New Cross Fire Foundation

The new London Museum in Smithfield is due to open in 2026 and will feature several permanent galleries focussed on the history of London. London Museum intends to document the 1981 New Cross Fire and the Black People’s Day of Action within the ‘Modern London’ section of its London’s Story permanent gallery.

 

The museum commissioned the New Cross Fire Foundation (NCFF) to support this work and assist it with selecting a suitable image to represent the 1981 New Cross Fire within the wider exhibition.

 

The Consultation Process

Full details of the image selection and consultation process can be found here.

 

The NCFF created an online survey on its website which allowed visitors to view the seven selected images and submit a choice of which image, if any, they thought was most suitable. It also allowed participants to say they did not think any of the selected images were suitable, or that the New Cross Fire should not be visually represented at all in the London Museum gallery. In addition to the image selection, participants were given an option to provide a comment regarding what had informed their decision.

 

The survey was available online for 28 days, from 30 June to 27 July 2025. The NCFF also provided an opportunity for people without access to the website to submit their choice of image. This in-person survey was conducted at the IRIE! Dance Company Family Fun Day which was held in Fordham Park, New Cross, on 12 July 2025

 

Consultation Results

In total, 1,119 valid submissions were made online and 24 in person making a total of 1,215 submissions. This was a remarkable response for a 28-day consultation.

 

Final selection data derived from the survey:

Image 1: Total 87 (86 online, 1 in person)

Image 2: Total 176 (176 online, 0 in person)

Image 3: Total 62 (58 online, 4 in person)

Image 4: Total 48 (48 online, 0 in person)

Image 5: Total 110 (100 online, 10 in person)

Image 6: Total 14 (13 online, 1 in person)

Image 7: Total 678 (670 online, 8 in person)

None of these: Total 26 (26 online, 0 in person)

Not at all: Total 14 (14 online, 0 in person)

Grand Total: 1215 (1191 online, 24 in person)

 

There is overwhelming agreement for the museum to include an image of the New Cross Fire as part of a permanent gallery installation. Similarly, there is widespread acceptance that the seven images selected provided sufficient breadth and depth of choice and representation.

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In relation to an individual image, image 7 received substantially more submissions than any other single image, and, strikingly, more submissions than all the other images combined.

 

More than 56% of people who selected image 7 and who left a comment said that being able to see the faces or a depiction of the victims of the fire was the element that most informed their decision. In addition to this, the majority of comments relating to image 7 made some reference to the human or personal loss or tragedy resulting from the fire being visible in the image.

 

Comments included:

• “I don't ever want to forget their young faces”

• “I felt it is important to put faces to the young people who lost their life on that fatal night”

• “It better to show the faces of those who died in the fire, than a burnt building”

• “It shows the victims as people, not just faceless names”

• “Must NEVER forget the faces of the victims”

• “The victims should be front and centre, always”

• “To see the human souls that died in the fire and the families affected”

 

Outcomes

The outcome of the consultation is that Image 7: “Meeting at Deptford Town Hall on the first anniversary of the fire, January 1982” is the preferred image to represent the New Cross Fire within the ‘Modern London’ section of the London’s Story permanent gallery.

 

Having undertaken this survey, which consulted widely within the New Cross Fire communities and interest groups, the NCFF feels it is important to acknowledge the strength of feeling towards the preferred image. There is little doubt that, from the images selected for the consultation, image 7 was significantly and substantially chosen over all the other images.

 

Furthermore, the comments made by those who selected image 7 demonstrate that the primary reason for selecting that image was that it depicted the faces of individuals who lost their life in the fire and/or it conveyed the personal or human element of the incident.

 

The New Cross Fire Foundation itself is an organisation concerned with the legacy, humanity, and tragedy of the events, and with an emphasis on building for the future rather than dwelling in the past. We, too, are focussed on the lives of those who died, rather than just their deaths, and on the impact of the fire on the lives of those who survived their friends and loved ones. As such, the outcome of the consultation resonates with its work, aims, and ambitions, and also with the majority of those within the New Cross Fire community, as reinforced by the outcomes of the survey.

 

The NCFF recommended to London Museum that Image 7 should be used, providing a version of the image could be obtained which depicted all thirteen placards that were placed in front of the stage at the meeting in Deptford Town Hall in Jan 1982.

 

Ongoing work

Following the outcome of the consultation, the NCFF established a relationship between London Museum and the George Padmore Institute which has the original of Image 7 and all of the original placards in its archive collection. As a result of this, London Museum has digitised all the materials and is currently in the process of creating a suitable version of Image 7 which depicts all thirteen placards. The NCFF has worked closely with the Museum on the caption for the image to ensure that it reflects the primary reason why it was chosen.

 

The London Museum is scheduled to open late in 2026 and we will provide further updates as and when we know more about the plans for the opening.