Beloved South Yorkshire film could be immortalised among cinematic greats in London with statue campaign
Billy Casper would stand alongside Mary Poppins and Harry Potter
One of South Yorkshire’s greatest cultural exports may be getting immortalised among film legends with a sculpture in London.
The ‘A Kestrel for London’ campaign is currently working to get a statue of Billy Casper, from the beloved film Kes, in Leicester Square.
The statue - which would be a replica of Graham Ibbesson’s sculpture outside the Alhambra Shopping Centre in Barnsley town centre - would stand alongside Mr Bean, Mary Poppins and even Paddington besides some of the country’s best cinemas.
And the idea for this ambitious task appropriately came from what one of the organisers, Paul Hilton, described as “taproom talk” in the Kestrel pub in Barnsley.
“One of the lads said he thought it should be in Leicester Square with all the other movie stars,” he added.
Sculptor Graham took that idea and ran with it, getting in touch with Westminster City Council to get the ball rolling.
A place for the replica statue has already been agreed by the ‘Scenes in the Square’ team in London for 2028, however they are now raising the necessary funds to make this possible.
In July, they started an online fundraiser with a target of £55,000 - and people have since put forward more than £2,500.
Meanwhile recent fundraising events in Barnsley have managed to raise another £5,000, while the Heart of London Business Alliance have pledged their support.
Details from the website add: “If enough funds are raised, this lasting tribute will honour the extraordinary legacy of Barry Hines, Ken Loach, Tony Garnett, David Bradley, and the generations of audiences who have kept Kes alive for more than half a century.”
Support the fundraiser here
Released in 1969, Kes, starring David Bradley and directed by Ken Loach, was filmed in Barnsley and has been praised for offering an authentic view of mining communities at the time.
It was based on the novel ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’ by Barry Hines and has gone on to receive critical acclaim, with the BFI (British Film Institute) listing it as the seventh best British film of all time.
Graham has created a number of statues based on the film, including one titled Defiance which depicts lead character Billy Casper carrying a Sheffield Star news bag - and he’s excited to see the film recognised in London.
“The thing is with the Leicester Square figures is that most of the figures there, in fact all of them, are fantasy figures,” he added.
“It is about fantasy, films are about escapism, but Kes is earthy, it’s about a real kid from a housing estate in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
“You’ve got Harry Potter on a broom there flying up in the air, and Billy Casper would be about the same age - the difference is vast isn’t it?
“A Kestrel for a Knave and Billy Casper is about a real person that a lot of people can identify with.”
The campaign has received support from the likes of Barnsley Council and local businesses including Penistone’s Hillside Quarry.
However Graham says that getting the statue in such a well-trodden area isn’t about his ego, but “marketing South Yorkshire in the capital.”
“I love where I live, that’s it basically, I love where I live,” he continued.
“I’m very much part of the South Yorkshire community and I’ll never move.
“I’ve got 40 public sculptures and they’re all been created honestly less than a 10 minute walk from Barnsley town hall.
“Just to take a big Barnsley down there and get the footfall back here - whether it’s Sheffield or Barnsley - that’s what it’s all about.”