Half a lifetime carving letters in stone. In December 1995 I set up a small workshop in a craft centre in Leicestershire having left art college earlier that year. My intention was to sell small sculptures from this workshop to the general public. Very quickly it became apparent that this was going be extremely difficult. [...]
400th Memorial Unveiled The 400th memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, for the Naafi, was unveiled this week. I have been working on the Naafi memorial at my workshop over the last few months and last week it was installed and and dedicated at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. I hadn't been aware until [...]
8 Stone carvings in the Heathlands in the South Downs in Sussex and Hampshire The carvings in the Heathlands that I completed last year have finally been unveiled. The 8 sandstone sculptures celebrate the unique flora and fauna of these amazing locations in the South of England. The carvings include a Field Cricket, a grass [...]
I have been carrying out some intricate carving work creating a new plaque for the Almshouses in Melbourne in Derbyshire. The plaque replaces the previous one which was installed in the 1890's to commemorate the opening of the building commissioned by Thomas Cook. The intricate carving on the plaque has taken a number of days [...]
Bevin Boy Mining Memorial It was during a visit to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield last week that I came across Henry Moore's excellent drawing of Bevin Boy miners. It put me in mind of the mining memorial that I created for the Bevin Boys, sited at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire back in [...]
Royal unveiling of new memorial sculpture Last week saw the Royal unveiling of the memorial for the Guinea Pig Club. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was present at the National Memorial Arboretum to remove the Union Flag that covered the 2m tall slate monument. He was watched by 7 of the remaining 22 members of [...]
Memorial short-listed for public sculpture award I am delighted to announce that "The Naval Service Memorial" that I designed, located at the National Memorial Arboretum, has been short-listed for the PMSA Marsh Award for excellence in Public Sculpture. I was extremely honoured to have been selected to create the Naval Service Memorial and was pleased [...]
A new Guinea Pig Club Memorial I am delighted to announce that I have been asked to create a memorial to the Guinea Pig Club. The Guinea Pig Club, was established in 1941, it was a social club and mutual support network for British and allied aircrew injured during World War II. Its membership was [...]
I have just begun work on a new project to create a huge human sundial. The giant sandstone clock will consist of a central stone on which a person will stand. On a sunny day their shadow will project in the direction of one of the 20 stones situated in a 15m diameter circle around [...]
It is quite a story how John Smith, a shoemakers son from a small Derbyshire village came to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour. Relatives of this great man gathered in the grounds of Ticknall Village Hall yesterday to see the plaque unveiled by HM Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Mr. Willaim Tucker. John [...]
