will be remembered, as will all the others that Covid claimed. ‘We can all share this monument, a physical showing that they are not just numbers on a graph.’ It is free to add a name to the virtual book of remembrance and the national memorial will be free to enter as well.