The Spirit of Britons Collection Page

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‘History in the Making' Collection.

www.sgbc.uk

Sculptor Ian G Brennan

Sculptor and Woodcarver to the British Royal Household

Ian G Brennan who was officially appointed 'Sculptor to the Most Noble Order of the Garter and Most Honourable Order of the Bath' in 1989 and has been a professional artist and sculptor working in a wide variety of materials since 1984. Ian's wood carvings and bronze sculptures can now be found in Windsor Castle, St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Museums, HMS Victory, Cunard Ships and both Public and Private Art collections all over the World.

Ian has also exhibited his art work reflecting both the old to the new in a variety of royal venues to the City of London, exemplified here in a view from Buckingham Palace along the Mall were in 1997 Ian had his last exhibition in an art gallery which enable him to concentrate all his efforts working on his commissions for all over the world and also over 140 sculptures in wood and bronze for the British Royal Household during the past 34 years, many of which are can be found at the College of Arms, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle. These commissions during the reign of HM Queen Elizabeth 11 have included creating sculptures for over one hundred Knights, four British Prime Ministers, twenty-eight British and European Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses, Earls, Lords and an Emperor.

During 2018/19 was atypical busy time and Ian’s commissions were all for a wide spectrum of clients, in both wood and bronze which included a local craftsman, two directors of an art foundry, an Australian professor, a Marshal of the RAF, an Admiral, four Knights of the Realm, three Lords, a former Olympic Gold Medallist and two European Kings and three other people. The Crown for King Felipe V1 of Spain was completed in May 2018, twenty-nine years after I produced a similar Crown for the Kings Father, King Juan Carlos which was placed in St George’s Chapel. In early June 2019, the Crown also being worked on for King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands was placed alongside the similar Crown I produced thirty year earlier for the King's Mother, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

2023 remains part of a busy decade as his commissions have also included a sculpture of a Bust of a Man’ originally worked in clay along with a detailed ‘Hawk in Flight’ sculpture originally carved from wood now about to be cast in bronze. As were the final three sculptures of over 130 commissioned during the reign of HM The Queen Elizabeth 11. Including more recently the gilded and bejewelled Coronet for the Queen Consort for St Georges' Chapel in Windsor Castle and a carved and painted Golden Eagle in Flight for Henry V11 Chapel in Westminster Abbey both completed in time for the King's Coronation at Westminster Abbey in May 2023.

The Crown for HM Queen Camilla and the Crest for Sir Tony Blair

Recently completed for the royal household now in the reign of the HM King Charles 111, included commissions of sculptures depicting a Dog, Panther and Mute Swan for Windsor Castle and the Crown for Queen Camilla which were placed alongside around thirty other totally unique sculptures currently on display in the medieval St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle and shortly afterwards Ian was kindly informed by the royal household that the designs for two more sculptures for Windsor Castle were being prepared for him to work on to be completed early next year which will once again ensure he is able to also continue to work on other commissions from all over the world and much closer to home and finally after three decades he should hopefully also be able to put the finishing touches to the History in the Making /Spirit of Great Britain Collection’ which consists of unique sculptures for the future have been created from pieces of the past which were actually there when history was being made.

An interesting perspective of London as observed for Buckingham Palace across the City of London as Ian has often been commissioned to create sculptures reflecting the past and traditions of Great Britain over the centuries to exhibit them in the future. As many of Ian’s wide variety of commissions in the early days have often been either restoring or replacing objects from old objects materials originally created many centuries ago, but for the past two plus decades is mostly commissioned to create his own unique sculptures and tends to only work from old materials as a way of a hobby.

Such as the ‘Victory sculpture’ which was carved entirely from HMS Victory’s oak timbers which was first exhibited exhibition in Carpenters Hall in the City of London Livery Company and placed on display within the reception area of the magnificent Hall for six months, before it was placed on display for two years in the Museum at Chatham’s Historic Dockyard, a mere musket shot away from where Nelson’s flagship was built over 250 years earlier.

Carpenters Hall City of London - Chatham Museum Kent

It was said having the Victory Sculpture carved from Victory oak at Chatham was the closest thing to having the Victory back and as the three-dimensional scale model was depicted full rigged and carved in full sail, it was possibly to finally see what an 18th century fully rigged ‘Ship of the Line would actually look like, ‘Running before the Wind.

Victory Sculpture

The Victory sculpture was also on display in the museum at Chatham’s Historic Dockyard during the 250th anniversary celebrations of the launch of HMS Victory, some of the finest exhibits in the World featuring Admiral Lord Nelson and HMS Victory were also on display in Chatham Historic Dockyard. These particularly historic exhibits were on loan from such establishments as the National Maritime Museum in London; which is the world's largest maritime museum who had amongst other things provided for the exhibition a stunning decorative sword along with original letters and plans. The National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth the now home of Nelson’s Flagship had provided HMS Victory’s figurehead and from the Royal Collection on loan by Her Majesty The Queen was the actual lead musket ball which dealt the fatal blow to Lord Nelson on October 21st 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar, mounted with some remnants of the gold lace from Admiral Nelson's uniform and when this, ‘HMS Victory; the untold story exhibition’ was over all the unique exhibits including the Victory Sculpture were then returned to their respective owners.

Although the vast majority of Ian’s work during the past four decades involves creating detailed bespoke 'one off ' sculptures in a variety of different subjects and materials in the past he has also rather enjoyed working with organisations such as the Royal Household, Private and Government organisations along with the Museum service and English Heritage to assist on a wide variety of often historic restoration projects and also created over 130 new often heraldic sculptures which despite being created in the 20th century to be placed on display in the 15th century Chapels in both Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle where today over sixty of Ian’s unique sculptures have been created in such a way as to blend into the historic medieval chapels and at Windsor the final resting place of Ten British Sovereigns including alas Queen Elizabeth 11.

Ian’s other commissions have also included replacing or restoring antique, wood carvings, ornate plaster mouldings and bronze sculptures for Government buildings, Museums, Churches, Southwick House, (where D Day was planned) The College of Arms in London, Windsor Castle along with carving a replica of an 18th century ships lion figurehead for a museum and then spending a year working in Historic Dockyard replacing much of the original intricately carved starboard side entrance port on Lord Nelson’s historic Flagship Victory.

But initially as a hobby, but for the past three decades Ian has been working on the ‘History in the Making Collection’ created from original old objects and materials still with a story to tell that had played a major part in Britain’s past being brought together in the here and now. One such object is millions of years old, others a thousand and others a mere century old, but although all had played their part in British history and their time had come but had no longer gone.

As there is an ever-diminishing supply of original historic British objects and materials available to work with and Victory oak is no exception and rarely does it become available today and to try and make the best of what little remains thus ‘Two sides of the same Battle’ is being carved as two sides of the same beam and will have the ‘Temeraire Revested’ carved on one side of the oak beam and on the other ‘A Close-Run Thing’.

Although Ian has been a professional Artist, Woodcarver and Sculptor for almost forty years working mostly to commission in a wide variety of subjects and materials, including wood, marble-resin, sterling silver and bronze. He also produces realistic and heraldic wood carvings and bronze sculptures, along with a variety of his limited-edition bronzes but by nature he is a true carver and always looking forward to releasing something that has been hidden away often for centuries inside a block of stone or timber.

All this combined with his added fascination about the challenge of carving objects from old, once discarded objects and materials often found in far less than perfect condition, but equally aware working around such imperfections from whatever materials that remain workable, there is always an infinite number of sculptures just waiting inside to be revealed. It was once said by Michelangelo with marble but is the same for wood “The sculpture was always inside the marble, it simply required releasing by the artist”.

‘I have always rather enjoyed the challenge of trying to create something from nothing and particularly from materials that had all seen better days that could no doubt have been made, quicker and so much easier if new off the shelf materials were readily available. But all would have been totally devoid of any age, history, patina and providence, along with the challenge of creating something from nothing and upcycling materials and objects that were often scrapped as were found beyond restoring and economic repair and now given a new lease of life .

Such materials which have also been kindly gifted at the time by many kind people I have worked with on various restoration projects over the past three decades. One or two objects were also found on-line and or at auction and one was even found on a beach a few miles away on holiday in the Isle of White. But all had one thing in common they are all created from historic often iconic British objects and materials with a bit of age and history about them, but although most of these materials were classified as unrestorable and ‘no longer fit for purpose’, their history and provenance are all worthy of investing time and energy during the past three decades creating something from what remained.

With everything on line in a digital world, there is value in physical history.

‘The original function for this material has long gone, but its history remains’.

