Trevor Huddleston

1999. Sculptor: Ian Walters
Location: Shopping precinct at the High Street end of Silver Street

Bedford Town Centre Book Home |The Bust | The Sculptor | Images

Trevor Huddleston (1913-1998) was born in Bedford but left while still an infant. He went on to become an Anglican priest who spent most of his life serving poor people on the African continent. His work in black South African townships brought about his commitment to human rights and anti-apartheid activism, which led to South Africa' s first black President, Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) claiming that "No white person has done more for South Africa than Trevor Huddleston", which is inscribed in the plinth of this head and shoulder' s bust. He went on to become a bishop and finally Archbishop of the Indian Ocean. He was knighted in the last year of his life. On 7 April 2000 the retired Nelson Mandela, then an old man, visited Bedford to re-dedicate the Trevor Huddleston memorial bust, which had first been unveiled on 30 October 1999 by the Bishop of St Albans.

The Sculptor

Ian Walters (1930-2006) was a distinguished sculptor and committed socialist who is known especially for his statues of those associated with left-wing causes. These include the nine-foot statue of Nelson Mandela in Parliament Square and the memorial to the International Brigades, who served during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, in Jubilee Gardens, South Bank, London.