An LGBTQ+ armed forces charity has backed proposals to erect a statue of the second world war codebreaker Alan Turing on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth – a high-profile platform for contemporary art commissions.
The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, originally made the suggestion in the House of Commons last week in response to an independent review into the service and experience of LGBTQ+ veterans who served under the pre-2000 ban on homosexuality in the armed forces.
The executive chairperson of the charity Fighting With Pride, Craig Jones, has backed those proposals. He told the PA news agency: “Alan Turing is a man who today the United Kingdom is immensely proud of, but in his life he suffered greatly because of his sexual orientation.
“His achievements changed the world, and therefore it would be incredible to see him recognised in this way in a position just yards away from Admiral Lord Nelson whose immortal memory we celebrate. I think [Turing’s] treatment in his time is a stark contrast to the debt we recognise we owe him today.”
Jones said the monument would “recognise that LGBT+ people have, like all others, met the nation’s call during our most difficult times”.
The plinth has no permanent display, and the London mayor’s Fourth Plinth Commission uses it to showcase temporary artistic installations.
Wallace’s suggestion followed an apology to LGBTQ+ service veterans for historical mistreatment. The minister described Turing as “probably the greatest war hero of the second world war”.
He said it would be the “greatest tribute” to the success of someone from the LGBTQ+ community for a statue of Turing to be placed on “the blank plinth, [with] the mayor’s gimmicks or whatever it is every other five minutes”.
The Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall said he would “absolutely support the defence secretary’s campaign to put up a statue of Turing in Trafalgar Square, if that’s what he’s launching”.
Often considered to be the father of computer science, Turing played a key role in deciphering coded messages used by Nazi Germany. But just seven years after the war ended, he was convicted of gross indecency for his relationship with a man, which led to the removal of his security clearance and meant he was no longer able to work for GCHQ.
He was chemically castrated after his conviction in 1952 and died in 1954 at the age of 41. He was given a posthumous royal pardon, and a tribute to him now features on the £50 note.
Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth currently features a sculpture by Malawi-born artist Samson Kambalu. Titled Antelope, it depicts a 1914 photograph of the European missionary John Chorley and the Malawian Baptist preacher John Chilembwe, who fought against colonial rule.
Previous commissions include Marc Quinn’s sculpture of pregnant Alison Lapper, Yinka Shonibare’s scaled-down replica of HMS Victory contained in a glass bottle, and Heather Phillipson’s sculpture The End, which depicted a whirl of cream topped with a drone and a fly.
It was widely understood that the plinth had been reserved for an equestrian statue of the Queen after her death, and a debate about whether it should be used for that purpose continues.
A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “The fourth plinth is one of the world’s most renowned sculpture prizes and continues to provide an important platform for artists, transforming careers and supporting a diverse range of voices that are often underrepresented in the art world. The programme was started in 1998 and there are no plans for it to change.”
