One of the first tank commanders.
I came across some papers and a photo relating to this guy and found him to be interesting.
From being an infant he was raised in the George Muller orphanage in Bristol, along with his slightly older brother, Fred. At the age of 18 and 19 respectively they joined the army, both serving in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Both brothers fought at the Battle of the Somme during which Fred was badly injured. When it was discovered that he was missing Cornelius asked for permission to go and look for him and found him and bringing him so he could receive medical attention. Fred took one year to recover from his wounds. 15 months after the Somme their regiment was deployed at the Battle of Paschendaelle. Fred was killed and his death was followed two weeks later by that of Cornelius. I discovered a note from Cornelius’ officer saying that he was shot by a sniper in an exposed position while attending to a wounded man. He struck me as the sort of guy who often put others first which moved me to reproduce his image from a photograph.
Reluctant model who had difficultly disguising the fact that she was cold and bored.
Izzi Clark. Oil on canvas.
Untitled. Oil on canvas. Framed. 22″x29″.