City's new memorial sculpture unveiled

A new sculpture unveiled tomorrow, Thursday 23 April, at the University of Plymouth is both a lasting memorial to the men, women and children who perished in the 1941 bombing of the air-raid shelter on what is now the university campus and symbol of hope for the city. Almost 10ft tall, the Portland Square Memorial Sculpture commissioned by the university stands at the rear of its Portland Square Building, close to the location of the shelter where - on the night of 22/23 April 1941 - 76 people are known to have died in the tragedy. It was the biggest loss of civilian life in a single incident in wartime Plymouth. Fittingly, the sculpture - by South West artist Frana Favata - is being unveiled on the 68th anniversary of the event in front of 200 guests. Barbara Mills, one of the survivors of the tragedy, will perform the unveiling. Barbara lost loved ones in the bombing, including her parents, sister and grandfather. Made of Portland stone the sculpture depicts an adult raising up a child, arms outstretched - a reminder of the importance of the next generation.