Westbury artist, Helen Chester, has contributed the cover illustration to a new book that commemorates the men of the Salisbury diocese who were killed in the First World War.
Compiled by Robert Wellen, the ‘Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers Great War Memorial Book’ was released at the beginning of May and tells the stories of the 89 bell-ringers from the area who were tragically lost.
Helen, who is the great- granddaughter of Private Fred Kerley (killed 1914), the first bell-ringer to die in battle, was specifically commissioned to illustrate the cover for the booklet. The painting depicts the 89 known ringers from the diocese who were killed in the war and these portraits are set against a backdrop of Salisbury Cathedral and some of the churches where these men rang. The front 15 ringers are actual likenesses, drawn from contemporary photographs and include five of the six bell ringers from Edington killed in the First World War.
‘When Robert approached me with the idea of the cover, I was delighted,” explained Helen. “Having painted men and women from the First World War throughout the centenary commemorations and exhibiting the series of portraits, I felt that it would be a fitting end to the century and the series.
“It was the story of my great-grandfather that sparked my interest in portraying these everyday men and women affected by the events of the First World War, as our family knew very little about Fred and only had a single sepia photograph, taken when my grandfather was a baby, weeks before he was killed.”
From her moving portraits of men and women of the First World War to her emotive depiction of UK veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Helen has gained recognition for her striking artworks that not only capture the likeness of an individual but also, through the use of vignettes, tell the subjects’ story.
Gaining commissions from Aldershot Garrison, the families of Victoria Cross recipients and those in the military, Helen has exhibited her work all over the country, her last being at the Royal Hospital Chelsea for the charity Waterloo Uncovered.
For further information please visit www.helen chesterarts.co.uk or https:// sdgr.org.uk/great-war-memorialbooklet/
