Queen Victoria's Statue
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In late 1905 or early 1906 Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught visited Aden as part of a tour of units stationed in India, and Aden then was part of the Bombay Presidency. The Duke’s chief ceremonial duty in Aden was to unveil the statue of Queen Victoria which had been erected in the Prince of Wales Crescent at Tawahi (Steamer Point). The commission of the 2-ton statue had been awarded to S.C. Tweed in Britain.
"No embassy is complete without a statue and the requirement for the British Embassy in Aden is filled by Queen Victoria. Sculptured by a little-known Briton, S.C. Tweed, she was unveiled in 1911 (see note below) on the occasion of a visit by the then Prince of Wales. She had been forgotten in Steamer Point Gardens until August 1967, when it was suddenly feared the old lady might suffer indignities at the hands of the mob. So one night, working under floodlights, a party of Royal Engineers unceremoniously heaved the 2-ton statue onto a truck and dumped it onto a pedestal facing the embassy. Throughout the whole operation the expression on Queen Victoria's face never changed but then she was good at controlling her feelings." ~ David Ledge 1983
Ed. The statue was actually unveiled 1905 or early 1906 by the Duke of Connaught and then visited by King George V in 1911
On the first of June 2002 the statue of Queen Victoria, which had resided in the garden of the British Consulate at Khormaksar for the past few years, was re-instated to its original place in Victoria Park Gardens, on the Crescent at Tawahi (Steamer Point).
The Ambassador and staff and the Deputy Governor of Aden and officials were present at the ceremony to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen.
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As part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations, the derelict clock and clock tower built by the British and affectionately known as “Little Ben”, are being refurbished and should be back to working order by Ramadan.
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"In the years 1996 –1998, I was working for the British Council as a teacher in Yemen. My first year was in Sana’a and then in late summer 1997, I had the opportunity to go down to Aden to re-open the British Council Centre and serve as teacher/acting director. The Centre had closed because of the 1994 civil war. It was located in what was still called Ho Chi Minh Street in Khormaksar, the same street as the old British Embassy.
It was felt that it would be good if the statue could be released from where it was being kept, apparently the back garden or yard of the Military Museum in Crater. It had probably been there since Marxist times. The museum was never open, as far as I could tell, so I only have this on good hearsay. Eventually, all the permissions were granted and the statue was craned over the British Council wall and positioned in the front garden facing the forecourt leading to the entrance. The Queen looked very well, surrounded by palms and tropical plants and was much admired. I have a photo of the present Duke of Gloucester standing in front of his great-great grandmother. The Duke came to Aden to re-open the Centre as part of a visit to Yemen with a British trade mission. The Centre provided English language teaching to individuals and organisations, including the refinery at Little Aden, offered advice on education in the UK and hosted cultural events.
I left at the end of my contract and sadly, the British Council closed its Aden operation again less than two years after the re-opening because of the deteriorating security situation in Yemen. It seems, from your site, that the statue was moved to the British Consulate and subsequently to its original location at Steamer Point. " ~ David Mitchell
