‘Humanity’ by Ray Lonsdale in North Marine Park, South Shields

Friday 15th August 2025 – 80th Anniversary of J Day (Victory over Japan Day) and the official end of World War II, marked with the unveiling of a poignant statue to the “Forgotten Army’ by acclaimed artist, Ray Lonsdale.

While VE Day (Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945) celebrated the end of the war in

Europe, 3 months later, J Day marked the true end of World War II.

‘The Forgotten Army’, as they became known due to the continued conflict with the Japanese. Many PoW continued to suffer extreme conditions, disease and torture months after VE Day celebrations in Europe.

Daft as a Brush Cancer Patient Care founder, Brian Burnie has privately funded this magnificent tribute to all those prisoners of war, many perished and never returned.

His long-time friend and supporter of the cancer charity, Mr Len Gibson (BEM) was captured and imprisoned on the notorious Burma Death’ Railway and Bridge on the River Kwai by the Japanese and endured 3 and a half years of unimaginable treatment.

The statue depicts North-East veteran Mr Gibson at the time of his liberation handing his hand-made guitar to a young local boy as a symbol of peace and forgiveness.

Len played the guitar to entertain his fellow prisoners of war.

If you look carefully you can see the small amount of money Len earned rolled-up inside for the boy. Mr Gibson was liberated in 1945 and was one of the few who returned home.

Object description
Type: Sculpture
Location: North Marine Park, South Shields, Tyne & Wear
Material: Steel
Artist: Ray Lonsdale (b.1965)
Date: 2025

Image Details
Date: 31 August 2026
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Tamron 70.0-300.0 mm f/4.0-5.6
Focal Length: 70mm
Aperture: ƒ/5
Shutter Speed: 1/1,250s
ISO: 200
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International