WATCH: 'British Schindler' statue almost ready for Black Country park
An artist has called it a ‘privilege’ to create a statue in memory of a Black Country war hero who helped thousands of Jews escape Germany.
Major Frank Foley was an undercover British spy based in Berlin where he provided documents to help Jews escape before the Second World War.
The statue, which has cost £40,000, is being sculpted by Birmingham-based artist Andy DeComyn.
He expects the statue to be unveiled by August. It will be placed in Mary Stevens Park in Stourbridge.
WATCH Andy DeComyn and Ian Austin explain the sculpture:
Stourbridge was the place where Major Foley – dubbed the British Schindler – settled in his later life, retiring at a property on Eveson Road in Norton.
Mr DeComyn said: “It is a privilege to be able to work on this project. I have grown quite fond of him just working on the sculpture. It has been a special job which I have enjoyed doing.”
The design is a life-size replica of Major Foley who stood at 5ft 3ins.
It features him sitting on a park bench dressed in a suit, replicating how he would look in the 1930s as a spy.
He is feeding a bird, symbolising freedom and the people he helped, with a briefcase hinting at his MI6 work.
Mr DeComyn said it has been challenging creating the sculpture as photographs of Major Foley from that era, when he was in his 50s, are rare.
He has finished a clay model of the sculpture which will now be sent off for casting into bronze.
Major Foley worked undercover as a passport control officer in pre-war Nazi Berlin.
He was able to bend the rules when stamping passports and issuing visas, helping Jews to escape.
He also hid Jews in his own home and even went into Sachsenhausen concentration camp with visas to enable prisoners to leave. Major Foley died in 1958.
The project for the statue has been spearheaded by Dudley North MP Ian Austin.
He said: “I am delighted at the progress of the statue. The final piece should be ready by the summer so people can learn about him and our country’s role in fighting for freedom, democracy and tolerance against Nazi Germany.
“Many thanks to Andy DeComyn, Steve Field and all those on the panel for their ongoing hard work on this project, I can’t wait until the final statue is unveiled.”
