Thread: Monuments are put under wraps

Monuments are put under wraps for the duration of the war. Part of the preparations in anticipation of aerial bombardment was that many of the great civic statues and landmarks had to be protected. Here work takes place on he statue of King Charles I just across from Trafalgar square. The timber-framed construction, filled with sandbags and faced with corrugated iron cost £320 stated the First Commissioner of Works in answer to a question n the House of Commons in December 1939.

The completed structure protecting the equestrian statue of Charles 1 Behind, in Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, and the lions still sit boldly on their plinths.

The boarded-up statue of Eros and the 'Dig for Victory' banner are the only signs of war in this picture of Piccadilly Circus.

At work in October 1939 to protect he statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus.

Public air-raid shelters and the posters of the National Savings Group campaign are among the more outstanding changes in central London seen during the first seven months of war. Trafalgar Square (top) displays both of these developments, including the very appropriate slogan on the plinth of Nelson's column: "Convoy Your Country to Victory." The very soundly built air-raid shelters in the foreground hold 800 people and display a large and prominent notice to this effect (circle), Eros (below right) in Piccadilly Circus, has been finished sandbagging and now is encircled with hoardings.

The statue of Eros was removed from its pedestal in Piccadilly Circus and evacuated to safety for the duration of the war. Here, in October 1939, scaffolding is being erected to enable removal.

Like many public monuments, the pedestal on which Eros stood and the fountain below it was sandbagged to protect it during bombing raids.

The statue of King Charles I in Trafalgar Square is covered with corrugated iron to protect it from damage during air raids.

Above and Below A 'Christmas Treat Fund' poster is erected over the sandbagged fountain and plinth for the Eros statue which, like the 300,000 London children the fund aimed to help, had been evacuated to safety in the country. It was the first Christmas of the war and for many children, and their parents, it was a difficult one for those who could not be together as a family.

An attempt to cover up the ugly sandbagged facade of the Eros fountain with a life size frieze depicting some typical scenes from Piccadilly Circus. The project was part of the War Savings Campaign to persuade citizens to donate their savings to the war effort.