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Alfred Henry Forster, Lieutenant Royal Scots Greys (d. 1918)
Thomas, Cecil, born 1885 - died 1976 - Enlarge image
Alfred Henry Forster, Lieutenant Royal Scots Greys (d. 1918)
- Object:
Model
- Place of origin:
England, Great Britain (made)
- Date:
ca. 1924 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Thomas, Cecil, born 1885 - died 1976 (sculptor)
- Materials and Techniques:
Wood, hardened plasticine and card
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by the artist
- Museum number:
A.50-1978
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This is the working model for Cecil Thomas's tomb of Alfred Henry Forster, killed in action during the First World War. Thomas was commissioned by the parents of the deceased, Lord and Lady Forster (Lord Forster was Governor-General of Australia), to complete this memorial. The effigy in plasticine shows the young man lying with his right hand over his chest, his left arm by his side. An eagle rests at his feet and a laurel wreath by his head. Apparently, four versions of this tomb were cast in bronze. There is one each in Exbury in the New Forest; the Chapel of the Lamp, All Hallows Church, Barking; St John's Church, Southend, Kent; and Newcastle Cathedral, Australia. The tomb in All Hallows, Barking, was unveiled by Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1925. The inscriptions were apparently adapted for each version. The inscription on the Exbury Monument records that the monument was erected in memory of Lord and Lady Forster's two sons, John and Alfred, both killed in the First World War.
Thomas (1885-1976) was an English sculptor and medallist. He trained under his father’s gem engraving business in London and at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, London, where he also specialized in gem engraving. After 1918, when he exhibited sculpture at the Royal Academy for the first time, he became active in that field.
