Freddie Gilroy Statue

A trip to Scarborough's North Bay. On the sea front is 'Freddie Gilroy and the Belsen Stragglers' a giant steel structure made by Ray Lonsdale an artist fabricator and sculptor and is now on permanent display thanks to the generosity of a local Scarborough resident. The sculpture is based on a retired miner Ray became friends with who turned out to also be one of the first soldiers to relieve the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the end of World War II. This piece of art is not just about Freddie Gilroy but represents all the normal people that were pulled out of an ordinary life and forced into a very extraordinary and dangerous one during the World Wars. Ray Lonsdale sculptor from County Durham said: "Scarborough is a unique town and I am pleased that my 'Freddie Gilroy and the Belsen Stragglers' will be on show there for residents and visitors alike to look at and enjoy. This piece is almost a war memorial as it depicts the lives of all those who suffered during the World Wars".

Thought it was a nice touch to see him wearing a poppy.