The painting depicts one of several Football games that took place in Belgium on Christmas Eve, 1914. In this game between the 6th Cheshire and the German 40th Saxon Regiment, the British soldier in Khaki on the left, and about to kick the ball is Private Williams from North Wales. Pounding up in support on the far left is Sgt Frank Naden (who finished the war as a full Colonel) . On the far right the German officer is about to light a cigarette for Lt. Charles Bertram Brockbank, 6th Cheshire's. Lt Brockbank survived the war and became a WW2 Captain in the Home Guard in Chester where he would have had meetings with the Artist's father who was a Captain in the Home Guard in the neighbouring County, Denbighshire.
Apparently the Germans won the game
In 1984 Pt. Williams apparently gave an interview on BBC Grandstand where he described the match and the lead up to it.
The painting to left features 2nd Lt. Lewis John Rowley Atterbury, who had just arrived in France in February, 1915. Having just arrived from England 2nd Lieutenant Atterbury's uniform does not sport the regulation "Cuff" insignigiving the officers Rank. During the course of the war officers were singled out by German snipers who could easily recognise their officer status from the sleeve insignia. Many officers - against regulations - started removing the Cuff insignia and replacing them with "pips" on the shoulder boards. This move was later made official by the war department in 1916
2nd.Lt. Atterbury had lived in Canada since he was 18, and when war between Britain (and its Commonwealth) was declared in 1914, Lewis enlisted in the 2nd Field Company of the Canadian Engineers. He sailed for Europe with the first contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, two thirds of which were British Born Canadians. In France he took part in the Second Battle of Ypres, and was one of a group of 27 volunteers who held a bridge over the Yser for a whole day against an overwhelming number ofn the enemy. In January 1916 he was awarded a commission in the London Regiment (Royal Fusileers).
Initially 2nd Lieutenant Atterbury was attached to a Reserve Battalion and not wishing to spend the rest of the War in England, he managed to arrange a transfer to the 1/4th Battalion of the London Regiment, and joined them on the Somme in a draft of new officers on or about September 20 1916.
At this point, the British front line was being pushed slowly eastwards. Combles had been captured and the next targets were the villages of Lesboeufs and Morval, on the Transloy Ridge. The attack was launched in early October, and struggled from the start against well-placed German machine guns. After a break for regrouping, the attack was resumed on October 7, with four companies of the 1/4th Battalion involved. The attack was not successful and at the end of the day the Battalion had suffered 300 casualties and the survivors could not even fill one company.
Five officers were killed, including 2nd Lieutenant Lewis Atterbury, who was seen to fall under machine-gun fire. His body was never found. He was listed as missing, but his death was not formally acknowledged until May, 1917.
His name is engraved on Panel 9D ion the inside of the Memorial to the Missing of The Somme at Thiepval
2nd.Lt. Atterbury had lived in Canada since he was 18, and when war between Britain (and its Commonwealth) was declared in 1914, Lewis enlisted in the 2nd Field Company of the Canadian Engineers. He sailed for Europe with the first contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, two thirds of which were British Born Canadians. In France he took part in the Second Battle of Ypres, and was one of a group of 27 volunteers who held a bridge over the Yser for a whole day against an overwhelming number ofn the enemy. In January 1916 he was awarded a commission in the London Regiment (Royal Fusileers).
Initially 2nd Lieutenant Atterbury was attached to a Reserve Battalion and not wishing to spend the rest of the War in England, he managed to arrange a transfer to the 1/4th Battalion of the London Regiment, and joined them on the Somme in a draft of new officers on or about September 20 1916.
At this point, the British front line was being pushed slowly eastwards. Combles had been captured and the next targets were the villages of Lesboeufs and Morval, on the Transloy Ridge. The attack was launched in early October, and struggled from the start against well-placed German machine guns. After a break for regrouping, the attack was resumed on October 7, with four companies of the 1/4th Battalion involved. The attack was not successful and at the end of the day the Battalion had suffered 300 casualties and the survivors could not even fill one company.
Five officers were killed, including 2nd Lieutenant Lewis Atterbury, who was seen to fall under machine-gun fire. His body was never found. He was listed as missing, but his death was not formally acknowledged until May, 1917.
His name is engraved on Panel 9D ion the inside of the Memorial to the Missing of The Somme at Thiepval
The above painting depicts an British Expeditionary Force unit of the Royal Horse Artillery with its 18pounder artillery gun (so-called because the shell it fires weighs 18 pounds), its Limber ( a two wheeled trailer carrying two soldiers and 24 shells for the gun) behind which the gun is attached for towing by six horses. This particular unit was the 2nd Army Corps of the BEF in France in 1914, and was commanded by its Commander-in-Chief—General Sir Horace L. Smith-Dorrien.
