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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Lisa Rand

The 'forgotten' Liverpool war memorial local campaigners are putting on the map

A 'forgotten' memorial commemorating the role of black and commonwealth merchant seamen in World War II has been given new prominence thanks to a campaign by local people in Toxteth.

Installed in Falkner Square Gardens in 1993, following a campaign organised by community activist Joe Farrag, it become a focal point for Remembrance Day commemorations in recent years - yet many people are unaware of its existence.

After a community campaign, the monument now features on road signs, which were unveiled at the weekend.

The monument in Falkner Square Gardens that commemorates black and commonwealth merchant seamen in World War II (Colin Lane)

Donna Kassim, 55, was one of the campaigners behind raising awareness of the memorial.

She said: "I didn't know about it before, that it even existed, and I realised we needed a sign to tell people it's here.

"My dad was a merchant seaman and I decided I would come here to pay my respects. It has grown into a community treasure."

Just over 10 years ago, Donna  was on a "personal journey" to commemorate members of her own family when she went to look for the memorial. She found it damaged and hidden by overgrown branches.

She contacted Liverpool City Council and raised funds through her local trade union to get the memorial cleaned up.

Donna then started a Facebook group to rally local residents behind the memorial, and from there plans emerged to have it included on the visitor sign at the park as well as to get roadside signage in place.

A celebration featuring poems of remembrance was held at Falkner Square Gardens on Saturday to mark the installation of the signs.

Members of the campaign group and people from the local community whose family members had been merchant seamen in the war attended the event.

Joe Farrag, 64, brought along a photograph of his grandfather, together with some of his medals.

The plaque is set in a piece of sandstone from the Sailor's Home, which has now been knocked down, and Joe said there is a "deliberate error" on the wording of the plaque.

He said: "It says the British Shipping Authority, but it's actually the Chamber of Shipping.

Joe Farrag with a picture of his grandfather Ali Hussein Farrag (Colin Lane)

"I told Vesty, who was the Chair of the Blue Funnel Line and the Queen's representative for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, and who had been involved in helping me get the plaque in place, why I did it and he just chuckled.

"I said now you know what it feels like, because they're forever getting my granddad's name wrong. His name was Ali Hussain Farrag but they had him down as Farrag Ali Hussain.

"It made it difficult to find information about him, or to get his medals. I finally got them last year and have brought them with me today."

Members of the campaign group and people whose family members had been merchant seamen in the war attended the event (Colin Lane)

Tracey Hylton, 52 said: "I'm here because my granddad was a merchant seaman from the Caribbean.  He then served in the RAF.

"I think it's important that the service of black seamen is recognised."

One of the new signs (Colin Lane)

Michael Ohajuru, a cultural historian, who is from Liverpool but now lives in London, made the trip North especially for the celebration.

He said: "My father was a seaman, he ran away to sea from Nigeria.

"I've come here because I didn't know about this place and I pride myself on being a community historian.

"It's so important that we recognise this. This is inclusion, it's our together history."

The community group plans to continue campaigning.

Donna says: "Next we need to get the visitor information changed to reflect the memorial and the true history of the man Falkner Square was named after, whose involvement in the slave trade is not mentioned.

"Ultimately, we want a dedicated memorial at the Pier Head to servicemen and women from the Commonwealth."

The memorial in Falkner Square Gardens (Colin Lane)

Send us your stories of the L8 community to lisa.rand@reachplc.com

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