Honouring Presidents Day in London
White House Historical Association President, Stewart McLaurin, and Resolute Experiences President & CEO, Harvey Morgan
We were delighted to join the White House Historical Association in a series of wreath dedications to the presidential statues in London as part of their 2023 Presidents Day celebrations.
A group of American ex-pats living in the UK braved a cold February morning on 17th February to join Stewart McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association, in laying wreaths at three statues of American presidents in central London.
The commemorations started the day before with representatives of the UK government joining Mr McLaurin to dedicate a wreath at the statue of President Abraham Lincoln in Parliament Square. The location is home to statues of notable British political figures such as Sir Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli, meaning it is a high honour to be placed there as a non-Brit. President Lincoln is joined by other notable foreign figures like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi, which gives you an idea of how highly regarded Lincoln is in Britain.
President Lincoln’s statue, a full size replica of that in Lincoln Park, Chicago, was due to be erected in 1914 to mark 100 years of peace between the US and the UK. In a twist of irony, the statue was delayed due to the outbreak of World War I. Following peace in Europe, the statue was then dedicated with some observing that the statue took on a whole new meaning with Americans fighting alongside British troops. A notion probably unthinkable at the time of the war in 1812.
Harvey Morgan, President and CEO of Resolute Experiences, first joined Mr McLaurin and representatives from the Daughters of the American Revolution in dedicating a wreath to George Washington’s statue in Trafalgar Square. Mr McLaurin addressed a gathering of fellow Americans, with the story of delegates from Virginia bringing soil from their home state to put under the statue so their first president would not have to set foot on British soil, having famously never done so while he was alive.
The Resolute wreath dedicated to President John F Kennedy at Regents Park
The next statue was the bust of President John F Kennedy near Regents Park. Unlike his predecessor Washington, Kennedy spent a considerable amount of time in the UK, living in London when his father was ambassador to the UK between 1938-1940.
The links between President, Mrs Kennedy and Britain are numerous but their state visit and meeting with Queen Elizabeth II is probably the most notable. However, the visit was not the only royal story between the Kennedys. Fun fact - in 1952, then congressman Kennedy proposed to Jacqueline Bouvier over the telephone while she was reporting on Queen Elizabeth’s coronation for a Washington newspaper.
The memorial was unveiled by President Kennedy’s brother, Robert, on 15 May 1965. It was paid for by over 50,000 subscribers of the Sunday Telegraph, an indication of how popular the 35th President was among the British people.
Of note, it was Mrs Kennedy who founded the White House Historical Association while she was First Lady. The Association continues to do incredible work today and you can find our more here.
Harvey Morgan (Left) and Stewart McLaurin (Right) at the FDR Memorial in Grosvenor Square
Our final dedication was at Grosvenor Square in the shadow of the former US Embassy in London which is currently being converted into a luxury hotel. The Mayfair location is home to a number of American points of interests, some of which are currently behind closed doors.
Our wreaths were laid at the foot of the President Franklin D Roosevelt statue which is overlooked by the building President Eisenhower lived in during his time in England as a General in World War II (the left side of the red brick building behind the statue in the above photograph).
The square also hosts the 9/11 memorial garden, a peaceful area of reflection dedicated to those who lost their lives on that fateful day.
The two notable absentees were the statues of Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan which previously flanked the Embassy. As part of the reconstruction process, the statues were removed by the local council and placed in storage. We have been able to confirm the statue of Ronald Reagan is due to return to the site but we are still trying to get more information regarding the Eisenhower statue. Mr McLaurin also made it his mission to help ensure that the statues are safe and there are plans to place the statues in the future. If you have information, please contact us.
Following the event, Harvey Morgan said, “it was a real honour to join our friends from the White House Historical Association in dedicating wreaths to the presidential statues in London. There are deep historical and cultural connections between the US and the UK and we value the importance placed on it by our American friends and colleagues. We are delighted to continue a strong friendship with both the White House Historical Association and Stewart and we thoroughly enjoyed welcoming them to London”.
We are now actively planning a larger event for Presidents Day in 2024 - subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with all our news.