The ‘History in the Making’ Collections Titles: -

‘Gold Standard’ -‘Inimitable Spirit’ - Victory Sculpture’ - Back in Time' – One of a Kind’ - The Longest Day -On Land – 1944 - ‘One of the Few’ – ‘ One of the Many’ – ‘Fire in the Hall’ - ‘The First of the Many’ -‘A View from ‘the Redoubtable’ – ‘Kindred Spirits’ -‘'The Family Seat’ – ‘ Worlds Apart’ - ‘Three Lions’ – ‘ Fit for a Prince’ ‘Cutty Sark- Running before the Wind’ 1&2 - The Longest Day -at Sea ‘----- Mightier than a Sword’ -- ‘Nelson’s Pillow’ – The Temeraire Revested’ - ‘Crown Jewels for the Iron Lady’ - ‘Britannia’ –‘First Reserve’ - National Game’ -–‘Homeward Bound’ - ‘Loose Cannon’ – ‘Goblets for a Gun Crew’ -– ‘Source of Victory’ – ‘St George from the Chapel’ – ‘Heart of Oak’ – ‘ Above is only Sky’ - 'Phoenix Rising' - 'Royal Salute' - 'England and Saint George' - ‘Two over the Yard Arm’ – ‘Two sides of the same Battle’- ‘Back to Basic’– ‘Complete Edition’ – Ship in a Bottle’ ……Plus…

When I used to be involved in restoration projects, I have always preferred restoring these historic objects from the past to carry their legacy off those who originally created it. People who really knew what they were doing and tried to preserve it into the future. But alas sometimes objects and material were beyond restoration and returned to their original purpose such as this original oak Royal Crest which adorned the Royal Arms. The Crest was originally carved from oak over a century ago but unlike the cast-iron Arms that supported it although the Royal Arms and Crest survived the London Blitz and the V rockets that followed alas the Royal Crest alas didn’t survive the elements.

The original oak Crest now cast bronze in position - The original oak Crest restored

In the 1990‘s I was commissioned to replicate the original oak Crest, this time for durability it was cast in bronze which adorns the Royal Arms today above the porchway of the College of Arms in London and decades later the original centuries old oak Royal Crest was fully restored and is also part of this collection.

This unique ‘History in the Making collection’ includes mostly wood sculptures carved directly from old, once discarded objects and materials from historic places and moments in time and includes 1000-year-old oak beams recovered after the fire at Windsor Castle. Somewhat rather younger timbers from Admiral Nelson's 18th century Flagship Victory and the somewhat younger Cutty Sark. Most of these sculptures are finished, others are work in progress. Others still remain undiscovered within the original material, but all are totally unique and as such due to the scarcity of the original material most could never be repeated, even if it were possible and I wanted to and don’t, but even if I did try at best it would only be a copy of something that I had done before, so what would be the point anyway……..

The collection of over forty different pieces also includes sculptures created not only from original objects and materials originally from HMS Victory, The Royal Yacht Britannia and Cutty Sark. To a classic J Class Yacht, a Rolls Royce and a 1940’s Supermarine Spitfire and often differ from a casting of Admiral Nelson ‘Life Mask’ to the original pair of Silver Balls from the Coronet of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, to a pair of water colours by Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Materials and objects both old and new all from different moments in time during the past Millennium and another from the Jurassic period. But all were created from objects and materials that were actually there when British history was being made.

Ian finds the one thing consistent in his chosen field of specialty as a ‘bespoke’ sculptor in a variety of different materials is its inconstancy requiring every commission to be different and history rarely repeats itself especially when you learnt a quick way more efficient way of creating one particular sculpture, as things learnt from the last sculpture often cannot usefully be applied to the next. Ian’s sculpture just like history is often full of contradictions as one moment he might be creating sculptures for Windsor Castle to the next creating sculptures from Windsor Castle.

Ian delivered the Coronet for Princess Anne; The Princess Royal in time for the Order of the Garter service at Windsor Castle several years after the Great Fire in the Castle and later carving a number of wood sculptures from within burnt remains salvaged from the Royal Apartments.

The carved wooden shield was originally made for a 17th century Knight of the Garter and originally hung on the wall of St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle. ‘St George and the Dragon’ was carved from within a 2nd century roof timber removed from St George’s Hall thus one exhibit is older than the United States of America and the other older than Great Britain.

One moment Ian will be creating carvings for HMS Victory to the next creating HMS Victory from HMS Victory after being kindly be given a few old unrestorable oak beams and off cuts removed from the Ship’s hull during the Victory’s restoration.

The next will be creating a life size Mute Swan carved from within a tree in a Parkland in Southern England which years later was flown to the USA to an art foundry who rather cleverly created a many times larger replica cast in bronze to be placed at Lakeland in Florida.

Another moment Ian was working through the night in his studio with only the local wildlife to keep him company, complete the gilding on Queen Camilla’s Crown destined for Windsor Castle alongside over thirty other of his unique sculptures were placed on display.
The following morning sitting in the lounge with the finished Queen Camilla's Crown on the table whilst the gilding dries watching the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla in Westminster Abbey where over thirty of Ian’s other sculptures were also on display close by in the Abbey.

The ‘Spirit of Great Britain’; ‘History in the Making’ and the ‘Turning Point Collection’; (to date).

These forty plus sculptures in the History in the Making' / 'Spirit of Great Britain' collection were initially created as a way of a hobby during the past thirty years and after my normal average 40-hour week as a professional sculptor and woodcarver. In the early days like many other people's hobbies, paintings, embroidery and in my mothers case knitting most were simply given away and for many of these early carvings were also given away to be auctioned off to help raise funds for a wide variety of good causes up and down the land. Most were initially created simply just to see if he could do it but all were created as his latest hobby that you can always finish ‘tomorrow’ which helped him relax after working long hours working on something that always appeared to be wanted ‘yesterday’.

“However, the vast majority of this ‘’History in the Making/Spirit of Great Britain’ collection would not exist were it not for the generosity and thoughtfulness of many peoples throughout Great Britain during the past three decades I had the privilege of working with on many restoration projects during this period. People who thoughtfully donated many of these original old, often historic source materials that had all seen better days and were all deemed unrestorable and eventually such material both large and small have enabled me over time to transform much of it shown below into the ‘Spirit of Great Britain’ collection in its entirety including its ‘Centre Piece’ the ‘Victory Sculpture,’ without whose generosity and foresight would simply not exist today.

The Victory Sculpture

The ‘Victory sculpture’ as it was created from within original oak timbers removed from within the hull structure of the actual Warship it replicates. The few oak timbers used for this 1: 57 scale 47 inches long replica of the Victory was recovered from Victory’s lower- and middle-gun decks, with many of the beams retaining 18^th century original paint, metal bolts, screws and handmade nails in which some of the metal was forced into the beams by the British at Chatham in 1765 and the others in 1805 by the French at Trafalgar. These old oak beams during the past three centuries survived the years but alas not the elements within the damp and cramped gun decks, right in the thick of it during many epic battles between these great wooden walls …. if only walls could talk…...

‘History in the Making over the Ages.’

A thousand years of British History created from fragments of objects and material that were actually there when its own history was being made.

HMS Victory carved from HMS Victory, Windsor Castle carved from Windsor Castle, the Royal Yacht Britannia carve from the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Cutty Sark carved from Cutty Sark

Windsor Castle carved from oak built during the era of William the Conqueror. 'Victory Sculpture' carved from oak from the Napoleonic era – 'Cutty Sark' – carved from pine built during the Victorian era - The Royal Yacht Britannia carved from the yacht's teak decking built during the Elizabethan era. 'One of the Few' - A Supermarine Spitfire armoured Windscreen built during the 1940’s.

The ‘Longest Day-at Sea - 1805

‘Dawn at Trafalgar’ and ‘A View from the Redoubtable’ -‘Three Battle scenes the first was carved from within a beam removed from Victory’s lower gun deck, The next was carved from within one of Victory’s original oak frames. The third scene was carved from an off cut from the first beam and the fourth base-relief was created after moulding the third battle scene, which was then cast in bronze and then set in an oak frame again from offcuts of oak saved from the first beam, as not a scrap of any original materials kindly donated are ever wasted. (further information) link to Background info page

‘Dawn at Trafalgar’ - ‘A View from the Redoubtable’ - ‘Sunset over Trafalgar’ - bronze

'The Three Lions’ bronze and marble/resin (work in progress) - 'Inimitable Spirit’ Bronze Rolls Royce ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ set upon ‘bedrock’ from the British Isles naturally formed over the millennia. ‘Back in Time.’ A Velociraptor carved from within an ‘Iguanodon’ fossil found on the beach on the Isle of White after the tide went out. 'The Three Lionesses’ wooden ‘master copies’ shown at the early carving stages will eventually upon completion, be moulded and cast in bronze or marble/resin.

The Three Lions - ‘Inimitable Spirit’ - Back in Time -The Three Lionesses

Royal Crest Revisited; originally carved during the Victorian era. A pair of Royal Arms; gilded marble/resin and bronze castings- ‘Fit for a Prince’ - A Knight in Waiting' - The ‘spare’ Royal Lion of England Knights Crest and Sword were originally created during the early/mid 2000’s for ‘consistency purposes’ to recreate exactly in both size and style if required in the future. ‘All that Glitters’. ‘Gold Bars’ gold leaf covered blocks of mahogany are part of a batch of timber used in 1984 to build the galley for the J Class Yacht Velsheda.

