Here's a slavery monument that Britain actually needs - a memorial to the 1,600 British sailors who gave their lives in the rloyal Navy's sixty year war against slave-traders!
The West Africa Squadron policed the coast of West Africa between 1807 and 1867 in search of slave traders. At its height in the 1840s and 1850s, the squadron employed 36 vessels and more than 4,000 men. It freed 150,000 people and captured 1,600 slave ships, but 1,600 British sailors lost their lives, with many dying from injuries sustained in combat with the slavers.
The West Africa Squadron Memorial Fund was launched last year by Colin Kemp, 76, from Chichester. Award-winning sculptor Vincent Gray designed a statue, comprising figures of a shackled woman, a naval officer and a freed slave. A model is due to be unveiled in Parliament later this month.
Campaigners are seeking to raise £70,000 for a permanent statue honouring the squadron in Portsmouth, which served as its base in the 19th century.
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