STOURBRIDGE is set to welcome Prince William who will be visiting later this month to unveil a long-awaited statue of Frank Foley.
The Duke of Cambridge is to visit Mary Stevens Park, Norton, on Tuesday September 18, to unveil the new statue of the late heroic spy who helped ten thousand Jews to flee the Holocaust.
Kensington Palace has confirmed His Royal Highness will be guest of honour at the statue launch event which will also be attended by members of Major Foley’s family and Dudley North MP Ian Austin who has been one of the driving forces behind the £40,000 project.
The Duke of Cambridge will visit the West Midlands on Tuesday 18th September.
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) September 6, 2018
The Duke will attend the first national @SkillForceUK Prince William Award Graduation Ceremony, visit @AcornsHospice, and unveil a new statue of Major Frank Foley CMG at Mary Stevens Park. pic.twitter.com/U4hMLCzSbf
Major Foley (pictured below) was a British spy working undercover as passport control officer in pre-war Nazi Berlin where he provided thousands of Jews with the papers they needed to escape Germany by bending the rules when stamping passports or issuing visas.
He also hid Jews in his own home and even went into Sachsenhausen concentration camp with visas to enable prisoners to leave.
Upon retirement, he settled in Stourbridge and lived at Eveson Road in Norton, close to Mary Stevens Park, until his death in 1958.
The bronze statue, by Midlands' artist Andy de Comyn, is a life-sized depiction of Major Foley and sees him sitting on a park bench dressed in a 1930s suit, feeding a bird - symbolising freedom and the people he helped, with a briefcase to hint at his MI6 work.
Ian Austin MP, who worked with the Holocaust Education Trust to have a lasting memorial to Major Foley created, said of the news Prince William is to unveil it: “This is a huge honour for the people of Dudley and a wonderful tribute to a great British hero.
"Ten thousand people – and many thousands more of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren – owe their lives to Frank Foley who took great personal risks to save Jewish people from the Holocaust before retiring in complete anonymity to Stourbridge.
"I hope this statue will help people learn how Frank Foley refused to stand by when people were being persecuted because of their race or religion.
"His life and his courage show us that we all have a responsibility to stand up against intolerance and racism."
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