‘Royal Crest Revisited’ –‘Royal Arms’ – ‘All that Glitters’ - ‘Royal Crest Revested’ ‘Royal Arms’ - bronze

‘A Knight in waiting’ – (40 inches long Sword to be finished)

‘Nelson’s Pillow’ Nelson’s ‘life mask’ and musket ball, set upon a piece of oak from Victory’s orlop Deck. ‘Crown Jewels for the Iron Lady,’ Two of the six silver Balls which were once placed upon the rim of the gilded coronet for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. - ‘The Longest Day 1&2’, A pair of water colours by Winston Churchill set in a frame surrounded by similar mouldings as those I used to restore an antique mirror in Southwick House. (Where D Day was planned).

-‘The Longest Day 1’ Nelson’s Pillow’ -‘Crown Jewels for the Iron Lady,’ -‘The Longest Day2’-

‘Fire in the Hall’ An original wooden shield for a 17th century Knight of the Garter from St George’s Hall removed after the Great Fire at Windsor Castle in 1992. 'England and Saint George,’ - carved from part of a many centuries old oak beam removed from St Georges’ Hall after the fire in Windsor Castle.

'Two sides of the same beam'

‘The Battling Temeraire Revisited’ a bas-relief carving of a scene from Turner’s famous painting, The ‘Battling Temeraire’ currently being carved from one side of an oak beam removed from the Victory’s orlop deck and on the other side of the same beam is being carved ‘A Close-Run Thing’ which will be an image of Victory depicted as she was almost a floating wreck after The Battle of Trafalgar -

‘Two sides of the same Beam’ (both to be completed)

‘The Battling Temeraire Revisited’ - A Close-Run Thing’

One of the Few, Admiral Nelson’s Flagship HMS Victory and an armoured laminated glass windscreen removed from a 1940’s Supermarine Spitfire. Cutty Sark ‘Running before the Wind’ (to be finished) - A pair of bas-relief carvings currently being worked on from an original Pine beam from the 19th century British clipper ship, Cutty Sark.

The first of the pair of ‘Kindred Spirits’ have been set upon a remaining piece of the original oak ‘Maquette’ Paschal Candlestick and the oak carved for St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle during the 1990’s. The first of this pair of candlesticks. The ‘candle’ has been carved from white marble/resin and then placed upon an old piece of original oak roof timber damaged during the fire at the Castle in 1992. This piece of oak has been carved ‘trickling’ down one half of the ‘pascal candle stick’ onto a small section of the original full size ‘Pascal candlestick' now found in St George’s Chapel Windsor. (to be completed)

Placed upon the second of the pair of candle sticks is an original Rolls Royce ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ bonnet ornament placed upon a piece of original pine timber once part of the hull of the 19th century ‘Cutty Sark. This piece of Scots pine has been carved ‘trickling’ down the other section of the ‘pascal candle stick’ maquette, down onto a small off cut of original oak from HMS Victory. The Rolls Royce and Cutty Sark, two iconic British symbols of business and trade across the centuries.

History Books

‘Mightier than the sword’ – ‘History of Great Britain’ – ‘England and St George’ - 6 inches high

‘Mightier than the sword’ An off cut of Victory oak split open to reveal something that has always been there and like any book once the story has been told the book can close up again. A proposed five-volume box set of books in their most basic form, wood. All to be created in a similar style as ‘Phoenix Rising’, 'England and Saint George' and ‘Mightier than the sword’ with the images actually rising out of the pages but leaving far more than just a shadow.

All five volumes set of ‘History of Great Britain’, are due to be opened over the coming months, one book at the time. This first and last volumes are made somewhat thicker than the other three which will enable two pages to be opened at a time, each with a different story to tell, but all are being carved from another block of old teak with a bit of history about it. Maybe the first volume of the set of five may well be dinosaurs trying to get out from within the page, I mean who does not like a T Rex, except perhaps the herbivores he may well chasing from out of the same page and on the corresponding page on this first volume, perhaps an image of the asteroid strike that led to their eventual demise for mammals to fill the void.

Maybe the second book will be a scene from ‘The Battle of Hastings’, the next ‘Trafalgar’ and the third column ‘The Battle of Britain’ and who knows what will be revealed on the last two-part volume of the ‘History of Great Britain’ until each the previous volumes have been opened.

‘History of Great Britain’, and ‘Rescue Dogs’ -- Ship in a Bottle’ (all to be completed)

Although one of the children’s apparently “can just feel her two treasured rescue dogs are apparently inside another book just waiting to be set free”, so it now looks like an extra volume or two is on the way alongside working on the age-old idea of producing a ‘Ship in the Bottle’ created in a slightly different way from those traditionally Ships that were skillfully been inserted into the bottle from outside, whereas this sailing ship was always inside this particular Bottle of Rum’ I discovered a ‘Ship of the Line’ which bore a remarkable resemblance to the somewhat larger Victory Sculpture I finished a decade earlier.

The ‘Victory Sculpture’ in a Bottle, about to be finally revealed…. but not yet.

As previously stated this entire ‘History in the Making Collection’ has been built up over three decades and counting, as my hobby and a way to relax after my normal days’ work creating bespoke sculptures to commission. My mother’s favorite way of relaxing after a hard day's work was chatting away to us all whilst she was knitting in front of the television. Although I cannot knit my form of relaxing is to be able carve something from materials that had all seen better days without having to keep to any deadline or budget produced the similar way especially occasion, I was cutting the ‘Coronation Diamond’ from another off cut of Victory oak whilst we watched the Kings Coronation on the television alongside the recently completed Crown commissioned for Queen Camilla, like you do.

The background to the ‘Spirit of Great Britain’; ‘History in the Making’ and the ‘Turning Point Collection’.

For centuries artist have been creating art works from found materials and also creating sculptures from driftwood washed upon the beach that would normally only survive until the next tide, which were then be transformed into sculptures that should last a life time and Ian in his own way has been doing similar things by upcycling old historic materials he came across and or was kindly donated over the years and just stores them away for he knows not what, until he finally does.

In his case these are just old British objects and materials with a bit of age and history about them and despite the often-poor condition Ian often finds them in, he never losing sight of what the objects and materials once were and achieved, by creating artworks preserving their moment in time in a unique way, despite and sometimes because of their often-rather poor condition. Not because it would be difficult, but because it would be different. As this whole collection of sculptures made entirely from often scraps of materials and objects that were once old and discarded is entirely about preserving the memory and past history and preserving it in a somewhat more tangible way for the future.

…..Further Background information:

St Georges Hall Windsor Castle -- Ian and the remains of his burnt down workshop a decade earlier shown working amongst what remained during the day and the ‘fly tip’ it also slowly became during the night.

Ian started his carving career in 1984 when his furniture making business burnt down with everything in it but working his way through the rubble noticed on the floor, one of his roof timbers had burnt itself into a rough outline of dolphin despite the destruction all around it inspired Ian to try and finish off what the fire had started which also helped took his mind of things. Less than a decade later in 1992 he was given some burnt timbers recovered from the fire at Windsor Castle and once again decided he would try to make something from nothing and as the plan at Windsor Castle was to rebuild the royal apartments, Phoenix like, from the ashes and prizing open the beam reveal the ‘Phoenix Rising’, was the obvious choice.

From another less fire damaged pieces of oak also removed from the floor of St George’s Hall working on the same theme of opening up old timbers this time to reveal like slicing open an ‘Avocado pear’ and just like an avocado, once opened the concave outline of the ‘stone’ remains, or in this case a concave outline of ‘Saint George and the Dragon’ as both halves can once again will close up.

'England and Saint George' – Windsor Castle oak

Most of the sculptures in the Collection shown here were carved from the remains of old historic British objects and materials from many different times and sources up and down the land, but all had one thing in common as they all had seen better days, deemed unrestorable and ‘not fit for purpose’. But with a bit of time and effort still all had a story inside them which was still worth telling. Materials that originated from a WW2 Spitfire and Southwark House, where D Day was planned, along with paintings by Winston Churchill who played a massive part in both. Other materials were recovered from the Cutty Sark, HMS Victory, Windsor Castle and one or two other relevant moments and places in history. Some objects are just a small fragment of what they once were, others are much more so.

Once completed the original surface and integrity of the timber of the sculptures, where practical, was often left as it was found with its newly ‘just carved’ look with no finish added, such as the ‘Victory sculpture’, the ‘Trafalgar Triptych’, 'Fire in the Hall' and the ‘Windsor Quartet’, as covering with any modern finish removing the original surface patina which has often undergone many centuries and often trauma and ordeal to achieve.

Although Ian is one of those rare artists that both carves and casts in a wide variety of different materials, he is a true carver by nature and inclination. All this combined with his added fascination about the challenge of carving objects from old, once discarded objects and materials of all sizes often found in far less than perfect condition and may well have been otherwise lost. This unique Collection is all about the saved historic objects and materials and what they once were and not so much what they were to become, retaining as much as possible including all the original material and condition often including its paint, bolts and handmade nails simply working on the premise of less is more. The main criteria for every sculpture for the Collection was it had to be created to reflect in one way or another the materials or objects and its history from which they originated.

