Bid to create statue of Sir Tom
A SCULPTOR is hoping to raise £28,500 to create a two-metre-tall bronze statue of Captain Sir Tom Moore to place in a hospital as a tribute to the Second World War veteran.
Andrian Melka, of Bolton Percy, North Yorkshire, said he hopes the sculpture will provide inspiration for staff, patients and visitors and remind them that “one step in front of the other will get you somewhere”. The statue will portray the then 99-year-old fundraiser giving the thumbs-up as he completed 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden ahead of his milestone birthday last year. Mr Melka said he was inspired by that moment to create the full-size statue – which will have a seat on the walking frame to enable people to interact with the sculpture. He said: “I started after the death of Captain Sir Tom with a little model, just thinking of that moment when he finished his laps and he just raised a thumb up and he was quite inspiring to me.”
Mr Melka made a small model and will create a full-size clay statue before making a mould for the sculpture to be cast in bronze. He has set up a fundraising website to raise the money needed to cover the costs of the foundry.