Peace Direct

In 2001 peace campaigner Brian Haw pitched up his tent on a patch of grass opposite The Palace of Westminster to protest against UK and US foreign policy.

For nearly a decade London's Parliament Square would remain his home, a place where surrounded by numerous huge anti-war placards he would bellow through his megaphone at politicians heading into work. He became closely associated with dissent against The Wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

To maintain his efforts for those 10 Years , he would be helped by passers-by and fellow campaigners, among them Oscar-winning actor Sir Mark Rylance .

" I had a lot of jobs in The West End and I live in South London so my route home after The Show . . often was through Parliament Square , and so when I was on my bicycle, I would always stop and have a word with him, and give him 20 quid or whatever I had in my pocket, " he explains.

A patron of the Stop The War coalition and charity Peace Direct , Rylance is a well-known anti-war campaigner. He says he remains in awe of a person he considers to be " one of The Greatest Englishmen that I've met in My Life in terms of being a person who listened to his conscience".

" I'm able to think and feel things About That issue, and Go On marches, and stand up and give speeches or do things like this, But not 24 hours A Day , not Every Day of the Year - it would drive me mad I'm afraid, I just couldn't do it.

" And yet he was able to do it and retain his sanity and kindness. "

Over The Years Mr Haw repeatedly found himself the attention of politicians, police, Westminster City Council and the then-mayor of London. Efforts were made to remove him from his pitch, take him to court and even confiscate his megaphone.

He proved such a pain for those in Westminster that legislation was passed in 2005 specifically to try to make him leave, with all unauthorised protests within a Square Mile of Parliament being banned.

Yet still he could not be budged as it was deemed that since his campaign began before The Act came into effect, the exclusion zone did not apply in his case.

Away from politics and police, he would suffer physical attacks by random people as he slept in his tent in The Square , while ill health also took its toll, leaving him on crutches for the Last Year of his life.

It would be his health which would finally take him from The Square and in June 2011 Mr Haw died, aged 62, in Berlin where he had been receiving treatment for Lung Cancer .

Rylance is part of a crowdfunding campaign to erect a small bronze maquette, which has already been created by artist Amanda Ward , on a plinth opposite the big guns of The Imperial War Museum In Lambeth .

" It's just a small group of people who admire Brian and have made a statue of him and feel that he's a remarkable person in the history of London, " The Actor and director says.

The Group hopes to raise £50,000 through The Public appeal and is asking people to donate £1 each. It says money is still needed for things like erecting railings before the artwork can be placed outside The School of Historical Dress.

It's a building that seems an apt place for a tribute to A Man who spent much of his life highlighting the consequences of war, given it was part of Bethlem Psychiatric Hospital in 1918 and was regularly a place where World War One soldiers who were suffering from shellshock were treated.

Rylance hopes The Monument will also act as a reminder of the importance of public campaigning.

" It's a wonderful aspect and privilege of our lives here in London, that protests are possible, " he says.

" I think it's a very important part of society, And One that The Authorities are obviously trying more and more now to constrain and that, I think, would be a great loss.

" So that's another good reason that we get him there where he should be, you know, protesting, standing peacefully across from The Imperial War Museum. "

Asked whether A Man some considered to be a nuisance and who was accused of making a mess of a famous historical space should be remembered, Rylance replies that " The Mess of Brian's protest was nothing" when compared to when " our leaders take us into wars where We Are mercilessly killing Children - I think that's The Mess ".

" I think if something offends you, look at the causes of it, " he adds. " That's what Brian was saying. So if you're offended by what Brian did, if you're offended by what Extinction Rebellion are doing now, look at The Cause .

" It's not an easy thing to do to be a protester, it takes a lot. "

As such Rylance believes it would be only fitting to have a monument put in place for A Man who became an unswaying fixture in the capital for The Last 10 Years of his life.

" He was a constant voice at Westminster for longer than most Prime Ministers , " The Actor says.

" Brian was a General . . he was a soldier for peace, and so I think it'd be a terrible shame if there wasn't a statue to him somewhere in London. "

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Source of news: bbc.com