Statue of Thomas Guy to be removed from Guy’s Hospital due to slavery links

The NHS said it will ‘remove the statue of Thomas Guy from public view’ after protests


Guy’s Hospital is due to remove the statue of slaveowner Thomas Guy from its premises. The removal comes as anti-racist protests occur across the UK, and the history of other public statues have been questioned.

Thomas Guy is the GKT namesake who founded the Guy’s Hospital in the 18th century. He owned roughly £42,000 of shares in the South Sea Company, a company which supplied slaves to Spanish plantations for over 30 years.

The NHS Foundation Trust, Guy’s and Thomas’s Hospital Charity, and King’s College London released a joint statement on Thursday, stating: “Like many organisations in Britain, we know that we have a duty to address the legacy of colonialism, racism and slavery in our work.”

“We have therefore decided to remove statues of Robert Clayton and Thomas Guy from public view, and we look forward to engaging with and receiving guidance from the Mayor of London’s Commission on each.”

King’s College London posted a tweet linking the aforementioned statement.

The statement said:

“Like many organisations in Britain, we know that we have a duty to address the legacy of colonialism, racism and slavery in our work.

“We absolutely recognise the public hurt and anger that is generated by the symbolism of public statues of historical figures associated with the slave trade in some way.

“We have therefore decided to remove statues of Robert Clayton and Thomas Guy from public view, and we look forward to engaging with and receiving guidance from the @MayorofLondon’s Commission on each.

“We see the pervasive and harmful effects of structural racism every day through our work. Black people have worse health outcomes, and this inequality is one of many ways racism permeates our society.

“We are fully committed to tackling racism, discrimination and inequality, and we stand in solidarity with our patients, students, colleagues and communities.”

The NHS foundation trust added there are no plans to change the name of the hospital. The trust also went on to state that the removal may “tale a few weeks” due to the “size, age, and listed status” of the statue.

Earlier this week, students from King’s College London started a petition to have the whole of Guy’s campus renamed, due to Thomas Guy’s participation in the slave trade.

The petition has over 9,000 signatures.

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Featured image via Wikimedia Commons (Stephen McKay)