Work starts on the Arthur Troop bust

To preserve the memory of our Founder, Delegates at the IEC Conference in Reno, USA, in 2001 approved the idea of a statue of Arthur Troop, who died on the 30 November 2000.

After further discussions in Sun City, South Africa, in 2002, Delegates agreed the statue should take the form of a head and shoulders bust, to be placed at IBZ Gimborn.

At the World Congress in Trondheim, Norway, in 2003, Delegates unanimously accepted a quotation from New Zealand from the Swiss sculptor, Brigitte Wuest, who had worked on the ‘Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy, making many of the statues that appeared in the films.  IPA New Zealand, and in particular the National President, Bruce Hutton,  were instrumental in ensuring the success of the project.

The statue is 20% larger than life, cast in bronze and standing on a plinth showing all the countries with a current IPA Section (59 at that time).

Brigitte Wuest - sculptor

The bust was transported to the IPA's educational establishment IBZ Gimborn and an unveiling ceremony took place on 9th October 2004.

Winrich Granitzka, Chairman of the Board of the Informations und Bildungszentrum (IBZ) Schloß Gimborn, welcomed guests and opened the ceremony.

Michael Odysseos, International President, spoke about Arthur's life as a police officer, founder of the IPA and a carer for the blind. He praised the outstanding work of the sculptor, Brigitte Wuest and the contribution of Bruce Hutton (IIPA President, Section New Zealand) who played a key role from the beginning in ensuring the success of this project.

The statue was then unveiled by Michael Odysseos, along with Winrich Granitzka. Marjorie Troop, accompanied by son Kevin, made a speech in return and the statue was blessed by Police Chaplain Siegfried Foerster.

The ceremony was attended by various serving and former members of the PEB, including Alan Carter, former International Secretary General and friend of the Troop family.

Representatives from 16 IPA National Sections attended with over 100 IPA members from Branches throughout Germany enhancing the atmosphere of this important occasion.