A WESTBURY artist is transforming a series of photographic portraits of World War One heroes into modern art as part of a commemorative project.
Helen Chester appealed earlier this year for people to come forward with photographs and stories of family members who were involved in the Great War, to help her in an art project she is carrying out over the next four years.
Her aim is to create portraits that commemorate the everyday ‘Tommy’ and also those women left at home, and to show the prominent position that they inhabited in the hearts of their loved ones.
Helen has so far completed eight portraits, mostly of men from Westbury. Almost all of the men did not survive the trenches, or the illness and injury that followed. Her paintings are striking – with cap badges and emblems adding an impressionist twist to mix with an early 20th century style.
When the portraits are completed it will culminate in an exhibition in Westbury, with plans to also take it further afield
Helen said, “This series was initially started with a photograph of my great- grandfather who was killed at the start of the Great War. It has always been a very sad and moving part of our family history, the devastation that was caused to Fred’s young wife and baby son (my grandfather) when he was killed and how the only record of his life was a sepia photograph.
“While working at Manor House Fine Arts in Cardiff, following my fine arts degree, I noticed that it was only wealthy and prominent families that were able to commission portraits and that my family, like most families, only have photographic records of our ancestors going back at most a hundred and fifty years.
“Some of the stories of those I have already created through my art includes that of Harry Pinchin who signed up with the Royal Field Artillery when he was only 15 years old.
“According to his son, who still lives in Westbury, he was a bit of a character and moved up and down the ranks. He even refused to call his regiment the ‘Royal Field Artillery’ and would refer to it as the ‘Royal Horse Artillery’, even changing his official documents by hand to say this. After the war he joined the Fire Service, which he served for forty years.
“Another local story told is that of Charlie Hicketts from Dilton Marsh. He was one of four brothers that went to war and was killed on the 9th April 1917 in the Somme, aged 28.”
Helen still has a further eight portraits to complete and will collate her artwork for an exhibition in the town.
