Ground Floor
Special exhibition: Created in Conflict
Introduction
Conflict and Creativity. Unlikely allies, but war has always been a source of inspiration for soldiers, artists, poets, musicians and writers.
Was their art produced as a way of passing the time, eating up monotonous hours? Was it proof of being present at world changing events, or created to still and heal the mind, designed as a private response or destined for the public gaze? Is the work simply documenting a point in time, or trying to challenge a view – perhaps inspiring us to action?
The Tourist’s Complete Guide to the Battlefields.
High Wood.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is High Wood,
Called also by the French Bois des Foureaux,
The famous spot which in Nineteen Sixteen,
July, August, September, was the scene
Of long and bitterly contested strife,
By reason of its high commanding site.
Observe the trees – this wire – here was a trench
For months inhabited, contested too,
Heavily shelled, used later as a grave –
It has been said on good authority
That in the fighting for this patch of wood
Were killed somewhere about 8000 men,
Of whom the greater part are buried here,
This mound on which you stand being –
Madam, please,
You are requested kindly not to touch
Or take away the Company’s property
As souvenirs; you’ll find we have on sale
A great variety, all guaranteed. –
As I was saying, all is as it was –
Pray follow me this way.
The path, sir, please.
This is an unknown British officer;
The tunic having lately rotted off.
The ground, which was secured at great expense,
The Company keeps absolutely untouched,
And in that dug-out (genuine) we provide,
Refreshments at a reasonable rate.
You are requested not to leave about
Paper or gingerbeer bottles or orange peel;
There are waste paper baskets at the gate.”
by JS Purvis. Written at Humbercamps, France, 2nd June 1917
Published in the Nation Magazine, 16th February 1918
Painting
Christopher Nevinson
Rain and Mud after the Battle
1917
Sheffield Museums Trust
Case 1
‘A line should be as sharp and precise as a word of command. A wavering line which dies away carries no conviction or information because it is the product of a wavering mind. Every line should be put in to express something. Start sharply and finish sharply. Press on the paper.’
William G Newton, Military Landscape and Target Indication, 1916
From the 18th century professional artists and artistically talented soldiers were trained to analyse and record the landscape as a means to understanding enemy territory.
Over time two distinct forms of military drawing emerged. Patrol sketches made during reconnaissance to record intelligence about enemy positions and terrain. Panoramas made from a static, usually elevated position which were then used to identify targets and to determine range and arc of fire.
Military sketches were a vital tool in the First World War, used alongside cameras and aerial photography. However, by the end of the 2nd World War, the fine art of field sketching had all but died out.
The purpose of a sketch was always to add to maps any additional information. Today this additional information is collated from a huge range of sources but as with a military sketch this information must be; completed in time to be of use, clear and legible, relevant to the object that is being taken, and as accurate and complete in detail as circumstances permit.
Manuals
The first military academy was established at Woolwich in 1741. Military drawing was an important element of the curriculum and later these lessons began to be published in manuals. Some of these manuals concentrated on teaching practical skills such as the measurement of slopes, and the use of the service compass while others encouraged a more freehand approach.
The outbreak of war in 1914 was followed by the publication of numerous books on topographical and panoramic sketching. The static nature of the fighting on the Western Front called for highly accurate intelligence on enemy positions. Observational drawing became an integral element in surveillance work and was able to complement aerial photography as a method of scrutiny and surveillance.
Descriptions of objects in this case
Reconnaissance sketch of the road from Yorktown to Sandhurst, Berkshire with notes and drawn visual aids, about 1880.
Watercolour sketch of the land west of Fricourt made at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme, 1st of July 1916, made by Captain Alexandre from personal observation and artillery photographs.
Watercolour sketch of the harbour at Sevastopol, September 1855.
This sketch was drawn by Sir Charles William Dunbar Staveley. At the beginning of the Crimean War Staveley was unwell and not allowed to travel. Determined to see action he hid himself on board a transport ship until the vessel was at sea.
Complete Guide to Military Map Reading, specially suitable for the use of the New Army, 1917.
Notes on Visual Training and Judging Distance, 1915
Field Service Pocket Book, 1914
Tools of the trade: Slide rule, belonging to Captain R S Simpson, 1940 and map case, belonging to Sgt Arthur Bailes.
