On Sunday July 20th in City Hall, Cardiff, a life size statue commemorating the original womens' march to Greenham Common, together with a plaque, were unveiled by Jill Evans MEP and original Greenham Woman.

The statue, of a mother holding a baby, was draped in delicate mauve muslin, with suffragette coloured ribbons (purple, white and green) on her wrists and the baby’ s wrist. There were wild flowers around her feet. On the plaque was a poem in Welsh and English and the name of the sculptor; Anton Agius Knight of Malta NDD.

The statue of the mother and baby tells the story of Greenham. She will keep alive the memory of this women's action for peace, which started from Cardiff in 1981 and went around the world.

Scarapella, a Swansea women's acapella group sang songs, poems were read, and two apologies read from the many received. Among the speakers were two women from the USA, one a US soldier's wife. Karen Andrews was inside the Greenham base for two years and is now studying Peace and Justice at Wellesley College. The other was a single mother with her two sons, the ex wife of a man who makes nuclear weapons in South Carolina. Fasia Jansen from Oberhausen in Germany came with banners in German. Derek Gregory (retired Unison officer) reminded us of the support of the unions for the project. The City Hall was full of banners, and original Greenham material, and there were large white cardboard doves perched everywhere. We had an enormous sea-blue cake with a map of Malta and Wales with a rainbow between them carrying a dove.

Valletta, Rabat, Cardiff and Narberth - important places in the story of the sculpture - were named on the maps A video of the making of the statue, with Greenham Women telling the story of the march was also shown.

There was a civic dinner held on the floor above so many others saw the statue and the unveiling including a diner in the full costume of a knight of Malta.


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