“Despite oak being the ‘National Tree of England’ given the preference I prefer not to carve oak unless it is specifically requested by the client, which as it happens appears to be, more often than not. There are many examples of my solid oak carvings around such as the carved oak Paschal candle stand commissioned for St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, to an oak bas-relief carving of a Knights Coat of Arms placed within the crypt in St Paul’s Cathedral just a few feet from where Lord Nelson’s tomb can be found today and despite my preference not to carve oak I then spent the past thirty years working on and off on my new ‘hobby’ creating the ‘Spirit of Great Britain collection’ much of it carving some of the oldest hardest oak around including original oak removed from the roof from the royal apartments of 1000 year old Windsor Castle removed after the fire in 1992.

To working with rock hard old oak timbers removed from the hull of Lord Nelson’s Flagship HMS Victory during the Ships restoration program which were a mere 300 years old and a sculpture recovered from what was said to be an Iguanodon fossil found several miles away that during in the late Jurassic Period in from a dinosaur that once roamed around on what would later become my back garden way before Britain; Great or otherwise, ever existed……. Although many may claim the fossil is from an Iguanodon, to me it looks a bit more like a piece of fossilised tree which in that case would make it by far the oldest and hardest piece of ‘wood’ I will ever carve.

Working with old historic timbers and other materials have their own special challenges especially in the case of original oak removed from Windsor Castle and Lord Nelson’s 18^th century Flagship Victory. Much of the timbers removed from the ship during the restoration program were being removed and replaced through normal wear and tear generally expected of a wooden warship of that period. During the later years whenever possible some of these old timbers were skilfully reworked and replaced back on the ship in some form or another, however despite the highly skilled team of joiners and shipwrights’ best efforts this was not always practical, realistic or indeed cost-effective to do so.

Eventually the fate of such old timbers during the past two and a half centuries out in all the elements has amongst many other things, simply rotted or crumbled away, been eaten by beetles and woodworm and some timbers were simply burnt to prevent reinfestation Victory’s great wooden hull, or indeed during the 18^th century removed during updating or through damage the ship sustained during Battle. The Victory like other wooden warships of her day was designed to survive the next 40 years or the next way and was not to be a major tourist attraction two centuries later up on blocks in dry dock, but due to amongst other things her excellent design and the way she was constructed on oak in the 18^th century by a team of the finest craftsmen in her day is fortunately being protected and restored by a similar highly skilled team of such people in the 21^st century.

HMS Victory is the only surviving warship that fought in the American Revelation, The French Revolution and also the Napoleonic wars and today is still a commissioned warship and the Flagship of the second Sea Lord and Commander in Chief Naval Home Command. During the past 250 years HMS Victory had to endure many things, hostile action including by the French who gave her a massive pounding at Trafalgar when she was locked together with the ship Redoubtable only feet apart for almost an hour in which both ships exchanged fearsome broadsides, before the timely and conclusively intervention by HMS Temeraire which eventually saved the day and the Battle in arguably the greatest Naval triumph the world has ever seen.

The massive pounding the Victory has also endured by the sea, weather and human neglect over the centuries, along with her massive oak timbers being constantly eaten by death watch beetles and the worm corynetes coeruleus and if that doesn’t sound frightful enough, the Luftwaffe almost blew her up when a high explosive devise blew a 15 ft wide hole in her hull during an air raid over Portsmouth Naval Docks in 1941. Although as it turned out the gaping hole which was then left in HMS Victory’s hull, courtesy of the Luftwaffe, inadvertently aided the preservation of this mighty wooden warship by helping to ventilate the gun decks.

In the case of the Victory oak many of these beams still retain thick layers of old paint and traces of rot and worm damaged along with nails and bolts and an assortment of metal embedded deep into them, as some were forced into the timbers by the British in the 1760’s during the ship’s construction and some by the French in 1805 during the battle of Trafalgar, but whenever possible all were retained in position, particularly as many often rusted and welded into place within the oak beams over the centuries.

Day One in creating the History in the Making Collection.

“I once shared my workshop in the early 1980’s as a cabinet maker with a friend Mo, D who many years earlier part owned a scrap yard in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, who specialised in scraping old military equipment and machines including often famous WW2 aircraft once vital to the wellbeing of the Nation and many other Nations in the early days of the new Jet fighters. Famous iconic WW2 aircraft like the Mosquito, the Hurricane and Spitfire to them mostly appeared to just require a bit of TLC but instead were offered to them as scrap metal including the powerful Merlin engines that often got them from A to B and back again safety with style and grace but once they stopped doing so, these rather distinctive sounding engines went silent as alas Spitfires were no longer required to do so as before.

The eventual result was one of the exhibits of the ‘One of the Few’ sculptures created from an original 1940’s Spitfire armoured windscreen which then became the first of the collection, which like all the others were produced in my studio in Warsash, a Hampshire village less than 10 seconds away from the former Supermarine factory as the Spitfire flies, where in the 1930’s they were original designed and built, but during 1940 constant raids by the Luftwaffe led to the destruction of the Supermarine factory and production of the Spitfire were subsequently dispersed throughout the UK and all that remains of the once massive factory were history was made is a bronze plaque and small housing development and the even smaller concrete ramp leading into the river from where the Supermarine Snider trophy winning sea planes that preceded the Spitfire entered the water.

Mo, recalled that a Rolls Royce Merlin engine used by most of the old mainly British but other nations WW2 aircraft, in the late 40’s early 1950’s was worth just £27.00 as scrap metal and a Spitfire itself worth just £97.00 as scrap, However, the only part from a Spitfire which was of no value as far as the scrap yard was concerned, was the armoured laminated glass windscreens, which were often just thrown into a skip, but somehow this windscreen recovered from a damaged Spitfire in the 1940’s, instead ended up under a bench in his workshop for three decades. In those days these now iconic British warplanes aircraft design had moved on and were of then of no real value and as hindsight had not been invented then, but wouldn’t it have been rather nice if, my friend had a much larger ‘workshop at the time and maybe had pushed one of those then almost ‘worthless’ Spitfire’s, Hurricanes and especially the even rarer Mosquito’s aircraft into it. Alas the true value of most things tends to not be appreciated until it has gone, or someone totally unconnected puts a price on it and its original history and the very reason for being, is also not lost.

In 1983 having mentioned during a coffee break my passion for the Spitfire and the following day I was kindly given the Spitfire windscreen in lieu of help with the rent for our shared workshop. I then placed the windscreen in my lounge and then the shed and then in a drawer and it was mostly forgotten about for three more decades until I was given some old oak timbers from the 18th century HMS Victory having been commissioned to replace the Ships carved entrance port. I later also found a piece of mahogany left over from my helping restoring the classic 1930’s J Class Yacht Velsheda and married them together in the 1940’s Spitfire and the first potential exhibit of the ‘Spirit of Great Britain’ ‘History in the Making’ Collection and now consists of almost forty different pieces, took off with the ‘One of the Few’ sculptures. which took less than a week to create, compared to the ‘The Victory Sculpture’ which took considerably longer, the rest is history…...

‘One of the Few’ - ‘The Victory Sculpture’

This Victory sculpture the centerpiece of the Collection is a totally unique examples of how magnificent the Victory must have looked in three-dimensions at sea ‘Running before the Wind’ at Trafalgar, with her 32 billowing sails, pennants signal flags and displaying Nelson’s famous signal flown at Trafalgar ‘England Expects…...’ Her signal flags just like her hull, sails, ropes and rigging are also carved from the oak beams removed from the Ships it replicates and nothing else.

http://www.contemporarysculptor.com/victory-model.htm

“Although I have spent almost 6000 hours carving this Victory model I do not class myself as model ship maker as this was only my first attempt at producing such a thing and will certainly be my last. Although I appreciate that in the model ship making world, it is a model ship, but not as we know it and I may well have gone off-piste in the way I made this one. But I just did not want it to be made like so many other model ships, superb as many of them are. I intended this one to be as much as possible, simply hacked out from solid pieces of rock-hard ships, oak timbers removed entirely from the hull of the Ship it replicates and nothing else. Using old carving chisels in the same practical simple style of carving as regularly practised by the ship carvers in the 18th century and if the odd 18th century handmade iron nail, possible pieces of shrapnel, fragments of rotten oak or having to dodge traces of long forgotten woodworm which once tireless bored into these magnificent old ships timbers just happen to get in the way of my constantly re-sharpened carving chisels, then sobeit".

‘The Spirit of Great Britain and History in the Making Collection.

Along with English being the most spoken language in the world all despite Britain being a relatively small Island. It is a seafaring nation with an independent ‘innate rite of passage.’ and over the centuries was and remains a trading nation. Assisted greatly by the Royal Navy founded in 1546, always potentially just over the horizon, helping to keep vital sea lanes open to accommodate the requirements of many nations for independent trade, and security and almost nine centuries later working alongside other similar minded nations continue to do so today.

