Another Prick On A Wall

Girton historian Charlie Gilmour was photographed using a Union Flag to climb the Cenotaph during yesterday’s protests.

cenotaph charlie gilmour dave gilmour girton college history lancing college Pink Floyd polly samson protest

While most Cambridge students were settling back in at home, cheering on the defeated Blues or flying down the slopes of Val Thorens yesterday, one high profile Cantab has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Charlie Gilmour, Girton historian and adopted son of Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour, struck the wrong note after he was photographed using a Union Flag to climb the Cenotaph during yesterday’s protests in Whitehall, in an attempt to prove that we do need an education.

It’s the second time Gilmour has landed himself in hot water over student protests. Footage captured by VarsiTV last month caught Gilmour trying to steal a policeman’s helmet during the protest outside Senate House.

Charlie released a carefully worded statement this morning, claiming he “did not realise that it was the Cenotaph”. However, a photograph of him, which appeared on the Daily Mail’s website, clearly showed him swinging by the flag next to the inscription: The Glorious Dead.

Charlie’s Facebook status today urged his friends not to talk to the press, saying: “I feel nothing but shame.” One comment to a friend who posted a link to the Daily Mail‘s article on Charlie’s wall said: “I’m fucked…this is probably the worst thing I’ve done. I just wanted to swing from a flag, I didn’t realise it was the Cenotaph. I feel so ashamed of myself right now.”

An anonymous 2nd year student at Clare, who was in the same House as Charlie at Lancing College, came out in his defence, saying: “There were a lot of crazy people at the school, but Charlie always seemed really level-headed. I genuinely think that it was an accident – but a stupid one at that.”

Gilmour’s antics are ironic considering his adopted father’s band, Pink Floyd, wrote the song Corporal Clegg about a victim of World War Two. The monument Gilmour Jr. scaled is of course a memorial to all those who lost their lives during the conflict.

Corporal Clegg is even more relevant as it tells the story of the eponymous soldier’s leg being blown off, much like Nick Clegg, who yesterday found himself without a leg to stand on.

Charlie’s mother, author Polly Samson, used her Twitter account to react to the news, tweeting this afternoon: “I am as ashamed of him as he is of himself.”

Although The Tab doesn’t condone his actions, Charlie may well have thought the Cenotaph was just another brick in the wall. Like many other protesters, he obviously feels that the Tories are trying to grab cash with both hands and make a stash…