Postman’s Park

The Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice, also known as the Watts Memorial, commemorates ordinary people who gave their lives attempting to save someone else. The memorial consists of ceramic plaques mounted on a wall in the park.

There are 62 people honoured on plaques on the memorial, including:

• Leigh Pitt (the latest to be added)
• Henry James Bristow
• George Frederic Watts (the memorial’s creator)
• Joseph Andrew Ford
• Amelia Kennedy

The name Postman’s Park was inspired by its proximity to the old General Post Office. Workers from the post office used to come and sit in the gardens during their lunch breaks.

There are 54 plaques on the memorial in Postman’s Park, each one honouring a different heroic person. Each plaque displays the person’s name and provides a brief description of how they died.

The latest plaque was added in 2009 and is dedicated to Leigh Pitt who, in 2007, saved a boy from drowning in the canal at Thamesmead, but tragically was unable to save himself.

The memorial’s creator, George Frederic Watts, originally intended for there to be 120 plaques on it, so there are still 66 spaces.

Postman’s Park is a special place to visit thanks to the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice. It is both poignant and heart-warming to discover more about these individuals who gave their lives to help others.

There’s a separate plaque next to the memorial with more information about why Watts created it, as well as a QR that you can scan with your smartphone to discover more.

The memorial serves as a reminder of the human spirit in the face of adversity and the selfless acts of others.

As well as the memorial, inside the park you’ll also find the Handkerchief Tree, so called as its blossoms look like handkerchiefs hanging off it. It looks at its most beautiful during spring when it is in full bloom.

Postman’s Park isn’t necessarily a popular tourist spot, especially when compared with other sights nearby like St Paul’s Cathedral, The Shard, and the Tate Modern. It’s also one of the lesser-known parks in the city.

But if you fancy doing something a little bit different during your trip to London and getting off the beaten track, then add Postman’s Park to your itinerary.

Postman’s Park is one of the largest gardens in the City of London. However, it is still relatively small in size. It covers around 0.67 acres.

Postman’s Park first opened in 1880. The site was originally three London burial grounds, and you can still see some of the gravestones grouped together around the edges of the park.

The Memorial To Heroic Self Sacrifice was created by Victorian artist and philanthropist George Frederic Watts in 1887 for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. It was unveiled in 1900. When Watts died, there were only a few plaques installed, and his wife took over the project.

The park was a filming location for the 2004 movie Closer, starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen. In a key moment in the film’s plot, one of the characters gives her name as Alice Ayres, which is taken from one of the memorial plaques in Postman’s Park.