Islington honours George Orwell with new commemorative plaque

Author and journalist George Orwell has been celebrated with a new commemorative plaque in Islington, north London. 

 

Orwell, whose many books, poems, and essays include Down and Out in London and Paris and The Road to Wigan Pier, lived at 27b Canonbury Square between 1944 and 1947. 

 

During this time, his allegorical novel about the Russian Revolution, Animal Farm, was published, and it was here he began his last and most famous story, Nineteen Eighty Four. 

 

Orwell – whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair – kept the flat as his London base after he started to spend the summers on the Scottish Isle of Jura, where he moved to finish the book in 1947. Nineteen Eighty Four was published two years later. 

 

His son, Richard Blair, was joined by family, residents, councillors, and members of the Orwell Society, to unveil the new plaque in his father’s memory. It replaces a previous plaque, which was worn and had incorrect dates for when Orwell lived in the area. The event was organised by Islington Council and The Canonbury Society.

  

Islington Council’s executive member for community development, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwarz, said: “We’re delighted to be unveiling this new plaque for one of the most influential writers in living memory. 

 

“For so many people, George Orwell not only changed the way in which we write; he changed the way we think about power, politics, and people. His was a courageous and insightful talent.”     

 

The son of a British colonial civil servant, Orwell was born on 25 June 1903 in eastern India. He died of tuberculosis on 21 January 1950.

 

Money to pay for the plaque was allocated by two former local Islington councillors, from their Local Initiative Fund money.