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The Age: London marks Bali date with memorial
Valkerie Mangnall, London
October 14, 2006
LONDON'S many thousands of Australian residents and visitors have a permanent place to pay their respects to those who died in the Bali bombings.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall marked the fourth anniversary of the October 12 terrorist attacks by unveiling a memorial in central London dedicated to the 202 people killed.
The memorial at Clive Steps, opposite St James Park, features a marble globe with 202 doves carved into it standing in front of a wall bearing the names of all those who died.
In a moving tribute, representatives from the 22 countries which lost citizens in the attacks read out their names.
Australian high commissioner to Britain Richard Alston read the names of the 88 Australians who died.
"There are probably 150,000 Australians in London at any one time and a lot more during the summer season," he said after the ceremony.
"This memorial is in a very accessible location so not only Londoners, but many Australians living here will be forever reminded of one of the most horrific events that we've experienced."
Britain Bali Bombing Victims' Group chairman Jocelyn Waller, whose son Ed, 26, was killed in the blasts, described the memorial as uplifting.
"This is the fourth anniversary, we've been through three others and they've been quite sombre events," he said. "Today, somehow, it was different … it was tears of sort of joy and reconciliation rather than sadness."
AAP
Copyright © 2006. The Age Company Ltd.
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