The Royal Arms- Victory bronze- Cunard Crest

Although Britain was successfully invaded by the Romans in 55 BC and then by the Normans in 1066. At the start of the Early Medieval period and over three centuries Viking raiders launched increasingly large-scale innovations and settled in many areas. All that mainly remains today you can observe in Britain from such invasions apart from inheriting their skills and knowledge is old coins, Roman roads, beautiful ruins, mosaics, and fine Castles, however the fear of invasion and takeover in one form or another, by one country or another, was always a potential constant threat just over the horizon.

Lime wood - 70 inches long

It was clear to all that if Great Britain, being an Island, was to avoid the fate of many small and large states across Europe throughout history and maintain its independence, it needed to be able to protect the seas around its coasts. The British Navy was first used in England by Alfred the Great of Wessex in the 9th century, who launched ships to repel a Viking invasion. In 1588 as Englishmen and women watched the fighting along the south coast and witnessed the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the British Navy.

In 1805 Napoleon's undefeated Army throughout Europe, was poised across the Channel in occupied France to invade England. But before the huge flotilla could cross, Napoleon first had to gain naval control of the English Channel. Napoleon Bonaparte said “Let us be Masters of the Channel for six hours and we are Masters of the World”

HMS Victory sculpture limited edition print

However, the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 between the combined navies of France and Spain on one side and Great Britain led by Admiral Lord Nelson onboard HMS Victory on the other, ended Napoleon's plans to conquer Britain. This battle ended up with a clear Victory for the British forces and the invasion by France was abandoned. HMS Victory along with many other British naval warships helped to keep vital sea lanes open over the centuries to accommodate both trade and security. Great Britain, a trading nation over the centuries, has and always will be a seafaring nation with an independent 'innate rite of passage'.

Subsequently this allowed Great Britain to become the world's largest sea power for 100 years, charged with the nation’s defence at sea, protection of shipping, trade, and fulfillment of international military agreements as the Royal Navy which was often thought, just might just be over the horizon……...

‘Over the Horizon’ Victory oak and bronze – (30 inches high)

Carved from oak removed from the lower gun deck of HMS Victory and the limited-edition bronze flying its pennant carved from a similar piece of Victory oak. The Victory over the combined French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar played a role in the emergence of the Victorian era as a time of peace and stability and gave the way for a century of relative peace in Europe and this period of stability was critical for economic growth and development, the expansion of trade and investment without the threat of widespread conflict.

A view taken from Gosport across Portsmouth harbour around a century ago of HMS Victory, the then Flagship of the British navy; built in England during the 18th century. A similar view taken from the same location of HMS Queen Elizabeth; the current Flagship of the British navy, alongside her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales, both these warships were built in England and Scotland during the 21st century.

The latest photograph below shows part of Victory’s three masts appearing above the dockyard buildings, as both Ships now rest 250 yards and 250 years apart in Portsmouth Historic Naval Dockyard.

Portsmouth Harbour UK September 2020 and Trafalgar Day a few decades earlier.

Although the British Royal naval Flagships have changed in appearance over the centuries, the requirements to help keep Britain safe at a time of increased threats by others remains. HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales now with multiple roles, are also able to provide air power to fight future campaigns, being added by and supporting allies or delivering humanitarian aid, anywhere in the world at any time.

Similar sentiments and ambitions to conquer Britain and the world in 1939 were then held by Germany's Adolf Hitler. In 1940 Hitler's whose undefeated Army throughout Europe, was massing across the Channel in occupied France poised to invade England, but before the huge flotilla could cross. Hitler had to first gain sea and air control over the English Channel long enough to invade Britain. The ‘Battle of Britain’ in 1940 between Britain’s RAF and Germany’s Luftwaffe, resulted in an overwhelming Victory for the RAF and plans to invade Britain by yet another country were abandoned. They then had the ‘’Miracle of Dunkirk’ and the terror of the Blitz and relentless German V rocket bombardment of England began, but once again the Spirit of Britons remained resilient throughout it all and then on December 7th 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour and Britain was no longer fighting alone…….

Such cooperation between peoples of different nationalities has always been apparent even during the 19th century at the Battle of Trafalgar as the crew aboard HMS Victory were from a wide variety of different nationalities and although the vast majority of the ship’s 850 strong crew were English, fellow crew members onboard Victory at Trafalgar, included Norwegian, Dutch, Jamaican, Scottish, Welsh, Indian, Maltese, African, Irish, German, West Indian, Brazilian, Manx, Italian, Swiss, Canadian, Portuguese, Swedish and including 22 Americans and 4 men from France, who were royalists who had fled France. As there was no requirement to be British to fight on a British warship and as such HMS Victory was and still is an artifact of the history of the Royal Navy and all the people of different nations from different continents who served alongside each other for the common good.

Great Britain is a small island that has always fought above its weight and being an island is made up of many different peoples from different countries and continents including my ancestors. Although I am English as was my mother, my father was Scottish, but his ancestors were Irish.

Coming from a military family it is said one of my distant relations Marine John Brennan served on HMS Victory and was killed at Trafalgar. My father also served in the Royal Marine Commandos for 23 years and travelled the world doing so and as a child of five right up to the age of 18 along with my mother and siblings we often followed in his wake and as children we went to a dozen or so ‘new’ schools never lived or went to school in the same town, county or even country for more than 18 months at a time. It was only due to as an eighteen-year-old then working as a stevedore unloading cargo ships in Dover Docks having being knocked of my prised Triumph Bonneville on Good Friday by a Van in a hurry. which left me with a broken bike, split crash helmet, two broken wrists and arm and unable to work for over a year as the direct result of my short flight over the handlebars and a rather shoddy landing. Two years later having been moved to yet another part of England this time Portsmouth. was then awarded enough compensation to buy a replacement motorbike and a new house with a big garden and a small mortgage that would enable me to finally put down some roots and a find new career and a decade later one I could work from for forty plus years this time as a professional artist creating sculptures for all over the world and also much closer to home, sculptures I didn’t know I would be capable of doing at the time.

The ‘Spirit of Great Britain’ ‘History in the Making Collection’

The mindset and early beginnings of the ‘History in the Making Collection. For the past four decades. I have been working in a studio built in a large garden in a small house, built alongside an even larger forest in a smaller village, but getting larger built alongside the river Hamble, where I have spent these past fourth years creating sculptures to commission with some sent all over the world but mostly much closer to home. A studio built less than ten seconds away as the Spitfire flies to the former Supermarine Spitfire factory, which it often still does today when a two-seater Spitfire which is based just a few miles along the coast on a former Naval airfield HMS Daedalus that was the busiest airfield around in the 1940’s especially during the D Day Normandy Landings.

But still open today in less busier times for those with a passion to fly in a Spitfire and the financial means to do so as I often hear the distinctive sound of the Merlin engine as it often flies over my studio on a short circuit to goodness knows where, no doubt with someone happily enjoying the view riding ‘pillion’ who clearly has both, but alas I still rarely can get outside into the garden quick enough to watch it do so in style. But when we don’t, if we are lucky, we can still watch as it takes off in front of you and it once flew right over the bonnet of the car as the runway ends at the road when driving to Gosport to do a bit of shopping.

The plot of land our house, garden and studio now stand was just eight decades earlier a large forest right up to huge fields and scrubland which was then full of tents and vehicles often hidden away amongst the trees containing many of the assaults troops, including Commandos of 1st and 4th Special Service (Commando) Brigades, who included both British Army and Royal Marine forces once camped out in what will later become our and our neighbours back gardens. The 1st Brigade was commanded by Lord Lovat and included his famous bagpiper, Bill Millin. The two brigades landed on the British and Canadian beaches of Sword and Juno respectively. On D-Day, the commandos were given special tasks that involved marching from the beaches to achieve a specific objective with Lovat’s forces landed on Sword Beach, and their objectives included reinforcing the airborne troops led by Major Howard at Pegasus Bridge, and the capture of strongpoints nearer the landing beaches.

Just a fifteen-minute walk due South through the same forest the somewhat larger trees now shading our back garden. Trucks and equipment were waiting to be boarded on one of the thousands of landing crafts, many of them lining the whole of the shoreline now on our local beach. As this quiet beach in much darker times was part of ‘Operation Neptune’, the largest amphibious invasion force in history and from these very shores on the 5th of May, many of the 3,000 allied naval combat ships and support vessels were moored so tightly together the locals at the time said “on the 5th of May 1944, it felt you could almost walk to the Isle of White across their decks of all the ships. The next day ‘D Day’…… during the night all the ships had gone…….

At 0630 hours ‘H Hour’ on the day in question after considering his Commander's points of view and the latest weather forecast General Eisenhower made the momentous decision ' OK - lets go ' and on the 6th June the greatest armada in history took place. In early Spring of 1944 preparations of 'Operation Overlord' which culminated on the Allied Invasion of 'Fortress Europe' on the 6th June, was well underway coordinated from the Allied headquarters at ‘Southwick House’ at HMS Dryad, which became the forward planning and operational Headquarters of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, General Dwight Eisenhower and the Naval Commander for Operation Overlord, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey.