In 1965 Arthur was medically discharged as a result of injuries sustained in the Malayan Emergency. He studied at the Victoria and Albert Museum and opened his own Export Business. In 1977 he moved to the United States and embarked on a new career as a lecturer in 18th century European art, British Decorative arts and early Chinese Art.
Tools of the trade: Prismatic compass, 1943
Tools of the trade: Binoculars, used by Lance Corporal Cyril Hurst during World War II.
On the spot sketch of the battle of Ginnis, Sudan.
Drawn by Major M L Ferrar, 30th of December 1885.
Map, Musa Qala, Helmand Provence, Afghanistan, 2007
This map is the modern equivalent of the sketch maps and panoramas displayed in this case. It combines aerial photographs, details of the terrain and the latest intelligence.
Case 2
First World War
Soldiers did not spend all their time fighting in the trenches or preparing for battle. They would spend four to six days in the front trenches before moving back and spending an equal number of days in the secondary and, finally, the reserve trenches. As soldiers rested, they had time to reflect and convey their experiences in an outpouring of creativity.
Some soldiers created art to document what they had seen. Others used art to escape from battlefield trauma. Art was a way to celebrate the close bond between soldiers but also to laugh at the absurdity of their situation and the gnawing fear. Some discovered they had creative talents that would enable them to be artists and poets after the end of the war.
Descriptions of objects in this case
Chalk carvings. These carvings were made by Captain Mildred’s batman (personal servant) around the time of the Battle of Loos in 1915.The chalk is carved with the regimental cap badge which would have taken many hours to complete.
Sketch, bombardment of Hartlepool, 1914 by 2nd Lieutenant J D Halifax. This is a unique personal record of the 16th of December 1914 when for 40 minutes the German Navy bombed Hartlepool. Look out for the troops rushing through the streets, the injured being carried away on stretchers and a donkey cut in two.
In Retreat a memoir by Herbert Read, 1919. Herbert published two volumes of war poetry during the conflict and is commemorated alongside Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. He became a leading figure in the 20th century, as a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Professor of Art at Edinburgh and Harvard Universities.
German soldier drawn by Fred May. Fred’s drawings, particularly his caricatures caught the attention of the Tatler magazine. After the war his creative skills enabled him to pursue a career as caricaturist working for the North-Eastern Daily Gazette in Middlesbrough and Tatler in London.
Pen and ink sketch of a billet and a stable. We don’t know who made these drawings, but they are an atmospheric record of a soldiers experience during the First World War.
Watercolours by Captain Henry (Harry) Amis. These watercolours of trees and a seascape were probably painted after Harry was taken prisoner in May 1918. Perhaps creating these striking images allowed Harry to escape the confines of his prisoner of war camp.
Watercolour by Captain Henry (Harry) Amis. At night there was no escape from danger but there were occasional moments of stillness. In this picture, Harry is possibly recalling his time with the Royal Flying Corps. The moon picks out two figures while overhead a plane flies through the inky night sky.
Panorama sketch and pen and ink drawings by John Stanley Purvis. John’s battlefield sketch is a practical piece of observation. His pen and ink sketches drawn while in various rest areas highlight his artist talent. The drawings record the beauty of the French countryside away from the scarred landscape of the frontline. John was also a talented poet. His poem High Wood appears at the beginning of this exhibition.
Pocket Watch carried by Private John Spence while serving with the regiment in the First World War. While this watch wasn’t created in conflict the beautiful rural scene painted on the face must have provided great solace and a momentary escape from the bitter fighting. William died in 1917 and is buried in St Agatha’s churchyard, Gilling West near Richmond.
Webley mark VI .455in revolver and holster.
Two rifle grenades. These would have had a rod attached which would have been inserted into the barrel of a service rifle and launched with a special blank cartridge.
Grenade no 5 Mills bomb. After several unsuccessful early grenades, the British settled on the No 5 Grenade, known as the ‘Mills Bomb’, in 1915. The Mills was a classic design; a grooved cast iron ‘pineapple’ with a central striker held by a close hand lever and secured with a pin.
German ‘egg grenade’. Its relatively small size and low weight meant that it could be thrown about 40 metres (44 yards). The raised band around its centre was added as early smooth versions proved hard to hold with wet or muddy hands.
