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What is the plan?

To create a memorial in St Paul’s Cathedral to those who died as a result of the pandemic – whether direct victims of Covid or those whose medical treatment was disrupted by lockdown restrictions. The memorial will let people of any faith pay their respects to family and friends at a permanent site.

How will it work?

St Paul’s has set up Remember Me: an online book of remembrance. Anyone wishing to remember a loved one can submit, free of charge, their loved one’s name, photo and a short message at www.rememberme2020.uk At least four screens showing

the book of remembrance will be installed in the cathedral’s Middlesex Chapel. Visitors will be permitted to light candles or sit in contemplation.

Where will it be?

A newly built wooden portico will be set in the north transept of the cathedral, away from the busier main doors. Entrance will be free. It will sit on the site of an earlier hallway which was destroyed by a Luftwaffe bomb in 1941. Alongside works of nonreligious art, the words ‘Remember Me’ will be written in all the main languages of the UK. Visitors will walk through the portico to reach the remembrance area in the Middlesex Chapel.

How much is needed?

£2.3million. Of this, £1.13million is needed to pay for the portico and £ 70,000 to run the exhibition for two years. Money is needed for the preparatory design work, symbolic artwork and signage. The hope is to open it in March 2022 for the second anniversary of the pandemic. Around £500,000 has already been raised. Any money raised over the target will be used in various ways to help preserve the memorial.

Is it part of Mail Force?

No, the Mail is supporting the

St Paul’s Cathedral Foundation to raise the funds.

Is this the official national memorial?

There are no other current plans for a national memorial. What started as an online memorial, backed by the Prince of Wales and all major faith leaders, has now turned into a project for a physical and living memorial inside St Paul’s.