Freddie Gilroy and the Belsen Stragglers facts for kids

Freddie Gilroy and the Belsen Stragglers is a special statue by artist Ray Lonsdale. It looks out over the North Bay in Scarborough, England. The statue is made from a type of metal called weathering steel, which changes color over time. It shows an older man named Freddie Gilroy sitting on a bench. Freddie was a soldier who helped free people from a place called Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during World War II. The artist, Ray Lonsdale, was friends with Freddie. He made this statue to honor Freddie and as a way to remember all soldiers and the terrible events of The Holocaust. The statue was first meant to be in Scarborough for only four weeks in 2011. But people loved it so much that a local person gave money to buy it for the town to keep forever.

What the Statue Looks Like

The statue of Freddie Gilroy and his bench are twice the size of real life. This makes Freddie almost 3.5 meters (about 11.5 feet) long! The artist, Ray Lonsdale, spent three months making it from special Corten steel.

Freddie Gilroy was a brickmaker and miner from South Hetton. He served in the Royal Artillery during World War II. In April 1945, he was one of the first Allied soldiers to help free the people at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Freddie passed away in November 2008.

Ray Lonsdale created this sculpture to sell, but also as a memorial for Freddie and all soldiers. The statue shows ordinary people who bravely served their country during wartime. The statue itself doesn't directly mention the war or Belsen. It just looks like an old man sitting on a bench. Freddie takes up one spot on the bench, but there's still room for visitors to sit next to him. A small sign, like those on other memorial benches, is on the front of the bench. It has a poem written by Ray Lonsdale:

"Freddie Gilroy and the Belsen Stragglers"

They said for king and country
  we should do as we were bid
They said old soldiers never die -
  but plenty young ones did

Sculpture by Ray Lonsdale
in association with Artsbank (Saltburn)

A researcher from the University of York, Victoria Nesfield, said the statue is special because it's both a memorial and a piece of art. She noted that by letting people sit with Freddie, it's different from most other memorials about the Holocaust. The phrase "Belsen stragglers" was used back then to describe the people who survived the camp. People in Scarborough really love this sculpture.

How the Statue Came to Be

The statue was placed on Royal Albert Drive in Scarborough in November 2011. It sits in a spot where it can see the town's North Bay. At first, it was only meant to be there for a four-week show. This show was part of the Artsbank program, which helps local artists by lending out their work for short times.

But the statue became very popular! People in the town started a fundraising effort to buy it for £50,000. In December, a local resident named Maureen Robinson gave £50,000 from her life savings. She gave this gift to honor her husband, Michael, for their wedding anniversary on December 19. Now, the statue belongs to Scarborough Borough Council and is a well-known landmark in the town.

In 2012, a sign was added near the statue to explain more about it. The artist, Ray Lonsdale, also suggested moving the statue to a different spot. He thought it would be better near the Rotunda Museum because sea water was causing some rust during bad weather. A move was planned for January 2013. However, as of September 2020, the statue is still in its original place on Royal Albert Drive.

Images for kids

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  View from the front

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  Side profile

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  With visitors, showing the scale of the piece