Churchill Statue to be Removed

7.08.04pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 13th Mar 2006

Statue brings attention to mental health campaign

The controversial statue of Sir Winston Churchill in a straitjacket is to be removed from The Forum. The statue was commissioned and put on display by Rethink - a charity aiming to promote a more positive image of people with mental illness. Churchill suffered from depression.

I saw the statue on my visit to the Fairtrade Festival on Saturday, but many people will not have had the chance - it was due to remain until the end of the month.

The statue has caused upset to family of Winston Churchill, members of the Royal British Legion, and others.

But it has been highly successful in bringing the work of the charity into the public eye by having a dominant position in recent local news reports.

Counsellors often use the example of Churchill as someone who coped with bouts of depression (he is recorded as describing a feeling of being in a straitjacket) and achieved great things.

This statue reminds us of that, and in doing so gives strength to vulnerable people - both in themselves, and in the way that the rest of the world views them.