Anti-Racist Plaques Reinstalled in Southall Ceremony

Ceremony held to mark restoration of stolen memorials


These plaques are now restored. Picture: Visit Southall/Twitter

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Anti-racism Memorials Stolen in Southall

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At a ceremony that took place on Tuesday 13 July 2021 from 5pm, the three anti-racism plaques stolen from outside Southall Town Hall earlier this year have been restored.

The reinstallation ceremony which took place at 5pm was preceded by a series of events for local school children.

Guest speakers for the event included John McDonnell MP, Virendra Sharma MP, Claudia Webbe MP, Jatinder Chaggar, Celia Stubbs, Clarence Baker, Eve Turner, Cllr Julian Bell, Cllr Peter Mason, Ursula James, Ahmed Mohamed, Harsev Bains, Dalawar Chaudhry and Dr Kulwant.

The plaques paid tribute to Gurdip Singh Chaggar, an 18-year-old student murdered in a racist attack in 1976 and Blair Peach, an anti-racist school teacher who was killed in anti-National Front demonstrations in the town 1979. The third plaque is a tribute to Southall’s prominent reggae band, Misty ‘n Roots who were known for their anti-racist activism. Their manager Clarence Baker was left hospitalised for months after he was badly beaten at the same 1979 protests as Mr Peach.

The original plaques were put up in April 2019 after a four decade long campaign for public remembrance but last June they disappeared over night. The plans to reinstate them have been delayed by the Covid-19 outbreak.

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July 15, 2021

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