A statue created by the team at Studio West Bronze Foundry and Art Gallery will be part of a memorial monument at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Man.
According to the museum website, the memorial is called ‘They Grew Not Old’, will feature a black granite wall around 300 feet in length containing the names of almost 19,000 fatalities and will have a larger-than-life bronze statue representing the fallen made by Cochrane’s Studio West.
It is supposed to serve as a lasting recognition of the ultimate sacrifice for the war effort and was officially unveiled Sept. 10.
Shirley Begg of Studio West (owned by Shirley and Don Begg) said the studio was honoured to be invited to enter the competition in 2012 and to have their statue as part of the memorial.
In the end, their statue was chosen to represent those airmen who have sacrificed their lives.
“The statue is a young man and he is striding forward as if to begin a mission,” explained Begg. “They said that what was really important to them was his expression. They wanted an expression of determination and they are very pleased that we have captured this young man looking very determined.”
Begg said that there was a man on the memorial committee at the museum who had actually been an instructor at the facility and had said that he would like to see the statue as he saw his students – determined to graduate and not wanting to fail.
“When he saw the statue he said, ‘You got it. He doesn’t want to fail. He wants to graduate and do his service.’ So the expression was very important,” Begg said, adding that they didn’t add a rank to his uniform for this reason. “It is not a portrait of any individual, because it is to represent all 19,000.”
Studio West is known for the historical accuracy of their statues, and as Begg explained, this statue was no different in terms of the research that went into it.
She said they needed to know all kinds of specifics, from what kind of boots he would wear to the accuracy of what his parachute would look like.
Begg said they went to the museum in Brandon and they provided them with materials to look at.
This statue was particularly special for Begg, whose father went through the Commonwealth Air Training Plan and was a pilot. She also mentioned a lot of her mother’s side of the family were pilots as well.
“We were so honoured to be the sculptors that were chosen to do it,” said Begg. “We knew it was going to be very special.”
For more information on the memorial visit airmuseum.ca.
