MarketMemorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice
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Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice

The Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice is a public monument in Postman's Park in the City of London, commemorating ordinary people who died saving the lives of others and who might otherwise have been forgotten. It was first proposed by painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts in 1887, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The scheme was not accepted at that time, and in 1898 Watts was approached by Henry Gamble, vicar of St Botolph's Aldersgate church. Postman's Park was built on the church's former churchyard, and the church was at that time trying to raise funds to secure its future; Gamble felt that Watts's proposed memorial would raise the profile of the park. The memorial was unveiled in an unfinished state in 1900, consisting of a 50-foot (15 m) wooden loggia designed by Ernest George, sheltering a wall with space for 120 ceramic memorial tiles to be designed and made by William De Morgan. At the time of opening, only four of the memorial tiles were in place. Watts died in 1904, and his widow Mary Watts took over the running of the project.

Tablets
The tablets are arranged in three rows, with 24 tablets to De Morgan's original design in the third, central, row, the 24 tablets added in 1908 directly below in the fourth row, and more recent additions above the original tiles in the second row. The first and fifth of the five rows remain empty. Nine further De Morgan tablets, installed in 1902, were made using standard tiles to reduce costs, and were the last tiles whose installation was overseen by Watts. All 24 tablets of the fourth row, designed and manufactured by Royal Doulton, were added as a single batch in August 1908. followed in October 1930 by similar Royal Doulton tablets to three further police officers, and a replacement tablet with the correct details of the East Ham Sewage Works incident of 1895. A single tablet made by Fred Passenger in the original De Morgan style, honouring schoolboy Herbert Maconoghu, was added in April 1931 to fill the gap in the centre row left by the removal of the original, incorrect tablet to the victims of the East Ham Sewage Works incident. ==In other media ==
In other media
Monument (1980-81), a multimedia installation by the artist Susan Hiller, consists of enlarged photographic replicas of 41 tablets arranged into a new formation, and points towards the neglect and overlooked status of the Memorial at the time. Viewers are invited to sit on a park bench with their back to the photographs and listen on headphones to a soundtrack of the artist speaking on notions of death, memory and heroism. The soundtrack also includes a litany of the commemorated names, noting the time each spent ‘in the body’ versus time ‘as a representation’. Monument is considered a key work of British conceptual art of the period, and has been part of Tate’s collection since 1994. The tiles dedicated to Alice Ayres became a plot point in the 2004 film, Closer. In 2010 Canadian band Woodpigeon (band) released the song 'An Entanglement of Weeds' on their ''BALLADEER / to all the guys i've loved before'' album. The song was inspired by the monument and references the story of William Donald. ==Notes==
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