George Orwell Remembered with Statue
A bronze statue of the novelist and writer George Orwell was unveiled today outside the BBC’s London HQ in Portland Place. Orwell worked for the BBC during World War Two presenting a magazine programme for the Eastern Service. The statue is by Martin Jennings, the sculptor responsible for the John Betjeman in St Pancras Station and that of Philip Larkin in Hull. Next to the statue on the wall of the building is carved the inscription “If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” The project was delayed by some years owing to BBC management’s concerns over Orwell being “too left-wing.”
— 7 November 2017