Mauser bayonet. This German bayonet has been altered for use in the trenches with the addition of a saw edge. The tip of the scabbard has a bullet hole.
Art from the detritus of war. Often referred to as ‘trench art’ these items were made from re-purposed lead bullets, brass recovered from spent charge cases, and copper from shell driving bands. They would not have been made in the front-line trench positions but while soldiers were in rest areas.
Case 3
Second World War
In the Second World War there was less time for soldiers on active service to create art. Access to cameras was much more common, enabling soldiers to record their friendships and the places they served.
Soldiers taken prisoner had years of monotony to fill. They had no idea how long they would be held in camps. To relieve the boredom and stay positive Prison Camps were highly organised with sports, theatre performances and classes in a variety of subjects. Art and craft classes were organised, and paints and craft materials sent from home.
Creating art passed the time, it was an escape from the misery of camp life. It could be used to document every aspect of life behind the wire and to celebrate the bonds between prisoners.
Brigadier John Oldfield’s Life in Captivity
After an extremely rough time in a makeshift camp near Benghazi in Libya, John was flown with other prisoners to the Italian POW camp PG35 near Salerno. Here he organised musical evenings and started a painting club.
Later he was moved to a German prisoner of war camp, Oflag 79. He became President of the Oflag 79 Art Club; painting this hunting scene which was sent from the camp to Buckingham Palace as a Christmas card in 1944.
He painted from memory many scenes of his beloved Sleights and the North Yorkshire Moors. One of them was published in the Illustrated London News. Seeing it, the managing director of Windsor & Newton wrote to John asking if the company could buy the original. This was John Oldfield’s first sale.
Captain John Dugdale, one of his fellow artists in the camp, wrote about him: ‘In organising life classes and exhibitions he was just as thorough and imperturbable as he was in his painting, and he gave his energies unsparingly and unselfishly at a time when everyone was feeling the effects of a starvation diet.’
Descriptions of objects in this case
Self Portrait of Brigadier John Oldfield and two other paintings of the ladies’ race and Badger the dog. These drawings were made while John was a prisoner of war. He was captured in Libya in June 1942.
Dagger with knuckle duster and leather scabbard. It belonged to 4397569 Private Frankie Cresswell who served with the regiment during the Second World War.
Wartime log books. Blank log books were included in Red Cross parcels sent to POWs. Paper was scarce so these books provided the raw material for creativity. The log books displayed here belonged to Major Harry Spence, Sergeant T W Brand and Capt A Barber.
Photograph album belonging to Major Harry Spence. After being released from his POW camp Harry returned to the UK and was able to attend an Army training college in 1947.
Prisoner of War Magazines. These magazines were published and distributed by the International Red Cross to prisoners’ families. The article on exam results shows the wide range of courses that POWs could complete.
Illustrated airgraphs sent by Company Sergeant Major Richard Hall. The Post Office introduced the airgraph service in 1941. Soldiers wrote or drew their message on a special form which was then given an identification number and photographed onto microfilm. The microfilm was flown to its destination, developed into a full-size print, and posted to the recipient.
German Schmeisser MP40 9mm submachine gun.
‘The Box’ by Lance Sergeant A V Ledgerton, Royal Signals.In the North African campaign ‘Boxes’ were used as defence positions providing protection against enemy tanks. This image records the attack on the regiments 4th and 5th battalions on the 1st of June 1942 when their box was attacked from every direction. The survivors were congratulated for their gallant defence by Rommel, commander of the Afrika Corps. This was small comfort, the survivors would spend the rest of the war as prisoners of war.
Case 4
1950s to the Present Day
The museum collection features fewer examples of art created by Green Howards soldiers since the Second World War. This may be because this material has not yet reached us, skills were lost, or that simply less art is being produced because cameras, film, and now phones meet the need that creating art once filled.
Artwork from this period suggests soldiers’ motivation for creativity remains similar to those of earlier generations: to document events, celebrate comradeship, and poke fun at each other and their shared experiences. A new impulse to create also emerges in this period – recording and celebrating the 300-year history of the regiment.
Descriptions of objects in this case
Caricature of a Captain in the Green Howards, 1903-1913. Drawn by Major Roger Chapman. Roger served with the regiment for sixteen years in Northern Ireland, West Germany and Libya. He was curator of The Green Howards Museum 2002-2006.
