24 Apr Remembering the battle of Le Quesnoy
As we prepare to commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1 on Armistice Day, 11 November 2018, Stewart & Cavalier has been asked to create a striking stainless steel memorial to 43 men from Cambridge who fell at The Battle of Le Quesnoy.
More than 12,000 New Zealanders died on the Western Front in two and a half years fighting in the First World War.
NZ soldiers at the front near Le Quesnoy. Photo/Alexander Turnbull Library
The battle of Le Quesnoy took place a week before the war ended. The strategically placed town in north western France, had been under German occupation throughout the war until it was liberated by the New Zealand Division on 4 November 1918. Ninety of our men lost their lives, capturing 2,000 Germans and 60 field guns – a spectacular attack still gratefully remembered by the locals to this day.
Designed by Fred Graham, influential New Zealand artist, the memorial will be a 5.5m high sculpture. The hollow shard will have a matt finish to offset polished raised fern fronds. In total 43 fronds; one for each fallen soldier. Each frond will be secured to a tapered stem, bolted from the inside.
This is an exciting project but we expect it to present some challenges. The tapering of the ‘stem’ will require very narrow pipe on which to secure the final few fronds. To start, we will construct a 1m high model to ensure the proposed technique will work.
By installing a camera in the workshop, we hope to produce a time-lapse video documenting the construction of this unique and important work. We look forward to sharing our progress as the final piece emerges.
If you would like to know more about our sculpture projects visit our website or call me on
027 493 9655.
