APPENDIX
MEMORIALS
To make this record complete the following descriptions of the Fawcett Memorials is appended, together with the copy of a letter from Mrs. Fawcett’s sister.
There are three memorials in London, besides others elsewhere.
The national memorial to Fawcett in Westminster Abbey bears the following inscription, written by Sir Leslie Stephen.
HENRY FAWCETT
BORN 26 AUGUST 1833. DIED 6 NOVEMBER 1884
After losing his sight by an accident, at the age of 24, he became Professor of Political Economy in the University of Cambridge, Member of four Parliaments, and from 1880 to 1884, H.M. Postmaster-General.
His inexorable fidelity to his convictions commanded the respect of statesmen. His chivalrous self-devotion to the cause of the poor and helpless won the affection of his countrymen and of his Indian fellow-subjects. His heroic acceptance of the calamity of blindness has left a memorable example of the power of a brave man to transmute evil into good and wrest victory from misfortune.
This memorial was erected by the subscribers to a national memorial.
Memorial Scholarship for the Blind. Playgrounds, skating rink, boats and other athletic equipment at the Royal Normal College for the Blind.
As has been said elsewhere, the national memorial in Westminster Abbey represented contributions received from all parts of the Empire. This sum was expended not only in erecting the memorial in Westminster Abbey, but also in providing the above-mentioned scholarship and athletic facilities for the blind.
The small Vauxhall Park, just behind Vauxhall Station, includes within its area the site of the house where Fawcett lived from shortly after his marriage till his death. In it stands a handsome memorial to Fawcett given by Sir Henry Doulton. The high pedestal is decorated with eight panels in bas-relief. Fawcett is represented seated. An angel stands behind his chair and is about to crown him with a wreath of laurel. The inscription is the same as that in Westminster Abbey.
A drinking fountain was erected as a Women’s Memorial to Fawcett in the Gardens on the Thames Embankment, east of Charing Cross.
‘The first person to drink of the waters of the fountain was a postman; this gracefully recalled the regard in which Professor Fawcett was held by the humble servants of the state, whose duties he regulated, and whose welfare he had ever at heart during his tenure of the office of Postmaster-General.’—Extract from a contemporaneous paper.
A memorial was placed by the inhabitants of Alderburgh in the Parish Church there. The words with which the memorial is inscribed are as follow:
There is a memorial window in Trumpington Church; below the figures of Truth, Fortitude and Charity is the inscription:
A statue of Fawcett was erected to his memory in the market-place of Salisbury, near the house where he was born.
Extract from a Letter from Mrs. Fawcett’s Sister
‘A clergyman came to me one day in the street and asked if I was not Mrs. Fawcett’s sister. I said “Yes,” and then he told me his little story.
‘A friend of his had become blind and had lost hope and courage, and seemed unable to face the disaster; then some one reminded him of Mr. Fawcett, and read his life to him, and the poor man took fresh heart, and met his misfortune bravely. The clergyman added, “I do not know Mrs. Fawcett or any of his family, and could not let slip this chance of telling them what Mr. Fawcett’s example had done for my friend.”’
May his example continue ceaselessly to help, and may this little book make his story more widely known, so that those who sit in darkness may see the light which his keen spirit saw—and seeing, choose the nobler part.