La Deliverance

The "Naked Lady" holding her sword high in the air, was created by French sculptor Émile Oscar Guillaume.  She was created as a celebration of the battle of Marne where the German army was stopped from capturing Paris in 1914.

Eleven copies of her were presented to cities in France and Belgium that were occupied or destroyed by the Germans.  Her nakedness caused a bit of a stir at the time so she was not readily accepted by all the communities offered her.  Our one in South Finchley gave her a couple of alternative titles: "Dirty Gertie" or "The Wicked Woman" and "The Naked Lady".