War hero statue to be given new permanent home in 'lasting tribute' to 'The Forgotten Army'

The statue was created by Ray Lonsdale, a sculptor who runs a business with his son Sam which focuses on making art from corten steel, a material known for its rusty appearance.

It shows Mr Gibson, a soldier from Sunderland who was imprisoned on the Burma Death Railway by the Japanese, handing a homemade banjo to a Burmese boy.

During his time as a prisoner of war working on the Mergui Road, Mr Gibson built his own musical instrument in order to entertain his fellow prisoners.

Upon his return to Sunderland, he then inspire thousands of young people, including his neighbour Dave Stewart who went on the form the Eurythmics, according to the BBC.

Having originally been unveiled at South Shields Town Hall in August, it is hoped the artwork will be permanently installed in North Marine Park later this year.

Mr Gibson was a long-time support of Daft as a Brush which transports cancer patients to and from hospital, free of charge.

He adopted one of the charity's ambulances, and the children at his former school where he was a music teacher created artwork for the vehicle and named it Len Guitar Gibson.

His statue was unveiled on the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, however Mr Gibson had died in July 2021 at the age of 101.

The planning documents from Daft as a Brush said the 2.7 metre (8.8 feet) statue shows him handing over the banjo "as a symbol of peace and forgiveness, as he was released from Far East captivity to come home".

It added: "It is also intended to serve as a lasting tribute to Len Gibson, a local war hero, and for all 'The Forgotten Army' who fought in Burma."

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A consultation exercise will take place before a decision on the planning application can be made.

Sculptor Mr Lonsdale said: "Brian [founder of Daft as a Brush] asked me to come up with some ideas for a memorial statue, so I read the book Len wrote and there was one story that really stood out.

"Len had made a make-shift guitar to entertain his friends while he was captured, inside that guitar was a very small amount of money he had made.

"Just as he was about to get on a plane after liberation, Len gave the guitar with the money inside to a Thai child; to me that's special.

"After all that time of being purely tortured and all the discomfort and aggression, just to give that gift before he came home was such a nice touch and really tells the story of the man."

He added: "The importance of this particular statue is it is for the forgotten, for the people who were captured, tortured and worked to death in a lot of cases.

"The beauty of my job is you get the chance to commemorate... the stories that should be told but often aren't."

Discussing the statue, Dorothy Trueman, Mayor of Sunderland, said: "I think the detail of it is absolutely fabulous and it is just the whole essence of Len."