Wikipedia:Today's featured list/November 14, 2011
Over fifty ordinary people who died saving the lives of others are commemorated on ceramic tiles on the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice in Postman's Park in the City of London. First proposed by artist George Frederic Watts in 1887, the scheme was not accepted at that time. In 1898 Watts was approached by the vicar of St Botolph's Aldersgate church, who was trying to raise the profile of a park in St Botolph's former churchyard. The unfinished memorial was unveiled in 1900 with space for 120 memorial tablets to be designed and made by William De Morgan, but only four of the tablets were in place. Watts died in 1904, and his widow Mary Watts took over the project. In 1906, after making 24 memorial tablets for the project, William De Morgan abandoned the ceramics business to become a novelist, and Royal Doulton took over making the tiles. Mary Watts lost interest in the project and work to complete it was sporadic, ceasing altogether in 1931 with only 53 of the planned 120 tiles in place. In 2009 the first new tablet in 78 years was added to the memorial. (Full list...)