‘Southwick House’ was already sealed off many months earlier from the remainder of HMS Dryad, local houses were requisitioned to be used for quarters of the officers and men Nissen huts. power cables, phones and teleprinters were all set up. The toy manufacturer Chad Valley was commissioned to make the large plywood wall map which can still be seen today, fitted against the wall in the ‘map room’ in Southwick House still set at H hour. The Map arrived in various sections with these large pieces covering the European coastline from Norway to France. To maintain secrecy, the two carpenters who erected the wall map were then required to remain in Southwick House until the invasion was underway and the only thing that remains along this shoreline to show the momentous event 80 years later. are the remains of some of the wooden groynes and old piers that once helped support the allies Landing craft.

Warsash Lake - ‘Winston Churchill’ painting - Warsash Beach

Whereas just a short walk in the opposite direction due North again through the forest beyond the back garden fence, is a small lake hidden away amongst the trees in peace and quiet where in the early 1980’s my youngest daughter learnt to fish and I learnt to relax. A short walk, but still far enough away from the studio to prevent me, if just for a moment, carving something, anything that I have often been working on day and night often alongside the local wildlife, as it was often wanted yesterday. Which once again is one of the main advantages/disadvantages of being fortunate enough to be able to work from home for over four decades creating artwork for a living that I would quite happily have done as a hobby and as such effectively I have not worked for the past forty years…...

Southwick House, HMS Dryad - 2005

Fifty years after 'Operation Overlord', Southwick House was undergoing a major restoration program and during this restoration I was commissioned to restoring some of the ornately carved antique mirror and picture frames inside Southwick House, frequently visited in the 1940’s by the then British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, Knight of the Garter.

Restoring the large antique picture frame at Southwick House - before and after

For further information about D Day and 'Operation Overlord' please click this link :-

During the past few decades, I have been putting together a unique collection of sculptures entirely created from pieces of these often historic, rare, often iconic British objects, materials and timbers that were actually part of history and were there when history was being made. Timbers recovered from the Cutty Sark, HMS Victory and the Royal Yacht Britannia. 1000-year-old original oak timbers once part of the roof of the State apartments in Windsor Castle, recovered amongst the rubble and placed in one of the skips which lined the castle’s quadrangle after the Great fire in November 1992. Or a more recent, well-used oak garden bench removed from the private gardens in Kensington Palace after many years of use.

A 1940’s windscreen from a 1940’s damaged Spitfire set into an oak frame from timbers removed from the lower gun deck of HMS Victory which were once full with rot and traces of wood worm but part of history and still had a part to play, often retaining the handmade 18th century nails and bolts driven into them by someone who probable had similar hopes and fears then as many of us tend to do today. To an original ornate plaster moulding once part of a large antique mirror frame in Southwick House. An antique moulding, I was asked to replicate to replace the dozens lost or damaged over the centuries, along with complete rebuilding of a huge antique picture frame that was badly damaged but not beyond repair, all in time for the 50th anniversary of the D Day landings at Normandy.

The first of this unique collection created from objects and material that many were actually there when history was being made and although the whole collection is created from just a small part of what helped make Great Britain, there is no more fitting Briton to include in this collection, than artwork from Winston Churchill who was in a nationwide poll attracting more than a million votes, named the Greatest Briton of all time and as such this collection will include this pair of signed wat ercolours by ‘Winston Churchill’ that were purchased at auction a while back for far less than you would have thought, painted by the much-applauded British statesman W. S. M Churchill who when he wasn’t making history which was often going on all around him he was often painting what was often right in front of him and two such paintings are part of this ‘Spirit of Great Britain’s : History in the Making; collection.

One painting of a small lake and the other a beach both of which were described in the auction literature as, ‘Winston Churchill’s Original Stunning Vintage Watercolours’ and as such worthy of inclusion in the collection despite my having no part in painting them I did make the ornate frames that now support their display. As both paintings have now been mounted in a pair of gilded frames made incorporating similar mouldings, I produced to restore the large antique mirror frame for Southwick house decades earlier.

Having spent a few months restoring the mirror and picture frames both working at Southwick House and in my studio they were returned with a week to spare before the official 6th June opening ceremony, when I was kindly invited to attend this ceremony when during the morning in the adjoining room where the original D Day map still stands and for many months were we often had our lunch break. General Eisenhower made the momentous decision ' OK - lets go ' you could distinctly hear the loud combined sound of six Merlin engines in the distance and was just quick enough to go through the large open glass doors and stepped outside onto the manicured lawn just as the Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire of the ‘Battle of Britain’ Flight, flew low over Southwick House and according to my wife Suzanne who was ten miles away at the time watched the three historic WW2 aircraft fly low over our house and the trees towards the coast a short walk away to one of the main troop embarkation beaches at Warsash in 1944, following the same route as 50 years ago then flew across the Channel to the Normandy Beaches.

The original restored mirror at Southwick House and the Churchill paintings using the similar mouldings.

‘The Longest Day’ -

on Land and to mount the Churchill's water colour are now set in a frame containing a small fragment of the large mirror which was there during one of Churchill's finest moments standing in the room at Southwick House alongside the original D Day Map which still stands today were during the restoration for the Fiftieth Anniversary of D Day I would often work during the restoration on the ornate antique mirror and picture frame with the historic map close by proudly in attendance but at the time both were in dire need of attention.

The lime wood used to build to frame this water colour has for the most part been created from within the same lime tree as used to create many of the latest Knights of the Garter and Bath Crests and one small part of this centuries old mirror frame which originated from one of the large antique mirror at Southwick House close to the ‘Map Room’ has been set in the wooden frame surrounding the watercolour is one of the original antique ornate plaster mouldings removed from the frame during its restoration has now been placed into the gilded frame on the ‘beach painting now set at H Hour.

‘The Longest Day’

This plaster original I used to replicate the others has been placed into the picture frame, set at ‘H Hour’ and often when I was working on both picture frames, on occasion being created with once again the distinctive sound of the Spitfires Merlin engines flying over the studio from the two-seater variant based in Daedalus airfield just a thirty second flight away as the Spitfire flies.

'One of the Few'

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. During the Battle of Britain in 1940, Spitfires with their superb agility in the air were generally tasked with engaging Luftwaffe fighters, mainly Messerschmitt Bf 109E.

One of the Few sculptures from the ‘Spirit of Britons’ collection was created entirely from combining original material from two of the most iconic British Weapons of War in times of need, Admiral Nelson’s Flagship HMS Victory and an original 2 inches thick armoured laminated glass windscreen removed from a damaged 1940’s Supermarine Spitfire and often wonder what the last image this brave young RAF pilot saw looking through this armoured piece of laminated glass at goodness knows what.

The original 940’s Supermarine Spitfire windscreen which was once set into an aluminum frame has now been has been set in a carved oak frame using centuries old timbers removed from the lower gun deck of Victory which was then placed upon a mahogany base which was once part of the pile mahogany timbers Ian used to build the galley in 1984 for the J Class Yacht Velsheda.

Supermarine Spitfire HMS Victory J Class yacht Velsheda

After having this rather special windscreen in my studio for over twenty years I decided to finally do something with it and carved an identical setting to hold the windscreen which would have originally been made from aluminium, but this time I made a replica from original centuries old oak removed from the lower gun deck of HMS Victory. Both windscreen and frame were then placed onto a piece of mahogany that was once part of the mahogany I used to build the galley of the J Class yacht Velsheda in 1984. (15 inches high)

During the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain Ian created a sculpture of a life size -Marsh Harrier’ in flight for a period in his makeshift workshop beneath a Spitfire that once fought in the Battle of Britain which was auctioned off to raise funds for the RAF Benevolent fund carved from within a lime tree that grew just a few miles away from RAF Manston and blew down in the hurricane force winds that hit southern England in 1987. The airfield just a few miles away from where I was born was then the closest RAF base to then occupied France and consequently one of the most heavily bombed air bases during the period.

Further Information:

The ‘centre piece of the collection is a unique highly detailed sculpture collection of over thirty pieces created using original materials from historic, often iconic buildings, objects and materials, both ancient and modern. Including Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, Southwick House, HMS Victory, The QE2, The Royal Yacht Britannia, The Cutty Sark, a J Class Yacht, Rolls Royce, a 1940’s Supermarine Spitfire and a Dinosaur fossil found whilst holidaying on a beach on the Isle of White in the 1970’s. This unique ‘Spirit of Britons’ - ‘Touch a piece of History’ collection; incorporates many objects and materials that was once part of Great Britain’s long heritage of trade and traditions.

These sculptures have been individually created from original objects and materials that were there at the time, often right in the thick of it when Britain’s history was being made. One of these shown above; is carved from within part of a medieval oak beam removed from Windsor Castle after the Great fire in 1992. Some original historic and iconic British materials upcycled in the collection are just a mere few centuries old, others considerably older some materials endured great trauma to end up in the condition they were found, others simply got old and often abandoned only to then be upcycled and given a new life.

