Spirit of Aviation - Northgate Street, Gloucester, UK
N 51° 51.955 W 002° 14.693
30U E 551993 N 5746394
This bronze sculpture of a man standing on a jet engine is to be found on the south east side of Northgate Street, at the junction with The Oxebode, in Gloucester.
Waymark Code: WMKH2E
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/14/2014
Views: 3
A plaque, on the plinth of this life-size sculpture, tells us:
Spirit of Aviation
Sculpture by
Simon Stringer
1999
Commissioned by
Gloucester City Council
The Statues Hither & Thither website tells us:
Bronze statue of a man with his hands at his ears, standing on an aircraft engine.
The Spirit of Aviation celebrates the achievements of The Gloucester Aircraft Company. Founded in 1917, it produced 12,500 aircraft of 48 different types, including the E28/39, Britain's and the Allies' first jet aircraft. When it closed 46 years later it had provided employment for some 20,000 Gloucester people.
The sculpture was designed to mark the dawn of the jet age and celebrates Gloucester's contribution to aviation history and the modern trade of the aircraft worker. The artist held several workshops with ex-employees of Gloster Aircraft Company to gather authentic details while he was working on the figure.