QUEEN Elizabeth unveiled a memorial stone outside Westminster Abbey yesterday by the Cork sculptor, Mr Ken Thompson, to commemorate innocent victims of war, oppression and violence in the 20th century.
Twelve people representing victims of violence joined Queen Elizabeth in the ceremony. Among them were Mrs Joan Wilson, the widow of Senator Gordon Wilson, whose daughter was killed in the Enniskillen bomb. She was representing the Protestant victims of violence in the North.
Mrs Maura Kiely, whose son was shot as he left Mass, represented the Catholic victims in Northern Ireland. A 14 year old Bosnian boy who lost both hands and his sight during the recent conflict, a survivor of the Holocaust and Mrs Fiona Endington, a teacher at Dunblane primary school, represented all children who were victims of violence.
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Rev Michael Mayne, who suggested the memorial stone, told the congregation it would be a constant reminder of the violence and suffering of the 20th century.
The five foot circular memorial stone, cared from green Cumberband slate, is located outside the Abbey's great west door and the inscription reads: "Remember All Innocent Victims of Oppression, Violence, War".