Postman’s Park was opened in the City in 1880. In 1887 some guy called G.F. Watts conceived the idea of a national memorial to men and women who had died carrying out acts of heroism. The memorial took the form of a wall featuring individual tiles dedicated to each hero. It opened in 1900. Anyone who has seen the movie Closer will be familiar with this wall as this is the place that Alice and Dan begin to fall in love. They'll also appreciate the significance of the above picture that I took.
My primary reason for finding this wall today was to see if this tile really existed or if it was made up for the movie. But clearly, as you can see, it is real and Alice Ayres was a real person. After I found this tile I read the other ones. All of them. It seemed wrong not to, somehow.
After many of the events that have occurred over the past few years the words "hero" or "heroes" have become familiar, much used expressions. But upon seeing this wall and reading what some of these people did (most of whom died over a hundred years ago) made me consider what constitutes a true hero. I can think of lots of examples of people who have been cited in recent times as being heroes. But when I scratch at the surface I start to have doubts as to whether a hero is what they truly were.
This wall, to me, answers the question - does true altruism really exist? I find it hard to believe that in the moments when you rescue three children from a house on fire, a fire that you know you could ultimately succumb to, that there are any visions of grandeur. These people gave their lives for others, with no spin, no rhetoric and no promise of reward. They just gave their lives.
There should be more of these tiles. They should be everywhere. For all true heroes – living or dead. Because I, for one, have little interest in some obscure “water feature” (one that only works when it feels like it), dedicated to a woman who "did quite a lot of work for charity".
After all ... a victim is not necessarily a hero.
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