David Lester
shares the story
behind what
first sparked
his interest in
collecting WORLD
WAR I SHELLS.
'Crops now
thrive in the
pastoral
landscape of the
Flemish town of
Ieper, called
Ypres by the
French and
Wipers by the
British, but the
peacefulness has
a barbed edge,
broken by
seemingly
endless rows of
mute graves in
the many
cemeteries
telling a
pathetic
testimony of
millions of
lives lost
during ‘the War
to end all Wars’
of 1914-18. As
David Lester
toured
significant
World War I
battlefields,
vivid filmic
images played
across his mind
as he imagined
what it must
have been like
to be a soldier
in the trenches
during the Great
War...'
The ARTS & CRAFTS of Napoleonic and American
Prisoners of War 1756 -1816.
'Feathered and
furred, web-toed
and hoofed, long
tailed and snub
muzzled, the
multitude of
animal figures
that poured out
in an exuberance
of creativity
from the
Austrian bronze
workshops from
the 1850s
onwards would
have had Noah
scratching his
head as he
puzzled how to
fit them all
into his ark...'
WAR MEMORIALS:
Dick Henrywood reflects on the monuments erected
throughout Britain ‘lest we forget’ the
sacrifices made on our behalf .
'report that
English Heritage
has set up a
fund to help
repair war
memorials
reminded me that
these structures
have featured
quite regularly
in newspapers or
on television
recently. There
seems to be
increasing
interest in this
aspect of our
military and
social history
and although the
English Heritage
initiative made
the headlines,
an organisation
called the War
Memorials Trust
has been active
in encouraging
preservation for
several years
now. ...'
Cartoon characters Pip, Squeak
and Wilfred had a cult following between the
wars and even lent their names to a TRICKSY TRIO
of medals that are very collectable today.
Christopher Proudlove explains.
'It wasn’t much
to look at, but
the little round
lapel badge we
found lying in
the bottom of a
box of
knick-knacks at
our local
collectors fair
had a
fascinating
background.
About the size
of an old
sixpence, the
badge was
decorated with
blue enamel,
picked out of
which were the
initials
W.L.O.G. The
only other
decoration (we
learned later)
was a pair of
oversized ears –
an image that
was once the
trademark of a
cartoon rabbit,
and no, I don’t
mean Bugs Bunny.
The rabbit’s
name was
Wilfred, his
co-conspirators
were Pip and
Squeak, and W.
L. O. G. stands
for the
Wilfredian
League of
Gugnuncs. ...'
CONSERVATION & RESTORATION.
'All man-made
objects
deteriorate with
the passage of
time. As we all
know, sometimes
this
deterioration
enhances the
appeal of the
object,
particularly in
the case of
patina, although
more often, this
deterioration is
viewed as a
threat to the
object’s
survival. In
such cases the
natural remedy
is to look
towards
conservation or
sympathetic
restoration.
Conservators and
restorers
usually go
through a period
of at least
three years
training, often
devoted to a
single category
or material, and
even then they
require further
working
experience
before they can
be considered
qualified to
practice without
guidance...'
