Manual Ref* SUscSI001 Show 3 images 1120
Title*

Sizewell Engelandvaarders Memorial
County Suffolk   District Council Suffolk Coastal District Council 
Civil Parish or equivalent Sizewell  Town/Village* Sizewell 
Road Sizewell Gap Road 
Precise Location Besides café at start of boardwalk to beach 
OS Grid Ref TM475627  Postcode IP16 
Previous location(s)  
Setting Besides beach  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Ron Vissenberg  Sculptor(s)   
Ron Vissenberg  Foundry   

Commissioned by

 Last survivor, Henri Peteri, 2007 the year of his death 

Design & Constrn period

 2007 

Date of installing

  

Exact date of unveiling

 26 June 2009 

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type: Memorial

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Overall  Bronze  150 cm high 
Each paddle blade  Bronze  60 x 15 
Base  Concrete  45 cm high x 30 wide and deep 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Suffolk Coastal District Council 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail:

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail:

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions Inscribed: In Memory of the Thirty-two young Dutchmen who tried to escape to England by Kayak during World War II to join the Allied Forces. Eight of them reached the English Coast. Only three survived the war. The last standing survivor dedicates the memorial to his brothers in arms who were less fortunate. He reached England - and freedom - on this beach on 21 September 1941. The inscription faces to the visitor approaching from the road, and is echoed in the groups' major viewpoint.  

Description (physical)

 Three bronze kayak paddles, one broken with the inscription, handles tied with bronze rope are set at the edge of dunes away from the sea. They were moulded directly from the original paddles that brought the Peteri brothers to Sizewell Beach. . 

Description (iconographical)

 The inscription refers only to the last standing survivor. He was identified in an email from Ron Vissenberg, the artist, as Henri Peteri, who had seen the finished memorial before his death in 2007. Trip was recreated in August 2011 by a British group, only one of whom completed the arduous journey, and two Dutch marines. 

Photographs

 Date taken:  15/9/2011
Date logged: 

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  15/9/2011

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

 East Anglian Daily Times, 17 May 2011 account of planned trip with photo of dedication from 26 June 2009; information from the artist, Ron Vissenberg by email, 03/09/2015 

Database

 Date entered:  23/9/2011

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke