Sikh War Memorial for Bristol campaign

The Brief

Empica was approached at the planning stage by the Sikh community in Bristol with the aim of achieving maximum publicity for the building and opening of the Bristol Sikh Garden of Remembrance in Castle Park, Bristol.

The idea was to create a new remembrance garden marking the contribution made by Sikh soldiers in the First and Second World Wars. The community consulted with Empica on the organisation of the event, with a desire for a high-profile VIP to open the garden, a parade through Bristol and media coverage.

Some 83,000 Sikhs lost their lives in the First World War and a further 109,000 were wounded. Sikhs made up 20% of the British Indian Army in action during the First World War despite being less than 2% of the Indian population at the time - a huge commitment from such a small group.

Money for the garden and the memorial came mostly through crowd-funding within Bristol’s 10,000-strong Sikh community with support also from Bristol City Council, Quartet Community Foundation, the Society of Merchant Venturers and Bristol University.

What we did

Empica worked with the small committee from the Sikh Community on finding personal stories of Bristol-based Sikhs who served in the wars. We also accessed archives and research material on Bristol connection to Sikhs who served in both wars.

This material, along with the story of the idea, funding and design of the memorial was used for pre-event publicity.

We supported the event planning with Bristol City Council, including the attendance of the Lord Mayor of Bristol.

On Tuesday April 2 a parade through Bristol was held to the memorial. The memorial received a Royal unveiling by the Duke of Kent in front of representatives of the Sikh community from throughout the UK and the media.

Empica woprked with photogrpaher Neil Phillips to capture and chronicle the event with the photographs used by media who could not attend and by the Sikh community.

Empica produced a short documentary with pre-filmed interviews and live footage of the event. Our videographer George Watts, joined the media scrum which included regional and national television, radio, newspaper and magazine journalists.

Indian and Asian media with UK offices were given pre-event stories, invited to attend and circulated with post event pictures and stories of the event.

The Result

The garden is now a space for all members of Bristol’s multi-cultural community to visit, reflect and remember the Sikh members of the Indian Army who served, died and were wounded in the conflicts.

Its creation follows four years of campaigning and fund raising by the Bristol Sikh Memorial Committee and the 10,000 strong Sikh Community in Bristol.

The garden of remembrance, including a large bench, is located near St Peter’s Church, which serves as a reminder of how Bristol was bombed during the blitz Second World War.

It forms part of an area that continues to welcome the city’s diverse communities and celebrates Bristol’s history alongside memorials remembering conflict. The centrepiece features a steel memorial sculpture containing the Sikh emblem.

The Outcome

A major event organised in the centre of Bristol, with VIP guests including a member of the Royal Family, military figures, major Bristol civic figures.

Attendance from local, regional, national and international media.

Coverage on all main TV channels; coverage on all local news channels, including BBC and ITV and front page coverage of Western Daily Press.

National and international coverage including The Times and Asian Voice (weekly readership 200,000).

Creation of a lasting online documentary film of the event.