The Council has received a petition with 1800 signatories requesting that Spelthorne Borough Council and Surrey Police give their full assurance that:
(1) The Lendy Memorial Lion will not be removed, dismantled, or toppled from its current location at Sunbury’s historical Walled Garden (The Walled Garden, Thames Street, Sunbury-on-Thames, TW16 6AB),
(2) the heroic and valiant efforts of Charles Fredrick Lendy Captain R.A and Edward Augustus William Lendy, D.S.O, to which this memorial was erected, will not be marred with a plaque or sign bringing into disrepute their upstanding moral integrity, and
(3) that the memorial will be protected by the police from the threat of vandals, thugs, and terrorists.
The matter is referred to Council for consideration and a response. In accordance with Standing Order 16.4 in the Constitution, the options available to Council are:
(a) take the action the petition requests; or
(b) not to take the action requested for reasons put forward in the debate; or
(c) note the petition and keep the matter under review; or
(d) if the content relates to a matter on the agenda for the meeting the petition be considered when the item is debated; or
(e) the petition be referred to the Cabinet or Overview and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration.
Minutes:
The Mayor advised that the Council had received a petition with 1800 signatories requesting that Spelthorne Borough Council and Surrey Police give their full assurance that:
(1) The Lendy Memorial Lion will not be removed, dismantled, or toppled from its current location at Sunbury’s historical Walled Garden (The Walled Garden, Thames Street, Sunbury-on-Thames, TW16 6AB),
(2) the heroic and valiant efforts of Charles Fredrick Lendy Captain R.A and Edward Augustus William Lendy, D.S.O, to which this memorial was erected, will not be marred with a plaque or sign bringing into disrepute their upstanding moral integrity, and
(3) that the memorial will be protected by the police from the threat of vandals, thugs, and terrorists.
In accordance with the Council’s Petition Scheme, the matter was referred to Council for consideration and a response.
Mr Philip Sivyer presented the petition, which now had over 2000 signatories, and referred to the ‘Topple the Racists’ website which identified the Lendy Memorial as one of the statues which should be toppled. The justification for this was the belief that the Lendy brothers were “both responsible for murdering African tribes with machine gun fire.”
He explained the reasons why the Council should not agree to this request: Edward Lendy was decorated for bravery in rescuing 4 of the black soldiers under his command from drowning and was awarded the DSO for his actions against slave traders in West Africa and freeing 250 slaves, and Charles Lendy was defending his men from attack when he opened machine gun fire against a 6000 strong tribal ambush. Mr Sivyer concluded that the Lendy Lion memorial is not an endorsement of every action of the Lendy brothers or conflicts they were involved in.
Councillor R.O. Barratt responded to the petition as follows:
“Thank you, Mr Sivyer for your petition and for sharing the understandably strong views of residents.
I expect that you are aware that the Council committed to review all historical information of Council owned monuments following the issues identified by the recent “Black Lives Matters” protests.
The Lendy Memorial Lion statue in the Walled Garden was identified by the campaign as a statue of concern and is one of the 29 Council owned monuments under review.
In order to undertake this exercise and to enable Councillors and residents to be informed of the full historical background of all the monuments, it was identified that there was a need to employ the services of an appropriately qualified, impartial historian, who has experience in this type of research.
It is the Councils intention that once this was undertaken, the information could then be used by Councillors to review the future of an identified monument if it is established to have sensitive connections.
Following extensive discussions between Officers and relevant experts it was identified that the cost for them to undertake the review would be a cost of approximately £28,000, for research on the Lendy Memorial Lion alone.
After an approach by Council Officers, Alan Doyle a long-time resident of Sunbury who is an investigative journalist by profession kindly agreed to assist the Council and draft a report on the historical background to the memorial.
It was intended that once the report was received it would be for Councillors to consider the information and decide what, if any action would be necessary. The very detailed report has now been completed.”
Councillor Barratt proposed that the petition, along with the detailed report, be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee so that a full and proper review could be undertaken by the cross-party members on the Committee.
The proposal was seconded by Councillor J. McIlroy.
The Motion was debated, put to the vote and unanimously carried.
Resolved that the Lendy memorial petition, along with the detailed report, be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee so that a full and proper review can be undertaken by the cross-party members on the Committee.