Churchill tribute down to the wire
Larger-than-life statue of British wartime leader recreated in unusual medium outside steel city factory
A WIRE mill close to the Steel City now has a larger than lifesized sculpture of a true man of mettle ... Sir Winston Churchill.
The artwork featuring the former Prime Minister, cigar in his mouth and raising his hat in welcome, is the work of Pocklington sculptor Mark Irwin, who was commissioned by Peter and Matt Robinson, the owners of DR Baling Wire at Oxspring, which supplies the artist’s wire.
Lately a subject of controversy – Churchill’s statue was defaced during London’s Black Lives
Matter protests – Mr Irwin, who served 36 years in the Royal Navy, said it was not a political move.
He added: “I’m not a political person. But he saw us through the war – what other person would have been able to do that? Like him or not, many of his speeches are as inspirational today as they were then.”
Peter Robinson said he is a “great admirer” of Churchill’s fighting spirit and that his firm, which makes baling wire , is now one of the last in the country.
He added: “Most of the English wire industry has collapsed through cheap imports. I feel we are connected in a way – he was fighting a European invasion and we’re fighting hugely subsidised imports out of Europe. We are trying to adopt Churchill’s principles of never giving up.”
Mr Irwin’s second career as a sculptor began after he left the Royal Navy. He tried his hand at a one-day course making an owl out of chicken wire and knew instantly it was for him.
Using his background in engineering and metal working, he quickly made progress, switching to steel and stainless steel wire and taking on more complex projects.
Fortune smiled when his first customer at the RHS Harlow Carr show in 2019 was Alan Titchmarsh, who bought a work of a peacock standing on a gate.
Since then, he has been doing commissions, mainly of animal and birds. The sculpture of
Churchill has been his most challenging yet – unlike most of his subjects which fit in the back of the car, Mr Irwin had to bring in a removal firm to move him around. Churchill stood about 5ft 6ins, but Mr Irwin used his own slimmer 6ft 3ins frame for reference and spent about 300 hours on the piece mainly using 2mm mild steel wire from the Robinsons’ mill.
The work’s head and hands are made from stainless steel wire from Wint Wire, in the same valley.
Mr Irwin’s work means he spends hours on his own, going “from initial enthusiasm through frustration and onward to elation and relief ” when the client is happy with the work.
He said: “I get totally engrossed in work, once you are in the groove time just evaporates. Work is relaxing and tiring all in one.”
Once it was finished, the sculpture of Churchill was carefully lowered into a bath of molten zinc at Humber Galvanising in Hull. Danny Egan of DSE Paint Works performed the paint finish.
Many of his speeches are as inspirational today as they were then. Pocklington sculptor Mark Irwin, who was commissioned to produce the sculpture.