Britain to Honor Sept. 11 Victims With Garden at U.S. Embassy

Britain will commemorate the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks with a garden planted outside the U.S. Embassy here, a Cabinet official announced Tuesday.

Culture, Media and Sport Minister Tessa Jowell unveiled details for the project, which will feature two large flower beds opposite a large oak pergola and a pillared pavilion in Grosvenor Square. The plans show a stone centerpiece, inscribed with words of remembrance, standing on paving stones. Yew hedges and iron railings surround the garden.

“Naturally we are charmed and touched that the British government is interested in making some sort of memorial,” said Lee McClenny of the U.S. Embassy press office.

Plans for the memorial garden were discussed with families of the 67 British victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and drawn up with the Royal Parks Commission and landscape architects from Land Use Consultants, a private company. The government has set aside about $1.5 million for the project.

Jowell also announced that an anniversary remembrance service will be held at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Sept. 11. The 50-minute ceremony will be attended by a congregation of 2,000 invited guests, including families of British victims, U.S. Ambassador William Farish and leading members of the American community in Britain. Representatives of the royal family and British government also will attend.

Determined to avoid the acrimonious discussion that occurred here over plans for a memorial to honor the late Princess Diana, British officials and relatives of victims reportedly collaborated closely on the Sept. 11 project.

Tom Clarke, whose sister died in the terrorist attacks, told the Press Assn.: “We will all remember those we lost in our individual ways, but having a permanent, public memorial in central London will act as a focal point for us.”

Last September, Grosvenor Square was flooded with mourners and sympathizers who placed flowers or lined up to sign books of condolence in honor of the victims.