“The wall is like a beacon to me. Attracting togetherness.”
About the National Covid Memorial Wall
Created in 2021, in an audacious collaboration between bereaved families from the campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice and the activist group Led By Donkeys, the National Covid Memorial Wall in London is a visual representation of the UK's catastrophic loss to Covid-19.
The Wall stretches for 500 metres alongside the River Thames, directly opposite the Houses of Parliament. There are more than 220,000 individually hand-painted red hearts, each representing a person who died in the UK with Covid-19 as a direct cause of death.
Many of the hearts on the Wall have been personalised with individual messages written either by the bereaved or by the volunteers who are there every week, maintaining this unique memorial. The original hearts were drawn with art pens, which have faded with the London weather, so each heart on the entire Wall has had to be repainted with long-lasting masonry paint.
“It’s a place of understanding, where everyone has felt heartache. It also feels like all our loved ones have been laid to rest together. I didn’t have the money for a fancy funeral, and never really had a place for my dad to rest. But with his heart on the wall, it’s a place of remembering for me.”
Meet our Team of Volunteers
The Wall is maintained by a group of bereaved volunteers, known as ‘The Friends of the Wall’. They repaint faded hearts, re-write dedications that are being absorbed into the Wall, remove graffiti, and look after the Wall to ensure that those lost to Covid19 in the UK are remembered as people, not as a statistics.
Additionally, we have arranged various events to remember and commemorate all our loved ones. These include events on the anniversary of the first heart being painted on the Wall on March 29th, a maze of photos displayed outside Parliament to highlight the lack of bereavement support, and ‘Candles at Christmas’ along the Wall, to remember those missing from our celebrations.
“A place of unity. Where losing someone this way has been very isolating for many different reasons, the wall is a reminder we aren’t alone. They had names, families who loved them, stories to tell – and they will never be just a number. The wall reflects that.”
Request a Dedication
The UK has had an immense loss of life, with over 227,000 deaths with Covid-19 as a cause of death recorded on the death certificate.
If you have lost a loved-one to Covid-19 in the UK, visitors to the Wall are very welcome to add their own dedication. We ask that one heart is taken only, as each heart represents one UK life lost.
If you are unable to write your own dedication, and would like a volunteer to write one on your behalf, please get in touch. The quickest way to request a dedication is by sending us a message through through Facebook or Instagram, or you can also send us an email. We will record the entry, and send you a photo, with the location of the heart, so that you know where to find it should you be able to visit.
Listen to Our Podcasts
The Friends of the Wall have curated a series of podcasts. Our regular volunteer, Lorelei King, talks to those who have been instrumental in the creation of the National Covid Memorial Wall, and to some who are bereaved due to Covid19, to understand the importance of this unique memorial to those living without their loved one.
In our first ever podcast, we talk to Oliver Knowles and James Sadri of Led By Donkeys, the activist group known for holding politicians to account. They, along with the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice UK, were instrumental in establishing the UK National Covid Memorial Wall.
Continuing the story of the history of the memorial wall, talking to Clara Collingwood, Campaign Manager and Senior Policy Officer for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice., together with some volunteers who were there in those early days.
We speak to Lynn Jones, MBE, who lost her husband Gareth early in 2021, and who is one of the regular volunteers at the wall, travelling to London from her home in Stoke-on-Trent each week.
Charlie Williams talks about his father Rex, whom he lost early in the pandemic. Charlie is the co-founder of The Windrush Movement UK and advocate for the Windrush National Organisation. He is also one of the earliest members of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice.
In the last episode of series 1, we interview the two founders of Covid Bereaved Families for Justice UK, Jo Goodman and Matt Fowler. The campaigning from this group helped to secure the UK Covid-19 inquiry and – of course – in starting the UK National Covid Memorial Wall.