Oak beam from one of the roof timbers from the royal apartments and the restored oak ‘Royal Crest’ once placed on top of the Royal Arms out in all the elements for over a century.

This totally unique collection could also include Ian GB’s ‘milestone and turning point’ wood, resin and bronze sculptures which were an integral part of the over three hundred and fifty both large and small mostly commissioned in marble/resin, wood, bronze and sterling silver sculptures Ian has created since 1984, including Ian’s first commission for the royal household was creating this Crown for HM the King of Spain which is placed in St Georges’ Chapel Windsor just a few feet away from his most recent Crown created three decades later for HM Queen Camila.

HRH Camilla Queen Consort Coronet – 2022 – HM Queen Camila Crown -2023.

The ‘Spirit of Britons’ Collections Titles: -

‘Gold Standard’ -‘Inimitable Spirit’ - Victory Sculpture’ - Back in Time' – One of a Kind’ - The Longest Day -On Land – 1944 - ‘One of the Few’ – ‘ One of the Many’ – ‘Fire in the Hall’ - ‘The First of the Many’ -‘A View from ‘the Redoubtable’ – ‘Kindred Spirits’ -‘'The Family Seat’ – ‘ Worlds Apart’ - ‘Three Lions’ – ‘ Fit for a Prince’ ‘Cutty Sark- Running before the Wind’ 1&2 - The Longest Day -at Sea ‘----- Mightier than a Sword’ -- ‘Nelson’s Pillow’ – The Temeraire Revested’ - ‘Crown Jewels for the Iron Lady’ - ‘Britannia’ –‘First Reserve’ - National Game’ -–‘Homeward Bound’ - ‘Loose Cannon’ – ‘Goblets for a Gun Crew’ -– ‘Source of Victory’ – ‘St George from the Chapel’ – ‘Heart of Oak’ – ‘ Above is only Sky’ - 'Phoenix Rising' - 'Royal Salute' - 'England and Saint George' - ‘Two over the Yard Arm’ - ‘Back to Basic’– Plus…

(Some of these exhibits may well be made available for sale at some point)

History in the Making/Spirit of Great Britains’and ‘Master Copies - (Further Details)

‘Gold Standard’

Gilded Royal Arms (18 – 12 inches high)

The Royal Coat of Arms is the official Arms of the British Monarch These Arms are used by the Sovereign in their official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.

These modern-day bas-high relief carved Royal Arms along with the four Nations of the United Kingdom Shields design, often dating back to medieval Britain. These proposed Royal Arms and four Nations shields have been created in wood, bronze and shown her in high bas-relief using fine white Italian marble powder, bonded together with resin set upon gilded mahogany ingots. These ‘gold’ bars and the shield of Scotland’s Arms bases were created from the remaining pieces of mahogany in 1984 Ian used in 1984 to build the galley to a Classic J Class yacht Velsheda.

Arms and Shields date back to medieval Britain, where Knights, chivalry. honour, feasting and jousting on horseback by the Nobility was commonplace throughout Europe. These medieval Knights would have shown here on the 20 inches high sculpture displaying the Knights unique Arms upon his shield and his Crest displayed upon the Knight helm.

The gilded Royal Arms 18 inches high – Cunard Crest 20 inches high

Ian’s high bas-relief carvings; The Royal Arms and Cunard Crest; two iconic British symbols recognised worldwide of British tradition and trade. The Cunard Crest logo is a smaller version using similar materials, Ian created when commissioned to create the large Crest and Logo for Cunard’s Queen Victoria’s Grand Lobby.

Cunard was founded: 180 years ago, as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company by Samuel Cunard was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract and in 1840, he along with the famous Scottish steamship engine designer and builder, Robert Napier, operated the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool–Halifax–Boston route.

Today Cunard is the operator of luxury Ships, Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth and it has long been synonymous with the quest for new discoveries since the company’s first paddle-wheel steamer, Britannia, crossed the Atlantic in 1840. Since 1992 and for the past three decades Ian has been invited to be a Speaker on over fifty voyages on five of the Cunard Ships from the QE2 to the QM2 to talk about his career as a professional sculptor.

Sculptor Ian G Brennan has always rather enjoyed the challenge of trying to create something from nothing as all the sculptures in the Spirit of Great Britain’ History in the Making collection have been created using a diverse array of old once discarded objects and materials that were actually there often right in the middle of it all when history was being made.

This unique collection have been created from original iconic and historic British objects and materials collected by Ian during the past three plus decades and somehow finding the time, he has spent many hours of each year working alongside his commissions when possible to create the ‘Spirit of Great Britain’s’ ‘Touch a piece of History’ collection which consists of over forty totally unique sculptures created using a wildly diverse collection of old, historic and iconic British objects and materials that have seen better days into sculpture form, all relative in one way or another and to its original source; often using materials rescued in one form or another often from one skip or another. As with all these various exhibits It is all about the material used to create them and their history which surrounds them and not about what they were to eventually become or the time taken to make it that way and what they once were and not so much what they were to become as Ian simply worked on the premise of less is more.

Although the vast majority of Ian’s work involves creating detailed bespoke 'one off ' sculptures in a variety of different subjects and materials and prefers to concentrate on creating original art work and tries not get to much involved with restoration projects, however now and again he rather enjoys working with organisations as the Royal Household, Private and Government organisations along with the Museum service and English Heritage to assist on a wide variety of historic restoration projects.

Such commissions have included replacing or restoring antique, wood carvings, ornate plaster mouldings and bronze sculptures for Government buildings, Museums, Churches, Southwick House, (where D Day was planned) The College of Arms in London, Windsor Castle. Also carving a replica of an 18th century ships lion figure-head for a museum, along with replacing all the rotten or worm damaged sections of the intricately carved starboard side entrance port on Admiral Nelson’s historic Flagship HMS Victory.

Victory’s replacement carved starboard side Entrance Port - The Victory Sculpture

The centre piece of the collection is the ‘Victory’s sculpture’ hull and the ‘sea’ it is sailing in was carved from within centuries old original oak beams removed from the very ship it replicates. The rest of the ship was carved effectively from pieces of two smaller such beams with the remainder basically carved from off cuts of all three. Due to time, Battles and constant restoration over the centuries, it is claimed that around 12% of HMS Victory currently to be found in Portsmouth dry dock is original from 1765.

Building HMS Victory at Chatham Dockyard in Kent began 1759 at the height of the seven years’ war and was launched on the 7th May 1765. The Victory was built by Men of Kent and two and a half decades later the 1:57 scale replica was built by another man of Kent which took twice as long to complete.

This 1/57 scale ‘Victory Sculpture’ has been carved entirely from original oak removed from the hull of the 18th century First Rate Warship, HMS Victory, hull by the skilled joiners and shipwrights working on the lower gun deck during the early 1900’s during the Victory’s restoration program. The Victory sculpture itself including all the carved guns, sails, anchors, tenders, pennants, and signal flags displaying Nelson’s famous signal flown at Trafalgar ‘England Expects every Man to do his Duty’ along with all the ropes and rigging has been carved entirely from within off-cuts of centuries old oak timbers removed from the very hull of Admiral Lord Nelson’s Flagship it replicates and nothing else, including the carved sails, ropes and rigging along with the pod of carved dolphins riding the bow wave.

The scale replica of Victory was carved from within these old historic ships beams often avoiding old iron, copper bolts, nails and various assorted pieces of metal often forced into the beam by the Brits in Chatham in 1765 and some by the French at Trafalgar in 1805 embedded within in these often rotten, worm damaged timbers, which were all deemed unrestorable and as such were kindly donated by staff at the dockyard and during an eighteen year period on and off were transformed into this replica which eventually took twice as long to complete by Ian a man of Kent, than it took hundreds of other men of Kent to build the somewhat larger version at Chatham Dockyard.

Chatham Dockyard -museum

When Ian was invited to display the Victory sculpture in the Museum at Chatham Historic Dockyard in 2015, it was less than a musket shot from where the Victory was built in 1765 and during the 250th anniversary celebrations of the launch of HMS Victory also on display it was claimed to be a collection of the finest exhibits in the World featuring Admiral Lord Nelson and HMS Victory. These historic exhibits were on loan from such establishments as the National Maritime Museum in London; which is the world's largest maritime museum, who had amongst other things provided for the exhibition, a stunning decorative sword along with original letters and plans of HMS Victory. The National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth the now home of Nelson’s Flagship provided HMS Victory’s figurehead and from the Royal Collection on loan by Her Majesty The Queen was the actual lead musket ball which dealt the fatal blow to Lord Nelson on October 21st 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar, mounted with some remnants of the gold lace from Admiral Nelson's uniform and when this ‘HMS Victory; the untold story’ totally unique exhibition along with the history behind it was over. All the exhibits were returned to their respective owners including the 1/ 57 scale oak ‘Victory Sculpture’.

Further information.

