Press Releases


For press information please contact:
Peggy A. Brown
The Friends of the British Memorial Garden
212 682-7945
peggy.brown@britishmemorialgarden.org


Click on any heading to go directly to that item, or scroll the page to see all:

November 16, 2008: BMG to hold "A Victorian Celebration"
August 7, 2008: BMG to present September 11 Ceremony in Hanover Square
July 9, 2008: NY Police Museum Photographs by Neil Kitson
April 3, 2008: BMG to celebrate Scotland Week at Hanover Square
February 19, 2008: BMG to exhibit and RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May
January 2, 2008: BMG to hold annual "Twilight in the Garden" Gala
November 5, 2007: "Victorian Celebration" - Caroling and Tree Lighting
September 5, 2007: BMG to present September 11 Ceremony in Hanover Square
January 4, 2007: "Twilight in the Garden" - The BMG Gala


In addition to the 2008/2007 press releases listed on this page, review our:

BRITISH MEMORIAL GARDEN TRUST, INC. TO HOLD “A VICTORIAN CELEBRATION” IN HANOVER SQUARE DECEMBER 8, 2008



The Directors of the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. are pleased to announce the sixth annual “Victorian Celebration” to be held in the British Memorial Garden at Hanover Square, Lower Manhattan.

The celebration, which is free to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. and will feature caroling by the Choir of Trinity Church, a tree-lighting and other festive activities.

Following the lighting of the tree, a holiday party will be held at nearby India House Club. Tickets for the reception are $50.00, with children under 12-years-old invited to attend without charge. To obtain tickets, call 212 682-7945.

The party will feature more caroling by the Trinity Church choir, holiday treats, a raffle and a silent auction, as well as family activities.

The proceeds of the event will benefit the British Memorial Garden, which celebrates British-American friendship and commemorates the 67 Britons who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

BRITISH MEMORIAL GARDEN TRUST, INC. TO PRESENT SEPTEMBER 11TH CEREMONY IN HANOVER SQUARE

Free community concert featuring British music part of September Concert series

The British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. will present a free community concert and ceremony on September 11, 2008 to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The concert will feature British music and will begin at 12:30 p.m. in Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan. The concert and ceremony will last an hour.

Performing this year at the annual event are Welsh soprano Rebecca Jenkins, the New York Scottish Pipes and Drums Band and the Comrades Male Voice Choir from Wales, among others. There will also be an honor guard of British Police Officers, who will have flown in especially for the occasion. .

The concert is being sponsored by ICAP, with a private reception following sponsored by Barclays Capital.

The Trust has built a garden in Hanover Square that will celebrate British-American unity and memorialize the 67 British lives lost on September 11, 2001.

“This year’s concert will be about moving forward, as well as remembering the victims,” said Ms. Hellman. “We find strength and purpose in looking ahead, while learning from the past.”

The British Memorial Garden Trust’s Memorial Concert is part of the September Concert Series and New York-London Sister Cities Program. It will end with the musicians and audience singing “Let It Be” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. An international initiative, September Concerts, are being held all over the world on September 11th, including a British Memorial Garden Trust UK, Ltd. concert in London’s Grosvenor Square held simultaneously with the New York concert.

“The British Memorial Garden is being built not only to commemorate the British victims of 9/11,” said Camilla G. Hellman. “It is also dedicated to celebrating the strong historic ties of friendship and unity between the United States and the United Kingdom. A gift to the City and people of New York from the British-American community and friends, this British garden at Hanover Square is being funded by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations.”

THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE BRITISH MEMORIAL GARDEN TRUST, INC. TO EXHIBIT 9/11 PHOTOGRAPHS BY NEIL KITSON

“A British Salute to September 11th: Hands Across the Water”

The New York City Police Museum, in conjunction with the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. will be exhibiting photographs by British police officer and photojournalist Neil Kitson at the Police Museum from September 11, 2008 to January 3, 2009. The museum is located in Lower Manhattan at 100 Old Slip at Water Street.

The exhibition of photographs by Neil Kitson of the West Yorkshire Police in England documents the solidarity and respect paid to New York City in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by a group of British police officers who have, for five years, paid their own way to New York to attend the annual services at Ground Zero. These officers also form an annual honor guard at the British Memorial Garden at Hanover Square, a New York City park dedicated to honoring the 67 British victims of the attacks.

This extraordinary relationship between the New York City Police Department and their fellow British officers has been movingly captured by award-winning photographer Kitson. Selections of his work, “A British Salute to September 11th:: Hands Across the Water,” feature portraits of both American and British police officers and their special kinship.

For a profile of Neil Kitson, click here.

April 3, 2008

BRITISH MEMORIAL GARDEN TRUST, INC. TO CELEBRATE SCOTLAND WEEK APRIL 4TH FREE CONCERT OF SCOTTISH MUSIC AT HANOVER SQUARE 5:30 P.M. TO 6:30 P.M.

