Is it possible to be a real national hero?

AshleyC said:
Do you think its possible to get that sort of national recognition any more?
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Yes it's possible - difficult to foresee the circumstances that would give rise to the need, but if such a person did come along it would show up how devalued the term "hero" has become.
 
surprised to see this thread pop up again since it looked like it was going off the rails!

Personally i don't think its possible. You look at all the monuments erected to heroes of days gone by and they're pretty much all military based. Sure there's the odd local type, Humphry Davy being from my own home town of penzance, who get the odd statue erected. But on the whole its all for wartime activities which, frankly, this country is incapable of achieving anymore. It all seemed to be down to flag waving empire expanding and the world has moved on, at least in the west anyway.
 
AshleyC said:
You look at all the monuments erected to heroes of days gone by and they're pretty much all military based
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Not if you look closely and pay attention, e.g. Parliament Square is entirely political figures; thousands of statutes nationally acknowledge social reformers, campaigners, inventors, explorers, etc.

If you get past the popular media hard-on for militarism there many national heroes celebrated for peaceful achievements.
 
There's a Nigel Gresley statue near Kings Cross, it's quite new too, but really ought to live outside Donny station. We do have a Nigel Gresley square that's quite new though.
 
I always remember the statue of Florence Nightingale outside the DRI on London Road in Derby.
 
viv1969 said:
I always remember the statue of Florence Nightingale outside the DRI on London Road in Derby.
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They're talking of moving the dear old girl (Again) to the Derby Royal Hospital since the old DRI is being demolished.
No doubt by the time the council and NHS authorities get around to making a decision, the local vandals will have decided for them.
 
Graham W said:
They're talking of moving the dear old girl (Again) to the Derby Royal Hospital since the old DRI is being demolished.
No doubt by the time the council and NHS authorities get around to making a decision, the local vandals will have decided for them.
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It's ages since I've been back.
The DRI is closed and the old City Hospital is now the Derby Royal Hospital? In Littleover?
I'm so confused!
Has the Children's Hospital gone too?
 
viv1969 said:
It's ages since I've been back.
The DRI is closed and the old City Hospital is now the Derby Royal Hospital? In Littleover?
I'm so confused!
Has the Children's Hospital gone too?
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Yes. The old DRI is now the new all chrome and glass Derby Royal where the City Hospital used to be in Littleover. It now incorporates the children's hospital.
There's a helipad on the roof which I have a great view of from my upstairs windows. The A&E dept is less than five minutes walk from my front door, so the first thing I did when they opened was to treat myself to a chainsaw! :-)_DSC3740.jpg _DSC9735.jpg
 
It's not possible to have a national hero with the way British society is presently shaped because respect and awe are now transient and disposable, and this years over-acheiver will be replaced by next years person of the moment. Plus society is deeply divided and every individual's view is the only correct one in his own eyes: could we have a statue of Margaret Thatcher who defeated the evil power of the unions or Arthur Scargill who stood up to a malevolent government? etc.

Britain has no single voice to recognise and acclaim a hero, and that is enough to prevent there being any more suitable figures.
 
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