SMILE BOYS, THAT'S THE STYLE (The Accrington Pals) 2001   ACRYLIC 30" x 24" 76cms x 60cms 7950

Painted as a tribute to those hundreds of men from my home town who were killed or wounded on the first day of the battle of the Somme in July 1916. As it was nearing completion came the attrocities of 9/11. For a while it seemed like the world might once again descend into an era of mass warfare and the painting began to seem like an omen.

The composition is based on a large 'S' from the Pals being waved off for their military training by flag-waving school children; through trains to the front; going 'over the top'; the wounded; the trenches and finally a symbolic war memorial. The main scene features an imagined departure from Accrington station.