JFK Memorial Dedication At Runnymede

May 14, 1965 - A little corner of the English meadow where the idea of constitutional government first stirred 750 years ago was dedicated today to the memory of President Kennedy.

In a simple ceremony at this historic site in Runnymede, England, Queen Elizabeth bequeathed three acres to the American people as a memorial to the assassinated President, “whom in death my people still mourn and whom in life they loved.” 

It was at Runnymede, in 1215, that the barons of England forced King John to sign the Magna Carta. The King was henceforth bound to observe certain liberties of his subjects — a conception whose power is still felt in world politics.

Thoughts of this history were in the air at Runnymede today. But even more, those present and the millions watching on television thought about November 1963 and the young President’s death.

The President’s widow evoked those memories today with special feeling. She sat silently through the ceremony, composed as ever, displaying no emotion.

In a statement after the ceremony, she spoke of her thoughts “that lie too deep for tears.”

She was all in white, and some persons watching remarked on the contrast with the veiled, black figure that they remembered at Arlington Cemetery on Nov. 25, 1963. 

The monument to President Kennedy is a seven-ton block of Portland stone, 10 feet wide, 5 feet high, and 2 feet deep, resting on a smaller piece of granite. Its architect, G.A. Jellicoe, made it relatively unobtrusive because he thought the meadow itself should be the memorial.

On its face there is a chiseled inscription with these words:“This acre of English ground was given to the United States of America by the people of Britain in memory of John F. Kennedy, President of the United States 1961-63, died by an assassin’s hand, 22 November 1963.

“Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend or oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and success of liberty.”

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