Blast from the past
It has been dubbed Britain’s ayeux Tapestry – an epic story conflict and loss painted ross a 70ft canvas.
But this incredible work was actually created by servicemen from World War One to honour their fallen comrades. And look closely to see the story of war – enemy and Allied planes in the sky, a battled-field and soldiers smoking and reading letters in rat-infested trenches. The canvas also poignantly lists the names of more than 960 men who lost their lives. tells the story of one regiment’s bravery d sacrifice through World War One – a bute to the fallen by those who were lucky ough to make it home. was painted on canvas by the North ffordshire 5th Battalion, a panorama of battlefields on which soldiers from the iment fought between 1914-1918.
Survivors
This unit suffered almost double the average casualty rate on the Western Front. opens in Flanders in 1915, where the North Staffs saw their first action at Hill 60 in the Western Front’s trench network. n the same year, they suffered their worst loses at the Battle of Loos, when 800 men went over the top and 500 were lost in half an ur. That is depicted in the painting, with the ecked city in northern France named. y the start of 1918 the battalion had sufed so many fatalities it was disbanded and survivors transferred to other units. The survivors painted it in 1921 when, indur a reunion, one suggested they painted a roll of honour on to an industrial canvas. But the piece was lost for more than 30 years until it was discovered in vaults at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke.
It had been dumped in the back of a storeroom, wrapped in a sheet with a label attached to it reading “Tram Map of Stoke-on-Trent”.
Staff were shocked when they unrolled it and found this artwork inside.
Luckily, the colours have not faded because it has never been exposed to sunlight.
But it still needs conservation work, so only a section is on show currently as part of the museum’s For The Fallen exhibition, which runs until November 18.
The display is helping to raise money for restoration of the artwork and a full display in 2021 to mark the centenary of the Royal British Legion.
Local historian Levison Wood, the father of TV explorer Levison Wood Jr, has spent four years recording every fallen member of the battalion. He says: “These are the teardrops of a lost generation.”
Cllr Abi Brown, deputy leader of Stoke-onTrent City Council, adds: “We’ve been able to reveal, for the first time in decades, this absolutely amazing artwork which was created by World War One servicemen.
“It’s a hand-painted interpretation of the huge losses suffered by the 5th Battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment during the First World War.
“This discovery is particularly poignant as we approach the 100 years commemoration of the end of World War One.”