Artelia celebrates VE Day

Artelia celebrates VE day, by remembering all the projects we have completed which has historical significance from the great wars.

WOMEN OF WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL

As the Prime Minister turns into no. 10 Downing Street, he passes an elegant and unusual memorial which graces the centre of Whitehall. It commemorates the achievements of the Women of World War II and was unveiled by Her Majesty the Queen on Saturday 9th July 2005 as part of the celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. The statue, which is cast in bronze and stands 6.7m (22ft) high, 4.9m (16ft) long, 1.8m (6ft) wide and weighs over 15 tonnes, depicts 17 representations of the uniforms and working clothes worn by women during the war and was designed by eminent sculptor, John Mills.

Unusually, Artelia were employed not only to erect the memorial, but also to manage the unveiling ceremony, working closely with the MOD and emergency services over arrangements for the day, which was attended by HM the Queen, many veterans and celebrities. Despite the terror attacks in London a few days earlier, the ceremony passed off smoothly and without difficulty.

More information about the work of the Women in World War II.

RESTORATION OF BLETCHLEY PARK, THE HOME OF THE CODEBREAKERS

Artelia project managed the repair and restoration of six Grade II listed structures, including a number of the iconic codebreaker huts, three of which are at significant risk of collapse.
The restoration project has transformed the buildings to their former WWII appearance, and a series of thematic narrative zones were created within the original WWII buildings to tell the story of the amazing codebreaking which took place, and the birth of the world’s first working electronic computer ‘Colossus’.

Layout and accessibility of the site has been improved to provide adequate support accommodation for a significant increase in visitors per annum. The 18th of June marked the official reopening of Bletchley Park by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, who paid tribute to her grandmother who worked there during World War II.

Work on this project has been recognised and shortlisted for a number of awards:

• Building Awards Project of the Year – shortlisted
• RICS South East Awards Project of the Year – shortlisted
• LABC Awards (Central) – Winner
• Constructing Excellence London and South East Awards Project of the Year – Shortlisted

LCT 7074: THE LAST D-DAY TANK LANDING CRAFT

The LCT 7074 is unique because most of the other Landing Craft were worked to complete dereliction, so very few of them lasted until the end of the war as complete vessels. She is in extraordinarily original condition, because they were such simple ships – although she has lost her engines, almost the entire fabric is original to 1944.

Our work involved project managing the re-floating and moving of the vessel from Birkhamstead to Portsmouth, where it will then be restored.

This is a vital first step in the programme of preventative conservation work to be carried out in order to halt her deterioration and make her safe for sea. The Landing Craft Tank LCT was an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks on beachheads, initially developed by the British Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions.

More information about this project can be found on our recent news story.