Pipes and Drums come to Lower Manhattan
Music continues on Stone Street

A free concert of traditional and contemporary Scottish music will be played at Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan as part of the 2008 Scotland Week celebrations. The concert, presented by the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. in conjunction with the Scottish Government, will feature the Scots bands MacTalla Mór, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and the Pentland Caledonia Pipes & Drums. A special pipe lament will be played by the MacLaren of MacLaren. The concert starts at 5:30 p.m. and will last an hour.

The music and fun will continue after the concert on adjacent Stone Street with music by the Tartan Specials at Beckett’s Bar & Grill at 7:30 p.m. The party will go on with an all-Scottish music set from the famed DJ Gadget, spinning disks at Ulysses pub from 7:30 p.m. on. A Scots piper will be playing in Stone Street at 6:30 p.m. to invite all comers to the celebration of everything Scottish.

“This is the fourth year we have brought the ‘Pipes and Drums’ to the British Memorial Garden,” said Camilla G. Hellman, MBE, president of the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. “We are so proud of the Scottish aspects of the park, including the paving stones from Caithness and Morayshire. “This is the fourth year we have brought the ‘Pipes and Drums’ to the British Memorial Garden,” said Camilla G. Hellman, MBE, president of the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. “We are so proud of the Scottish aspects of the park, including the paving stones from Caithness and Morayshire. We are delighted to have Tartan Week festivities in Lower Manhattan,” continued Ms. Hellman, “This concert and the Stone Street activities are part of our ongoing mission to bring British culture and heritage to the Downtown community.”

The British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. is currently building a new park at Hanover Square. It is a place of reflection and recreation, commemorating the British lives lost in the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001 while also celebrating the historic ties between the United States and the United Kingdom.

A gift to the people and City of New York from the British community and its friends, the British Memorial Garden is being funded by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations. The park is open to the public and used daily by scores of area residents and workers.

The British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. was launched in 2003 by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales serves as Royal Patron of the project. He and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall dedicated the garden’s center stone in November 2005.




February 19, 2008

BRITISH MEMORIAL GARDEN TRUST, INC. TO EXHIBIT AT RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW MAY 20– 24, 2008

The British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. will exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London from May 20 through 24 on Stand No. EA16 located by the corner of Main Way and Eastern Avenue. The British Memorial Garden is located at Hanover Square in New York City.

The stand will show the progress and development of the project with an emphasis on the plants and flowers in the garden. Opportunities will exist to support the project through the purchase of British Memorial Garden merchandise such as Halcyon Days’ limited edition enamel box featuring an image of the garden, a Links of London topiary charm and British Memorial Garden jumpers. Also on sale will be county paving stones: all the counties of Great Britain are carved into the paving of the garden and each can be sponsored.

The British Memorial Garden has been under construction since 2005, and has been open to the public since last summer. Landscaping , which was begun in 2007, is ongoing, and the project is near completion. The garden honours the 67 British victims of the World Trade Center attacks and celebrates the long-standing friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom. It is a gift to the people and City of New York, and a living memorial.

The garden was designed by British landscape architects Isabel and Julian Bannerman as a unique blend of a traditional 17th century topiary garden with modern elements. The project has transformed one of New York’s most historic squares into a green space, helping in the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. The British Memorial Garden sculpture to Unity by British artist Anish Kapoor will anchor the new park.

Under the auspices of the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc., which has the Royal patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales, a capital improvement fund-raising campaign was launched in 2003 to build and maintain this important international initiative.




January 2, 2008

BRITISH MEMORIAL GARDEN TRUST, INC. TO HOLD ANNUAL GALA “TWILIGHT IN THE GARDEN” FEBRUARY 6, 2008 AT CIPRIANI 42ND STREET

The Board of Directors of the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. have announced that they will be holding their fifth annual black tie Gala – “Twilight in the Garden” – at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York on February 6, 2008. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails and dancing, followed by dinner and silent and live auctions.

The Gala’s honorees are Sir Fred Goodwin, Group Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Tom Purves, Chairman and CEO of BMW (US) Holding Corporation, who are being recognized for their contributions to international relations and transatlantic unity, as well as their support of the garden project.

The Gala’s co-chairs are Isabel Carden and Martin J. Sullivan, OBE. This annual British Memorial Garden Gala is attended by leading members of the Anglo-American community in New York.

The garden, which is a gift to the City and people of New York, celebrates the unity and friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom, while also honoring the 67 British victims of the World Trade Center attacks.

A large part of the mission of the British Memorial Garden is to present a program of cultural events that are free to the Lower Manhattan community, promoting British heritage and helping to revitalize the neighborhood.