This unit of the BEF has been in action at Mons, Belgium and has been pushed south by the vastly superior force of the German army. In fact they were pushed all the was south of Paris to the river Marne, but after mounting fierce counter attacks, together with the French 5th Army they succeeded in turning the German advance and were now once more in pursuit of the enemy. The long, hard retreat in appalling weather had caused great hardship and losses of both men and horses - vital for pulling the guns. The painting depicts the men regrouping after their long drawn out ordeal and, whilst bivouacking at what was once a very nice farmhouse, they were taking the opportunity to bring up reserve horses to replace some of their horses that had been killed by shellfire the day before.. The 19th infantry Brigade who were attached to the unit were also bivouacked nearby, and two of their soldiers can be seen marching through the RHA lines.
In the British army soldiers who joined a mounted brigade were taught that their horses were the most important thing that they possessed, and that they should treat them as pets. This was generally done and the 'Drivers' of horses became really attached to their mounts and naturally became very upset when one of their charges was injured or killed. It should be remembered that during WW1 there was little, if any motorised transport and that horses were the only prime mover for guns and equipment, and therefore they were vital to any army. An army without horses was not a viable army. Horses were therefore very vulnerable to attack from the opposing side.
On the left of the painting can be seen a very muddy horse that is part of a team of horses and mules that were used as an ammunition relay. The Limber only carries 24 rounds and these can be used up quite quickly so additional shells are sent to replenish the Limber by horses or mules. Due to the weight of these shells a horse or Mule can only carry eight rounds at a time. On the right of the picture will be seen a horse that was an original part of the team, She has been cleaned up and ‘dressed’ with the tackle needed for her to once more be part of the six horse team which will pull the Artillery gun and Limber (all-up weight just over two tonnes) into battle very soon. She is reluctant, and Her Driver is coaxing her gently forward and is saying to her “Come on, old girl, once more into the breach..” knowing only too well that both he and her may not see out the day.
Information on the background to the painting was drawn from the book “With the Guns of The BEF” and is accredited to the author Arthur Corbett-Smith who was an officer with the 2nd Army Corps. www.battlefields-art.com
WW2 Combined Operations Memorial Fund. . The memorial that has now been built at the National Arboretum at Lichfield, Stafford has been funded entirely by Geoffrey Slee, the designer and organiser of the Memorial, and by public donations from home and abroad. To obtain further information on this site, please go to www.combinedops.com and just follow the Memorial link at the top of the website’s page.
Prints of this painting in full size (850mm X 670mm) and three smaller sizes are now available, and prices and sizes can be found by going to COMBINEDOPS.COM There will also be a small number of Artists Proofs available
There are only 73 three quarter sized prints, and they are of a signed and numbered Limited Edition, (one for each year between the formation of the Combined Operations Command in 1940 to 2013) and demand for these is expected to be high, so please register an interest or reserve your print as early as possible by email, telephone or by letter.
Prints are now available to buy. Please go to the COMOP site www.combinedups.com to find out all the details fo availability and prices. (see also 'Gallery Shop')
Prints of this painting in full size (850mm X 670mm) and three smaller sizes are now available, and prices and sizes can be found by going to COMBINEDOPS.COM There will also be a small number of Artists Proofs available
There are only 73 three quarter sized prints, and they are of a signed and numbered Limited Edition, (one for each year between the formation of the Combined Operations Command in 1940 to 2013) and demand for these is expected to be high, so please register an interest or reserve your print as early as possible by email, telephone or by letter.
Prints are now available to buy. Please go to the COMOP site www.combinedups.com to find out all the details fo availability and prices. (see also 'Gallery Shop')
Combined Operations - A Normandy Beachhead
The painting by David A Thorp is of the landing area on Sword Beach Normandy, France early on D-Day morning, June 6th 1944. It's an hour or so since the first assault troops landed but the approaches and the beaches remain extremely hazardous. It does not portray a particular event but all the actions described did take place in the area over the space of a few hours. With the artist's skill they are brought together in a seamless montage that recognises the vital contribution of each of the three services in the largest amphibious Combined Operation in history, the likes of which will never be seen again.
A Combined Operations memorial has recently been Dedicated in the grounds of the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire England, and the painting has been gifted to the associated Memorial Fund. The painting will soon be raffled to raise much needed funds for the construction and maintenance of this unique and important memorial, so we would appreciate your support.
