News / Brandon Hill
Plaque unveiled by Anne Frank tree more than a decade after it was planted
Nine-year-old Elinor Rose Beard stood underneath the shade of a gingko tree to talk about her “heroine”, Anne Frank.
The tree may have been planted in Anne’s memory in 2009 but it has now got a plaque for the first time.
“When I have Anne by my side, I am not afraid,” said Elinor at a short ceremony to unveil the new plaque. “If she lasted through her terrifying experience for as long as she did, then what I’m scared of looks easy.”
is needed now More than ever
Nine-year-old Elinor Rose Beard speaking at the unveiling of the new plaque – photo: Martin Booth
The plaque facing Charlotte Street South remembers Anne, who died in 1945 at the age of just 15.
It was designed and delivered by local and national organisations and charities, including the Anne Frank Trust UK, Bristol & West Progressive Jewish Congregation and the Bristol Holocaust Memorial Day steering group, in partnership with Bristol City Council.
The plaque is also one of the first examples of the work of the We Are Bristol History Commission, with commission chair, professor Tim Cole, joining Bristol mayor Marvin Rees and representatives from Jewish organisations across the city at the unveiling ceremony on Tuesday afternoon.
Senior members of Bristol’s Jewish community attended the plaque unveiling – photo: Martin Booth
Cole said that “memorials say as much about us in the present as in the past”.
“We are saying something about today. We are saying something about the kind of city we are today. And the kind of city that we want to be.”
He added: “It’s really lovely for the History Commission to be involved in this event as we consider what it means to uncover the history of Bristol.”
Several organisations joined forces to support the new plaque – photo: Martin Booth
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read more: 15 things you probably didn’t know about Brandon Hill
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