"Poignant war tribute Tommy statues set to be auctioned for charity"

Interview with Duncan Pittock, the mastermind behind the STROOD SOLDIERS.

* How did the Strood Soldiers project originate?
The project came about due to my general interest in WW1 and to me owning and rebuilding a rare WW1 lorry that had been unearthed in Peldon. I then became involved in some centenary events both in England and Belgium, and during 2014, saw a popular WW1 photo that triggered a thought (photo below). I was aware at that stage that very little was happening on a 'visual' level here on Mersea, and that our salt marshes were the perfect back drop for something similar. (The photo resembles very much how the East Mersea soldiers are currently positioned.) I then requested permission from three separate landowners for their consent to use the marshland for the duration of the year, along with the requisite permission needed from Colchester Borough Planning and The Highways Agency.

Each solder then had to be meticulously created on Design software as each profile is specific to the detail of every individual soldier; Faith Pittock, my daughter, spent hours on this process but it really adds to the whole feeling of the soldiers.

In order to make sure the positioning was right - a critical part of the installation - I used local volunteers to help position marker pegs in the marsh in advance; it was absolutely crucial to me to optimise the visual impact the soldiers would have.

Both the Colchester-side and East Mersea Soldiers were relatively straight forwards to position as there were less of them, but the West Mersea soldiers were more problematic due to their numbers. You were unable to stand back to see them all in one go, so their positioning had to be thought out rather more specifically, but hopefully we got it right.

It was really important to me to bring each individual soldiers names to life and that we were remembering actual local people, so the address board was always a major part of the installation; people can see where the soldiers lived on the island and this was made possible by Roger Bullen's Book and Tony Millatt's research.

* How were funds raised?
I approached various funds and charities initially, some of whom could see my vision straight away, others whom needed a bit more persuasion and there were obviously those who declined to be involved. With a small amount of money from various council bodies affiliated to WW1 events and some good local private donations, I was able to start the project without having to fully fund it myself. We then secured funding from 5 or 6 local Mersea Charities, and it was decided at this point that it would only be right to divide any money raised from the sale the following year 'proportionally' to their original investment.

* Was it always planned as a 1year installation/memorial?

Yes, very much so. This was what was agreed with the land owners, Highways and Planning and hence the figures were made robust enough to stand up to the harsh environment and to develop the amazing patina they have taken on.

* Why can't the soldiers stay where they are?
They simply wouldn't survive. If they are removed in the coming months and cleaned down, they will be able to be sold and still retain their unique provenance, giving years of additional pleasure to private owners. The idea was to provoke us into 'Remembering' the sheer numbers who were lost from this Island and how many didn't come back. I think we have achieved this and hopefully we will still get to see glimpses of the some of the soldiers around the Island in years to come.

* What is the plan for them post-11th November 2019 and which Charities are being supported?
We have a Charity Dinner & Auction at Mersea Outdoors on 29th November where the first 26 soldiers will be auctioned off; 10 soldiers will be Auctioned through Reeman Dansie in a sale on the ¾th December, there are raffle tickets available to purchase for 5 soldiers, and the final 10 are available by sealed bids. All this information will be appearing in various publications in the coming weeks and on the Facebook page 'Strood Soldiers.

The main charities are The Royal British Legion, Mersea Island Tales Educational Trust, which funds education, environment and arts projects on the Island, Mersea Island Rotary Club, Mersea Lions Club, The Strood Charity and the Dabchicks Sailing Club.

* How long will they last for once removed from the mud?
It is hoped that if sited in a sheltered position, they should last many years. If you wanted to increase their life and save the patina, the steel could be dried by storing indoors for as long as possible as it will sweat out over a couple of months and they could then be sealed with a high quality varnish e.g. Craftmaster Varnish.

* Is there a plan for a longer lasting memorial?
Not by me currently, but that is not to say somebody else can't do something. However, our thoughts will now be turning to the approaching 75th Anniversary of VE Day and the price our (my) grand-parents generation paid for a Free Europe. However, if people want to donate to a future, longer-term memorial, there will no doubt be a Facebook page happy to organise this.

* What if I want to bid for a specific soldier and cannot attend the auction?
All the soldiers are numbered 1 - 51 and will be catalogued before the auction events take place, so it would be best to get in contact with the Facebook page to ask for more information.

From Facebook Strood Soldiers pages, but the photograph is a Colchester Gazette photograph.
Facebook page is www.facebook.com/Strood-Soldiers-109766420438651

For the list of names see DIS2020_SOL_009 and PH01_233
Date: October 2019