‘Inimitable Spirit’

The bronze ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ Rolls Royce bonnet ornament has been mounted upon a slice of polished olive wood from a centuries old tree that grew near Bethlehem. These sacred olive trees have flourished in the arid climate of the Holy Land for over two thousand years.

Inimitable Spirit’

A unique solid bronze casting of the iconic Rolls Royce ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’, aka the ‘Flying Lady’ bonnet ornament. This Inimitable Spirit, has been cast in solid bronze rather than the traditional highly polished stainless-steel casting which normally takes pride of place, resplendent upon the ‘Rolls Royce’ trademark grill. The unique combination of solid bronze ‘Spirit’ has then been mounted upon a slice of polished olive wood from a tree that grew near Bethlehem. These sacred olive trees have flourished in the arid climate of the Holy Land for over two thousand years and are set upon ‘bedrock’ from the British Isles naturally formed over the millennia into the heart shape.

'Over the Horizon'

‘Over the Horizon’ Victory oak and bronze – (30 inches high)

HMS Victory sculpture signed limited edition print.

Cutty Sark ‘Running before the Wind’ (to be completed)

Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Clyde, Glasgow in 1869. She was one of the last tea clippers to be built and the fastest of her time and the sole surviving tea clipper in the world.

to be finished - 17 & 18 inches high

‘Cutty Sark ‘Running before the Wind’ - A pair of bas-relief carvings currently being created from an original pine beam which was once part of the hull of the 19th century British clipper ship Cutty Sark.

Both relief carvings will be carved depicting the Cutty Sark in full sail and will eventually be finished in its natural colour with a clear wood sealant, along with retaining all the original thick paint on the back of the carving and the timber with a ‘wash’ of white spirit added prior to the actual carving itself being completed.

‘Kindred Spirit’ (19 inches high)

The first of the pair of ‘Kindred Spirits’ have been set upon a remaining piece of the original oak ‘Maquette’ Paschal Candlestick and the oak carved for St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle during the 1990’s. The first of this pair of candlesticks. The ‘candle’ has been carved from white marble/resin and then placed upon an old piece of original oak roof timber damaged during the fire at the Castle in 1992. This piece of oak has been carved ‘trickling’ down one half of the ‘pascal candle stick’ onto a small section of the original full size ‘Pascal candlestick' now found in St George’s Chapel Windsor. (to be completed)

Placed upon the second of the pair of candle sticks is an original Rolls Royce ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ bonnet ornament placed upon a piece of original pine timber once part of the hull of the 19th century ‘Cutty Sark. This piece of Scots pine has been carved ‘trickling’ down the other section of the ‘pascal candle stick’ maquette, down onto a small off cut of original oak from HMS Victory. The Rolls Royce and Cutty Sark, two iconic British symbols of business and trade across the centuries.

The ‘Pascal Candlestick’ in St Georges’s Chapel Windsor

The second Kindred Spirit was created using original pine from the Cutty Sark original hull timbers, this time carved Scots pine again ‘trickling’ down the section of the other half of the oak ‘candle stand’ onto the other half of Victory oak hull timber. (to be finished)

Further information:

‘The Longest Day’ (1944)

‘The Coronation Diamond’ -- (to be finished)

Especially as during this year I have also been commissioned to create the Crown for Queen Camila in time for both the Coronation and being placed on display in St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle in time for the Order of the Garter service held in June. Although commissions always take priority over working on this SGB Collection, Queen Camilla’s Crown and the Coronation Diamond was being created at the same time as the ‘Battling Temperature Revisited’.

From the Victory oak off cuts there is not an infinite number of smaller sculptures yet to be revealed hidden away from within the pile of long gone worm damaged, rotten odd shaped pieces of rock-hard centuries old oak beams and ship frames of the historic warship Victory that was once right at the centre of it all in 1805 during the Battle of Trafalgar. including a much smaller version of the ‘Trafalgar Monument’ possibly to be and of so many smaller things given the time and inclination to do so.

‘Coronation Diamond’ (to be finished)

From the many off cuts of centuries old oak removed from within the ship’s hull over the years a wide variety of different objects can always be created if the shape lends itself to the concept just with the sharp end of a chisel and a heavy mallet. Or even this 4-inch rough diamond shape of Victory oak and being 2023; Coronation year, the intention was to cut from within this off-cut of Victory oak that just happened to be a suitable shape for a ‘Coronation Diamond’ which was being worked on whilst watching the Coronation with Queen Camilla’s Crown just a few feet away on the table whilst the gilding dries. Earlier the Crown was being worked on alongside the Mute Swan Crest commissioned for Sir Tony Blair, whilst a Badger from the forest beyond wanders around the studio.

A similar idea for the carved ‘Jewel’ occurred in 2005 having been commissioned to create the Royal Crest and the traditionally carved wooden Garter Knight sword for Prince William; The Duke of Cambridge and in the hilt of Prince William’s sword I added a ‘Jewel’ also carved from Victory oak both of which are currently also on display in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 which was to change the world and was one of the greatest sea battles in British Naval history and gave birth to a legend took place off the coast of Spain's Cape Trafalgar, when the British Fleet, led by Lord Horatio Nelson who along with his multinational crew took on a larger combined French and Spanish force to determine who would be the master of the waves. France's Napoleon Bonaparte was poised to send his powerful army across the English Channel to conquer the island and the only obstacle standing in his way was the British fleet……...

The carved Starboard side Entrance Port

The Battle lasted all day when at 6.00 am the the two fleets sighted each other off Cape Trafalgar. The British Fleet consisted of 27 ships which stretched out five miles wide over the horizon and the combined French and Spanish Fleets consisted of 33 ships. Also shown to the left in the carved battle scene is the Royal Sovereign. The first ship of the British fleet in action at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The Battle developed into a ferocious pounding match but the British had the advantage of Admiral Nelson’s strategic planning and the better trained crews. Firing finally ceased at 5.30 pm and 17 enemy ships and crew had been captured, one was a blazing wreck and four managed to escape but were then captured a few weeks later and 11 French and Spanish ships managed to struggle back to Cadiz.

HMS Victory on Trafalgar Day 21st October, 250 years later.

There were 22 different nationalities from different Continents all fighting on board HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar and on the list of 820 crew members each man was awarded prize money for the enemy ships destroyed or captures during the battle. This list includes men who were killed during battle and the prize money would have been paid to their families. Records show that 57 men were killed on the Victory which was the greatest number of fatalities on any of the ships of the British fleet which including Admiral Nelson and it is said to be one of my distant Irish ancestors, Marine John Brennan as shown on the HMS Victory Roll of Honour monument once placed on the ships Orlop Deck.

One of the beams given to at the time for the latest Dockyard project again as they all were deemed unrestorable, was an almost two feet long Rhombus’ shaped red and black oak beam which was partially rotten and worm damaged on one end which was quickly cut away. One side on the small remaining oak beam had a split running right across the middle and two further splits down either edge, but apart from that it looked in good condition carving wise. I was told this small beam was the end of a much larger oak beam and had been removed from the orlop deck where Admiral Nelson was taken after being mortally wounded.

One side of the beam was painted red and the other side was painted black and one side had split down its entire length which fortunately only went around two inches deep into the oak it was found after it was split down the middle to be sound enough to carve and the various dockyard projects with the 2/3rds of the oak beam that remained intact I was still able to create ‘Nelson’s Pillow.’ The ‘Temeraire revisited’ and with yet another offcut there was still enough oak left to carve an ‘Open Book’ and possibly a few others smaller carvings.

However, as there is an ever-diminishing supply of original Victory oak available, there just might be another relief carving possibly two of some sorts, still hidden away at the back of ‘Nelson’s Pillow’ and ‘Temeraire Revisited’ if they were to be sliced in half into two, three-inch-thick slabs, so in effect from this one piece of discarded oak that was partially rotten, worm damaged and had one split down the entire length and two splits at each end. Five totally different carvings along with a pair of small 32 pounder guns not could be created from one relatively small hundreds of years old oak beam.

‘Two Sides of the same Beam’

‘The Temeraire Revisited’ - ‘A close-Run thing’ (both to be finished)

‘Two sides of the same Battle’, one side of the oak beam is being carved the ‘Temeraire Revisited’ and on the others is currently being carved ‘A Tale of two Battles.’ Depicting HMS Victory after the battle of Trafalgar left almost a floating wreaks before being taken undertow to Gibraltar for emergency repairs, before eventually being towed back to Chatham for a full refit and the Victory can be found today in Portsmouth Dockyard.

Alas the Temeraire who without her timely and decisive intervention coming to the aid of Victory and her crew who were overwhelmed by the crew of the Redoubtable at Trafalgar who were about to board the Victory, the outcome of the battle may well have been very so very different. Although the Victory survived the battle and the 250 plus years that followed, alas the Temeraire didn’t as two more decades later before being towed to Rotherhithe alas to be broken up, but not forgotten…….

www.spiritofbritons.uk - suzanne@spiritofbritons.uk

Ian G Brennan - www.iangb.com - - ian@iangb.com

www.spiritofbritons.uk -

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