Citizen Giles

by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
15/07/2008

A memorial honouring a human rights campaigner who was killed in the July 7 London bombings in 2005 has been unveiled in Ravenscourt Park.

Giles Hart, 55, was a key figure in the international fight to bring about the end of Communism in Poland in the 1980s. The BT engineer from Hornchurch in Essex was killed instantly as he was travelling to work on the number 30 bus, which was blown up in Tavistock Square.

Mr Hart served as chairman and treasurer to the Hammersmith based Polish Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which supported the Polish trade union Solidarnosc, and had strong links to POSK – the Polish Social and Cultural Association Centre – on King Street. 

Friend and fellow former PSC campaigner Wiktor Moszczynski is part of the Giles Hart Solidarity Memorial Committee which arranged the tribute. He said: “Giles was a true London citizen, who he helped overcome totalitarianism through peaceful means, which is a very rare thing. We started thinking about doing something to commemorate Giles’ life soon after the first anniversary of the bombings and the suggestion came from the Solidarity movement in Poland to erect a plaque or monument. So, a group of us got together and collected money to fund it.”

Contributors include individuals, Polish groups both in Britain and in Poland, five trade unions and POSK. 
About 80 people, including the Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham Councillor Andrew Johnson, Leader Stephen Greenhalgh attended the official unveiling of the memorial on July 5th – a date chosen to mark the third anniversary of Mr Hart’s death.

Cllr Johnson said: "Giles Hart was a steadfast supporter of the Polish Solidarity cause, tragically taken from us three years ago. The Polish community has a long and established link with Hammersmith & Fulham and I am sure all members of the community will agree that this is a most fitting tribute to a truly great man."

Janusz Sniadek, chairman of Solidarnosc, travelled from Gdansk for the ceremony, and Polish Ambassador Barbara Tuge-Erecinska unveiled the memorial stone – a 1.3 metre high slab of Silesian granite, imported directly from Poland – which is the first public memorial in Europe to have the Polish Solidarity logo. She said: “Mr Hart will always be remembered in Poland as a great friend of my country.”

An inscription, in both English and Polish, reads: “Giles Hart, a lifelong campaigner for freedom and human rights, honoured by Solidarnosc as one who supported Poland in her hour of need.” Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quotation ‘Be the change you want to see in this world’, sits underneath.

Mr Hart’s Polish-born widow Danuta and children Maryla and Martin attended the event. Daughter Maryla said: “So much work has gone into this project and so many have given so much in the way of time, energy, funding, commitment and passion. 

“A lasting tribute has been erected in the heart of an area where so much of his PSC activism was carried out, in Ravenscourt Park where annual PSC picnics continue to be held: a more fitting location could not have been chosen.” 

“We feel deeply honoured that my father's work is being recognised by the international community in this splendid permanent monument.  We hope the message it carries will inspire others to be the change they want to see in this world.”

A minute's silence was held for all 52 commuters killed in the 7/7 attacks, and flowers were laid at the memorial stone. Mr Moszczynski said: “The memorial is in a very fitting place – somewhere to go for quiet contemplation, it is discreet, under the shade of the trees, and will not necessarily be noticed. It’s much like Giles, who played a key part in history and in the fight for social rights but never sought the limelight – he was happier being in the background.”

After the ceremony, a reception was held at the POSK centre, where guests swapped stories about Mr Hart and viewed the displays of archives he had donated to the centre. 

Mr Hart’s work for democracy was recognised in July 2005 when he was posthumously awarded the Knights Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. Mr Moszczynski added: “I shall always remember ‘Citizen Giles’ as sincere, persistent and idealistic – though not necessarily in that order. He was a very good man; a very good friend.”