On 6 March 1982 the first memorial to Soviet citizens repatriated to the USSR after the Second World War was dedicated in London, on the site now known as the Yalta Memorial Garden beside the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The Bishop of London dedicated the memorial. Braine, chairman of the Yalta Victims Memorial Committee, gave a speech; The National Archives holds its text, catalogued as a speech "at the unveiling of the memorial, outside the Victoria and Albert Museum in London".
The Thatcher archive records a letter of June 1980 in which the Prime Minister declined an invitation to the unveiling.
Sources
- AThe National Archives — YBNE/5/5, dated 6 March 1982 — the event, the speaker and his role.
What this page does not claim
- That Braine unveiled the memorial. The archival description records that he gave a speech at the unveiling; the Bishop of London dedicated it.
- The content of the speech. Only its existence, title and date are recorded; the text has not been read.
- A MoyPolk position on the historical controversy over the post-war repatriations.