Hand painted model soldiers representing Green Howard officers 1854/55 and the uniform worn by Sergeant Majors in 1855. They were made by Ken Mallet. Ken donated two sets of model soldiers to the museum. His meticulous research ensured his models are shown wearing the correct uniform and equipment.
1st battalion the Green Howards march past H.M. The Queen at the Queen’s Birthday Parade, Berlin 24th May 1978 by Aubrey Sykes.
Article by Fred May discussing the art of caricature and a series of caricatures of Green Howards officers by Fred May.
9mm Uzi sub-machine gun used by Argentinian forces during the Falklands campaign. Captured by the British forces in 1982.
RPG 7 rocket propelled grenade launcher as used by Iraqi troops during the Gulf War.
Two anti-tank rifle grenades AT 94 Mk2, 1955.
Rubber bullet, used in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.
Watercolours by Peter Etherington.
Peter joined the Green Howards for National Service in 1952. His watercolours record his service at home and abroad including the Suez Canal Zone.
Christmas card illustrated with a drawing by Brigadier John Oldfield of a soldier serving in Malaya, 1951.
Watercolour Display.
Framed artwork by Major Mike Claydon
Mike is a medical officer currently attached to the Yorkshire Regiment. “I paint more when I am deployed as this seems to be when I have the most opportunity. I chose watercolour as a medium since it is compact, relatively quick to paint with and dries rapidly.
I’ve painted watercolours for many years. My architect father encouraged me and my siblings to draw. We’ve done so since we were children, so it’s a completely natural process for me.
I was encouraged in a work appraisal to get back into painting as a way to relax and be more mindful.
This is a selection of some of my paintings from various deployments. The subjects are mixed but tend towards broken vehicles – probably because they tend to hand around long enough to paint. I love observing the interactions between soldiers and their vehicles. There is a genuine love between them, with literal blood, sweat and tears expended to keep them going.
I try to paint as rapidly as possible since this seems to make for a livelier picture. If it is not going well, I can simply throw it away. If the vehicle drives off, at least I haven’t wasted too much time!”
MOVING INTO THE CIRCULAR GALLERY…
Influencer
Before the 20th century, official war artists were most likely to depict heroic action in dramatic landscapes. The Crimean war saw artists start celebrating the ordinary soldier as hero. Later, whole nations were engaged in contributing to the war effort and by 1918, propaganda art was firmly established as a weapon of war.
1 Birds eye view of battle print. The Duke of Marlborough’s fourth and final victory of the War of the Spanish Succession was at Malplaquet (11.9.1709), one of the bloodiest battles of the 18th century.
2 Print, reproduced from a painting by William Simpson. William travelled to the Crimea to produce on-the-spot sketches, vetted by the Secretary of War and Queen Victoria before being cleared for printing in newspapers.
3 Reproduction of an original watercolour by war artist Matthew Cook. Helmand Provence, Afghanistan, 2006/7.
4 Heroic images of working women were produced to encourage their contribution, vital for victory. Images of women waiting at home, and worth fighting for, were also popular. Enemy propaganda presents the opposing view – while soldiers are away, wives and girlfriends are having a good time.
5 Depicting the enemy. This postcard, first produced as a poster in 1940, shows Italian and German soldiers struggling with ‘John Bull’. It suggests by 1941 Germany and Italy will have taken control of lumbering, complacent Britain.
6 German propaganda leaflets dropped from planes. One implies the Allies won’t reach Berlin until 1952. The other, dropped over troops in Normandy in 1944, celebrates the success of the V1 bombings of British cities.
7 Argentinian propaganda leaflets suggest British troops are misinformed – the Falklands are ‘not a tropical island’. Argentinian images of Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher often depicted her as a pirate, with an Argentinian soldier offering a British marine a hook saying, ‘I believe this belongs to you’.
Healing
Art can aid recovery. Florence Nightingale encouraged the display of artwork near hospital beds during the Crimean War, First World War soldiers recuperating in military hospitals made decorative objects and in the Second World War the British Red Cross loaned artwork to hospitals. Today, art therapy is used to help soldiers to express emotions they find difficult to talk about.
