Statue defenders stand in front of sculpture of writer George Eliot during Black Lives Matter demo

Statue defenders have been mocked for standing between Black Lives Matter protesters and a sculpture of writer George Eliot .

A group of men, including veterans, stood guard over the George Eliot statue in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, just yards away from a BLM protest on Sunday afternoon.

However, photos of them surrounding the statue have triggered scorn online, with many pointing out that Eliot was a vocal opponent of slavery and anti-semitism.

‘Protect the statue’ groups have started to form all over the country after BLM protesters pulled down a monument to slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol. 

There have been calls for the statues of other British historical figures involved in the slave trade to also be pulled down. 

Eliot – being a critic of slavery and oppression – was not targeted in a list of statues of slavers published by BLM supporters last week. 

A group of men stood guard over the George Eliot statue in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, just yards away from a BLM protest on Sunday

However, this has spawned statue defenders, who have since appeared at BLM protests and clashed with both them and police officers. 

In Nuneaton, the protest and subsequent counter-protest remained peaceful, with a throng of ‘protectors’ surrounding the statue of Eliot.

Particularly in her later years, Eliot appeared to be a strong supporter of anti-slavery. 

In essays, Eliot lavished praise on the anti-slavery works of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who depicted the struggles of African-American slaves and championed the abolition of slavery. 

She also explored the topic of ‘conflict between races’ with her novel Daniel Deronda exploring racial identity and shocking Victorian Britain with its sympathetic view of Jews – she also wrote about the ‘debt’ Western people had towards Jews. 

Corry Bates, formerly of the first batallion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was one of the men who ‘protected’ her statue in Nuneaton on Sunday. 

He said: ‘I heard about the protest on Friday and obviously what has been going elsewhere, I’m here purely to protect our history.

Who was George Eliot? 

George Eliot (1819-1880) pen name of Mary Ann Evans

Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. 

She wrote under a pen name because she wanted to escape the stereotype of women’s writing being limited to lighthearted romances. 

Some believe she also wanted to avoid her private life being scrutinised, and she later had a relationship with married journalist George Henry Lewes.

Her works includes the novels Middlemarch,  Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss and Daniel Deronda, among others. 

Middlemarch has been described as the greatest novel in the English language.

Her novels are celebrated for their realism and psychological insights. 

She was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, the third child of a mill owner. 

Eliot was shunned by friends and family for her relationship with Lewes, who encouraged her to write. 

It was during this period that she wrote her famous novels. 

The popularity of Eliot’s novels brought social acceptance, and Lewes and Eliot’s home became a meeting place for writers and intellectuals.

After Lewes’ death Eliot married John Cross, who was 20 years her junior. She died on 22 December 1880 and was buried in Highgate Cemetery in north London.

Particularly in her later years, Eliot appeared to be a strong supporter of anti-slavery. 

In essays, Eliot lavished praise on the anti-slavery works of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who depicted the struggles of African-American slaves and championed the abolition of slavery. 

She also explored the topic of ‘conflict between races’ with her novel Daniel Deronda exploring racial identity and shocking Victorian Britain with its sympathetic view of Jews – she also wrote about the ‘debt’ Western people had towards Jews. 

‘I’m not against the protest whatsoever, everyone has the right to do it, I’m purely here to protect our history.’

Around 200 people attended the BLM protest, which passed peacefully, according to officials. 

Many people turned out with homemade signs with statements including ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘I will never understand but I stand’ and ‘took a knee’ as speeches were given. 

JB Benjamin, of the Nuneaton Bedworth Bulkington Black Lives Matter (NBB BLM) who organised the protest, said: ‘It has gone pretty well, apart from one minor incident with an agitator at around 2.30pm, the people at the protest have been peaceful and socially distanced.

‘I was pleased to see so many people and also pleased that the young socialist party had also come to show their support.’

Other statue defenders were spread across four memorials – the Gurkha memorial, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, the Boer War and the main war memorial.

Social media users mocked the George Eliot defenders after photos were shared online.   

One said: ‘Oh my god … they are … *rubs eyes* they really are guarding the statue of George Eliot in Nuneaton.’

A second added: ‘A group of men, including veterans, stood watch over the George Eliot statue in Market Place.

‘I really hope the Jane Austen crew doesn’t turn up looking for trouble.’

While a third commented: ‘Good to see #GeorgeEliot being protected this morning from the threatened attacks by the fierce loyalists of the Bronte Liberation Front, Gaskell’s Characters Matter, and the Austen Supremacy Party.’

Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter activists have named Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris, the man who oversaw allied bombing raids on Nazi Germany, on a list of statues they want pulled down, for being a ‘colonial warmonger in Rhodesia’.

Commander in Chief of RAF Bomber Command, Sir Arthur was in charge of ‘area bombings’ – targeted raids on German cities that were typically highly populated and working class areas. 

Following the recent toppling the Edward Colston in Bristol, and the defacing of Winston Churchill’s statue in Parliament Square, English Heritage is understood to be speaking with Met Police about the safety of its monument to Sir Arthur in The Strand, London.

The WWII commander was not on the original list of 78 statues listed on the Topple the Racists website over their links to ‘colonial violence’, but has now been added alongside figures ranging from King Charles II and Oliver Cromwell to Robert Peel, founder of the Metropolitan Police. 

The campaign, and in particular the boarding up of Churchill’s statue in Westminster prior to protests this weekend, sparked a strong popular reaction from people wanting to preserve the monuments. 

This led to groups of people claiming to be defending statues, which included football hooligans and Far Right activists, counter-protesting a BLM rally in London on Saturday. This quickly descended into violence, with fights between the rival groups as the police tried to disperse the crowds for a 5pm curfew. 

Their were also protests in cities including Liverpool, Newcastle, Brighton and Glasgow as BLM activists – spurred on by the removal of 18th Century slave dealer Robert Milligan from outside the Museum of London in West India Quay. The addition of Sir Arthur Harris to the list of targets is likely to provoke further debate.