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Newbury pensioner creates model Covid memorial




A retired Newbury builder has created a unique Covid memorial using dolls and action figures to represent what society has done and gone through during the pandemic.

The memorial, put together by 82-year-old David Jones, features a vicar in the centre, flanked by a family on one side and a doctor and two nurses on the other.

Over their heads, two angels are taking a dead body covered in a white sheet up to heaven.

Mr Jones with his Covid memorial.
Mr Jones with his Covid memorial.

Mr Jones, who is an avid modeller, said he’d been inspired to make the memorial after watching the news and thinking tributes he’d seen didn’t represent the full pandemic.

He said: “My memorial represents everything about coronavirus, and just generally the whole of what society has had to do and live with.

“I wanted something that represented the actual people.

Mr Jones paid particular attention to the little details of outfits.
Mr Jones paid particular attention to the little details of outfits.

“That’s why I came up with this idea of a vicar, nurses, mother, father, children, and a dead body and two angels taking the deceased up to heaven.”

The memorial took Mr Jones six months to make as he concentrated on getting the little details right and ensuring it was “tidy”.

He made the shoes, wigs and clothes, using a gold wire for watches, and using photos to accurately recreate the doctor’s stethoscope and nurses’ name tags.

He continued: “As far as I can get, it all looks proper.

Angels take a dead body up to heaven.
Angels take a dead body up to heaven.

“It’s been difficult to make – making shoes for a doll isn’t easy and making shoelaces is even harder.

“I’m a scratch builder – I don’t use kits, none of it is ready made. I have to use any material I can find to serve the purpose.

“That’s why I do it – I like doing things that aren’t just run of the mill, that’s why I like making different things.”

Mr Jones wanted to create something that represented everything society had gone through with the pandemic.
Mr Jones wanted to create something that represented everything society had gone through with the pandemic.

Mr Jones, who moved to Newbury from Slough around 16 years ago, said he loved living in Newbury and paid tribute to the people who had helped him with the materials along the way – including a woman in Tesco who had helped him develop the photos.

He added: “There are so many kind people – it’s a pleasure to work with and talk to them.”

Mr Jones said he now hoped he could get the memorial on display at a hospital.

Flowers at the feet of the nurses.
Flowers at the feet of the nurses.


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