1 Patchwork, including pieces of uniform belonging to Sgt Thomas Johnson who joined the regiment in 1856.
2 Private Walker making a patchwork, by Thomas Walker. Royal College of Surgeons.
3 Embroidery made by Private Swales while recovering in hospital from shrapnel wounds, Cairo, 1943.
4 Embroidery made by Private Robert Pyle during his convalescence after the Battle of the Somme, 1916. The photograph shows Robert with a partially completed embroidery on the bed. His mother and father are by his side along with other visitors, nurses and hospital staff.
‘I expect your son has already told you about the beautiful piece of work he has done. It is the badge of his regiment and he has been doing it so cleverly as he lies in bed. I go to his hospital and give cottons and material to all the patients who are able and who wish to work badges.’
Mrs Nutall, a Red Cross volunteer, writing to Robert’s mother.
5 Transfer pattern for making regimental embroideries
6 Gertrude Crisp’s autograph book. The pen and wash sketches were painted by George Leech while he was in hospital in 1916. After the war, George became a member of the Royal Academy and Royal Institute.
7 Pincushion, First World War. Many of these pincushions were made by soldiers during their recovery from injury. This example features beadwork and the regimental cap badge.
War Artist
The British government established its first war artists scheme in 1916 to provide eyewitness illustrations for propaganda purposes. As the scheme developed, all aspects of the war, including the home front, were depicted.
During the Second World War more than 300 artists were commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Board. The Imperial War Museum continues to commission war artists to record conflicts in which Britain is involved, including Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan.
As an ‘artist for hire’, they must deal with the potential conflict between the purpose of their professional commission and their personal creativity.
1 & 2 Prints of work by Muirhead Bone who was the first official war artist, commissioned in May 1916. The mood of these pictures is similar to some of the artwork produced by Green Howard soldiers.
3 With the 300th on the Move. Edward Ardizzone 1940. Ardizzone started working for the War Office in 1940. His first commission was to follow the British Expeditionary Force to France and record its activities. His gentle humorous style proved popular and his drawings were highly effective in raising public morale.
4 & 5 Watercolours by Ken Howard. Ken completed National Service with the Royal Marines before returning to study at the Royal College of Art. In 1973 and 1979 he was appointed by the Imperial War Museum as an official war artist in Northern Ireland.
Nevinson
The First Searchlights at Charing Cross, 1914-16.
oil on canvas
Leeds Museums and Galleries. On loan from the Leeds Art Fund.
Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (1889-1946) was one of the most famous war artists of the First World War.
At the outbreak of war, Nevinson served with the Red Cross in France, caring for wounded French and British soldiers. For a very brief period he served as a volunteer ambulance driver, before ill health forced his return to Britain.
He used his experiences as inspiration for a series of powerful paintings. Their style was influenced by futurism which aimed to capture the dynamism and energy of the modern world, and cubism which brought different views of subjects together in the same picture, resulting in paintings that appear fragmented and abstracted. This painting, and ‘Rain and Mud’, on display at the introduction of this exhibition were painted during this period.
In 1917, Nevinson was appointed an official war artist, but he was no longer finding Modernist styles adequate for describing the horrors of modern war. His later First World War paintings are much more realistic. Some of them were considered too unpleasant for public viewing and were censored.
Memorial
In the hands of an artist the dead can live on. Whether it is a piece to mark the death of a single individual or the sacrifice of many, the loss is recorded for all to see.
The artist demands we look closely and not look away.
1 Second Lieutenant Percy Orde-Powlett, by Lance Calkin, 1914/1915.
The eldest son of Lord Bolton of Castle Bolton, North Yorkshire, Percy was killed in action on the 17th of May 1915. His body was never found.
2 Maquette created by sculptor James Butler RA.
This preliminary model was produced in preparation for the creation of the regiment’s memorial in Crepon, France to commemorate their role in the Second World War, and the 6th and 7th Battalion’s Normandy Campaign in particular. This weary soldier had, by
D Day, seen action at Dunkirk, the Western Desert and in Sicily.
3 Preparatory drawings for a reredos, an ornamental screen covering the wall at the back of an altar, for the Green Howards regimental chapel at St Mary’s Parish Church, Richmond.
The design was created by the Yorkshire Regiment’s Brigadier John Oldfield.
4 Sample wood carving by Robert Thompson’s.
The reredos was completed by the famous Mouseman craftsmen of Kilburn, North Yorkshire, and installed in the chapel in 1948.