“It’s like The Somme”

I’ve been commissioned to make some work for a group exhibition to be shown at POD gallery, Bishop Auckland during FebFest, an annual arts festival curated by Jane Crawford of Daisy Arts.

The theme of the exhibition is ‘The Somme:Remembrance & Expression’. My immediate thoughts were to do something inspired by the horses that served during the war, and the well documented horrendous conditions they worked in. Indeed, in equestrian/farming circles it is common for bottomless, muddy, boggy conditions to be described as; ‘It’s like The Somme’

It wasn’t long before I found some fantastic material via the Durham at War website by Sergeant George Thompson, who served with the 7th Battalion Durham Light Infantry as a transport driver.

Opening pages of George Thompson’s memoir DCRO: D/DLI 7/700/11