Scotland's important role in New York City memorial

March 31, 2006:

The Scotsman, Heritage and Culture/Culture and Traditions, by Will Springer

WHEN she learned that her daughter died in the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001, Alex Clarke walked out to her sanctuary - the garden. It was her way of coping with the awful reality that her "little girl" would never come home.

Thirty-years old, single, a sunny disposition and successful, Suria Clarke was working in the offices of Cantor Fitzgerald on the 105th floor of the north tower that Tuesday morning more than four years ago. Suria was among 67 Britons who died in the New York City tragedy, and the sudden loss of loved ones - not to mention the loss of commerce and a country's innocence - left a great emptiness for those left behind. Tears were shed on both sides of the Atlantic.

"A lot of us have never had bodies returned for burial," says the Glasgow-born Alex Clarke, who heads the September 11th United Kingdom Families Support Group.

Time is the key element to the healing process. And with time comes opportunities to remember those British who died.

Among the most poignant displays of remembrance will come in the form of the British Memorial Garden, a three-quarter acre parcel of land in the heart of lower Manhattan that will honour the lost, give family and friends a place to reflect, and add a needed touch of green amid the city's concrete and steel.

"The garden will be an absolute godsend that we can all call ours, says Clarke, an avid gardener who has a simple theory on the benefit of the living, breathing space. "Gardens pull you forward and they're always changing."

The memorial garden is being transformed into a slice of Britain - with Scottish influences, or course. Benches will be made of English Portland stone and a water rill with touches of Welsh slate will filter its way though the grounds. One highlight of the space will be paved stones from Caithness and Morayshire cut in the shape of the British map with an outline of all the counties.

Noted British sculptor Simon Verity worked for six months in John o' Groats, Caithness, carving the stones. About 90 per cent of the map has now been laid followed by planting of flowers, trees and shrubs, in time for an official opening in mid-2007.

"Scotland is very much a part of the garden," says Camilla Hellman, president of the British Memorial Garden Trust.

Located at Hanover Square, less than a mile from where the trade center towers stood, the garden will be a permanent memorial. The space was designed by landscape architects Isabel and Julian Bannerman. A railing will feature 67 guilded finials for each of the Britons lost. In addition, there will be 14 British-style street bollards, three of which will bear the shields of Scottish organisations - the St Andrew's Society of New York, the New York Caledonian Club and the American-Scottish Foundation.

"We're helping to revitalise lower Manhattan," says Hellman, a Brit who lives in New York City and who lost a friend in the tragedy. "It's a living memorial and it's meant to be living - such as with music. It's very important to us."

The garden has the backing of the city, the British government and heritage societies. The Scottish Executive made a donation to the fund-raising effort two years ago and Hellman recalls the importance of that early gesture.

"It brought tremendous attention for us. The Executive have been very supportive and the overall support we have from Scotland has been wonderful."

The project has received most of its funding from individuals, corporations and foundations. Donations have come from all types: the Royal Bank of Scotland; Lothian & Borders Police; the people of Lockerbie, who thanked New Yorkers for their support during their tragedy in 1988; and a group of schoolchildren from Ayr who donated £350.

The charity trust is about three-quarters of the way toward its goal of $6.5 million to pay for the project.

Clarke, who lives in London, has visited the project site a number of times and looks forward to the day when all can share in the space.

"It's for all the American victims too," she notes. "It's a gift from the British."

It's a gift of life - a ray of sunshine - following one of the darkest days in history.

And particularly poignant is the name Suria, Clarke's daughter. As a garden needs sun to grow, this space tucked in a corner of New York City will no doubt thrive: In Sanskrit, Suria means "the sun".

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