The artist worked in close co-operation with the Late Tony Chapman, erstwhile Archivist and Historian for the LST Landing Craft Association (Royal Navy) who provided historical and technical information over several months and Geoffrey Slee, owner of the Combined Operations website and the driving force and funding behind the memorial project.
Suffice it to say that had this painting been produced without any specific craft or specifications being insisted upon, the work would have been easily finished in four to five weeks. But due to the expertise and dedication of both Tony Chapman and Geoff Slee, the painting took five months of intensive work. During the course of the painting, 1,060 emails and sixty emailed photographs were exchanged between Geoff, Tony, other military sources and the artist. The result is truly a product of a Combined Operation !
To obtain more information on Combined Operations (set up during WW2 by Winston Churchill), the Memorial site and its construction, the painting and how to obtain prints, CLICK HERE and when on site scroll down to read about the Memorial, after which click MEMORIAL in the red bar at the top of the page , then click the PAINTING and PRINTS Link on the left.
A Combined Operations memorial has recently been Dedicated in the grounds of the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire England, and the painting has been gifted to the associated Memorial Fund. The painting will soon be raffled to raise much needed funds for the construction and maintenance of this unique and important memorial, so we would appreciate your support.
The artist worked in close co-operation with the Late Tony Chapman, erstwhile Archivist and Historian for the LST Landing Craft Association (Royal Navy) who provided historical and technical information over several months and Geoffrey Slee, owner of the Combined Operations website and the driving force and funding behind the memorial project.
Suffice it to say that had this painting been produced without any specific craft or specifications being insisted upon, the work would have been easily finished in four to five weeks. But due to the expertise and dedication of both Tony Chapman and Geoff Slee, the painting took five months of intensive work. During the course of the painting, 1,060 emails and sixty emailed photographs were exchanged between Geoff, Tony, other military sources and the artist. The result is truly a product of a Combined Operation !
To obtain more information on Combined Operations (set up during WW2 by Winston Churchill), the Memorial site and its construction, the painting and how to obtain prints, CLICK HERE and when on site scroll down to read about the Memorial, after which click MEMORIAL in the red bar at the top of the page , then click the PAINTING and PRINTS Link on the left.
Painting (38cms x 30) depicts 'Galloping Jack' Seely on his wonderful horse Warrior. This horse was Colonel Seely's own horse and they went to war together in 1914. They both went through four years of war together, and apart from a few small injuries both survived daily charges into German shell and machine-gun fire, and fially retired back to their home on the Isle-of-Wight in 1919. Warrior died at the age of 33 in 1941, and Col. Seely (Lord Seely - 1st Baron of Mottismore,) died just six years later whilst still working as an MP at Westminster. In 2014 Warrior was posthumously awarded the animal Victoria Cross - The Dikin Medal, in recognition of his great bravery.
In June, 1941, No 11 (Scottish) Commando effected a landing near vthe river Litani
Following the successful action at the Litani River, on June 9 1941, by members of No 11 (Scottish) Commando, several awards were made to some very brave me who acted in an exemplary fashion, and with no thought to their personal safety.
In particular, Lt. Eric Garland was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and also a bar to the Military Cross that he had previously received for his actions at Dunkirk. In his citation, Colonel Bob Laycock said of Lt Garland “ Lt Garland displayed throughout the action cool and clear headed leadership and complete disregard for his own safety.
He was the first individual to cross the river and personally ledthe party which cut the enemy wire on the far side under heavy fire. On one occasion he deliberately stood up and exposed his position to a sniper that was causing severe casualties amongst the men, and on locating the source of the sniper fire Lt Garland manned of of the Bren gun's and shot the sniper dead..
Lt. Garland also put out of action a 75mm Gun which was covering the river by acdcurate fire from a captured anti-tank gun.
Following the successful action at the Litani River, on June 9 1941, by members of No 11 (Scottish) Commando, several awards were made to some very brave me who acted in an exemplary fashion, and with no thought to their personal safety.
In particular, Lt. Eric Garland was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and also a bar to the Military Cross that he had previously received for his actions at Dunkirk. In his citation, Colonel Bob Laycock said of Lt Garland “ Lt Garland displayed throughout the action cool and clear headed leadership and complete disregard for his own safety. He was the first individual to cross the river and personally ledthe party which cut the enemy wire on the far side under heavy fire. On one occasion he deliberately stood up and exposed his position to a sniper that was causing severe casualties amongst the men, and on locating the source of the sniper fire Lt Garland manned of of the Bren gun's and shot the sniper dead..
Lt. Garland also put out of action a 75mm Gun which was covering the river by acdcurate fire from a captured anti-tank gun.