Under the auspices of the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc., which has the Royal patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales, a fund-raising campaign was launched in 2003 to build and maintain this important international initiative.

The British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. The proceeds of this major fundraising event will go towards creating and maintaining the new garden at Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan. Tickets for the event can be obtained by calling 212 682-7945.




November 5, 2007

BRITISH MEMORIAL GARDEN TRUST, INC.TO HOLD FREE “VICTORIAN CELEBRATION” FEATURING CAROLING AND TREE LIGHTING IN HANOVER SQUARE DECEMBER 10, 2007, FOLLOWED BY RECEPTION AT INDIA HOUSE CLUB

The British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. is holding its fifth annual “Victorian Celebration” on December 10, 2007.

The Choir of the Parish of Trinity Church will lead a concert of carols and a special guest will light a holiday tree. The event is free to the downtown community.

The concert begins at 6 p.m.

The park will be aglow with twinkling holiday lights and a large Christmas tree, provided by Isabel Carden. The event is sponsored by AIG.

Following the tree-lighting, a holiday reception will take place at India House Club,
1 Hanover Square. Tickets for the reception are $50 and children are free. For tickets, call 212 682-7945.

The reception will feature more carols from the Trinity Church Choir, a holiday bazaar, a silent auction and a reading from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol by British actor Jim Dale, “the voice of Harry Potter.”

Proceeds from the “Victorian Celebration” go toward the building of the British Memorial Garden at Hanover Square.




September 5, 2007

BRITISH MEMORIAL GARDEN TRUST TO PRESENT SEPTEMBER 11TH CEREMONY IN HANOVER SQUARE

Free community concert featuring British music part of September Concert Series

The British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. will present a free community concert and ceremony on September 11, 2007 to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The concert will feature British music and will begin at 12:30 p.m. in Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan. The concert and ceremony will last an hour.

Performing this year at the annual event are Scottish violinist Laura McGhee, Welsh singer Rebecca Jenkins, soprano Deborah Shull, the New York Scottish Pipes and Drums Band and the West Point Pipes & Drums of the Cadet Corps. There will also be an honor guard of British Police Officers, who will have flown in especially for the occasion.

The concert is sponsored by Barclays plc.

Among the speakers at the ceremony will be HM British Consul-General Sir Alan Collins, KCVO, CMG, Commissioner William T. Castro of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and Camilla G. Hellman, MBE, president of the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc.

The Trust is in the process of building a garden in Hanover Square that will celebrate Anglo-American unity and commemorate the British lives lost on September 11, 2001.

“This year’s concert will be about moving forward, as well as remembering the victims,” said Ms. Hellman. “We find strength and purpose in looking ahead, while learning from the past.”

The British Memorial Garden Trust’s Memorial Concert is part of the September Concert Series and New York-London Sister Cities Program. It will end with the musicians and audience singing “I Believe in Love” by Mac Davis. An international initiative, September Concerts, are being held all over the world on September 11th, including a British Memorial Garden Trust UK, Ltd. concert in London’s Grosvenor Square.

“The British Memorial Garden is being built not only to commemorate the British victims of 9/11,” said Camilla G. Hellman. “It is also dedicated to celebrating the strong historic ties of friendship and unity between the United States and the United Kingdom. A gift to the City and people of New York from the Anglo-American community and friends, this British garden at Hanover Square is being funded by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations.”

January 4, 2007

“TWILIGHT IN THE GARDEN” - A GALA CELEBRATION FOR THE BRITISH MEMORIAL GARDEN TRUST, FEBRUARY 8, 2007

The Directors of the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. have announced plans for “Twilight in the Garden,” a Gala celebration, on Thursday, February 8, 2007 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York. The event starts at 6:30 p.m.

The Gala’s honorees are Martin Broughton, Chairman of British Airways and Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers, who are being recognized for their contributions to international relations and transatlantic unity, as well as their support of the garden project.

The Gala’s co-chairs are Isabel Carden and Martin J. Sullivan. This fourth annual British Memorial Garden Gala is attended by leading members of the Anglo-American community in New York.

The garden, which is a gift to the City and people of New York, will celebrate the unity and friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom, while also honoring the 67 British victims of the World Trade Center attacks.

Under the auspices of the British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc., which has the Royal patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales, a fund-raising campaign was launched in 2003 to build and maintain this important international initiative. The construction phase of the project is nearing completion, with planting and landscaping planned for spring 2007.

The British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. The proceeds of this major fundraising event will go towards building and maintaining the new garden at Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan.

Tickets for the event can be obtained by calling 212 682-7945.




For additional information, please contact:

Peggy A. Brown
British Memorial Garden Trust, Inc.
216 East 45th Street
New York, NY 10017
212 682-7945
peggy.brown@britishmemorialgarden.org

In the UK:

Juliette Hellman
020 8870 8833
info@juliettehellmanpr.co.uk