Sledmere House exhibition to celebrate work of talented wildlife photographer, 17, killed in M1 collision

Elise had been much more than a highly promising photographer, as Nick and Jo found out following her passing, with so much more coming to the surface about their daughter’s fast-developing career, that they now refer to what they found later, affectionately as ‘The Secret World of Elise’.

Next month there will be an exhibition of 50 wildlife, farm animal and Wolds Rally photographs from Elise’s collection, all framed and hung in the Courtyard Room in the grounds of Sledmere House which has been spearheaded by fellow photographer and the estate’s family’s Christopher Sykes.

“Elise was 15 when she took a photograph of a deer that had this golden glow and sent it off to enter an RSPCA competition and won it beating 6000 others,” says Nick. “Chris Packham interviewed Elise and he asked what was wrong with the picture, and then said there was absolutely nothing wrong, it’s absolutely superb.

“Lockdown gave Elise focus. We are quite lucky living and working on a farm. Elise would just pick up her camera, don her jacket and coat and off she’d go. We wouldn’t see her for hours. That’s where her passion obviously took off and she got right into wildlife photography capturing shots of foxes, badgers, birds, buzzards, red kites, deer. There was so much around here for her to work with.

While Nick and Jo were aware of Elise taking photographs of wildlife, farm animals, the Yorkshire Wolds Motor Club Rally and rock groups, that she had also branched into, they weren’t aware of quite the high regard with which their daughter was held with several names in the art world and that her career as a photographer was already shaping nicely.

“Unbeknown to us there was this Secret World of Elise,” says Nick. “This has come out through the pictures she took and who she had contacted.

“Eleanor Tomlinson, the artist who did the picture of the Queen with her corgis and Paddington Bear walking away, that was used when the Queen passed away had been in contact with Elise. Eleanor had wanted some pictures of wildlife and Elise had sent her one and they were going to collaborate. Eleanor turned up at Elise’s funeral and the wake and explained everything.

“Su Melville, an award-winning and highly respected artist had asked Elise if she could use one of her pictures and had paid Elise a commission on what she had supplied. We knew nothing of either of these.

“Elise was always a bright girl. Jo would sometimes say, like mums do, that she was always in her bedroom, but she was doing all this wonderful photography and she had fallen in love with animals. She enjoyed lambing on the estate’s farm and had lambed her own small flock of Herdwick sheep that she enjoyed and she was really keen. She also had her sheepdog Pip who she adored.

Nick says that the getting together of Elise’s works for the exhibition is something that is giving him and Jo their own focus right now at a time when everything is still so acute.

“You can’t begin to imagine how it affects you. It tips your life upside down. We’re only six months on and still taking each day as it comes. You think about things and try to work rationally but you can’t.

“Elise wasn’t my daughter by birth, but she was in every other way. That was the relationship we had. Her brother Luke is finding it difficult losing his sister and has his moments like Jo and I. My lads from my first marriage too, Ben and Simon. Simon was really close to Elise.

“What doesn’t help is the police investigation still going on, so we don’t really know what happened apart from what the other two girls in the car can recall, that the car suffered a blow-out on the M1, her friend driving got over into the inside lane as it was a smart motorway at that part with no hard shoulder, and next it was bang!

“But for us to get this exhibition together having seen these amazing things Elise had done, we thought why shouldn’t everybody know? In time maybe she would have done this herself. We are now determined to make it a success and also help others, because that’s the way she was. Elise would help anyone.

Nick says the whole community has been rocked by Elise’s tragic death, but that everyone has rallied around and no more so than the Sykes family themselves, particularly Christopher who has curated the exhibition.

“It has hit Sledmere hard. Everybody has come round, lifted us up.

“The Sykes family (of Sledmere House & Estate) all came to the funeral and Henrietta invited us to hold the wake at Sledmere House. My mother is really good friends with all the Sykes family. We had some of Elise’s photographs on the screen at the funeral and Christopher had said ‘My, what fantastic photos’. He took it upon himself saying, ‘We need to do an exhibition’ and we’ve worked at it together.

“Everything we raise through sales of Elise’s photographs of all sizes will all go into the Elise Thomas Memorial Fund that we have set up that will help in arts and media, providing funds for those who need equipment or education in the form of bursaries. Elise was studying arts and media at East Riding College in Beverley and her tutor John Guy has set up a photographic competition for students in Elise’s name.

“Once the Sledmere exhibition has finished we will be turning our attention to another exhibition at the back end of the year at East Riding College. It will be an exhibition of photographs that we will choose, which may well include the rock music photographs of bands like the Kaiser Chiefs and The Vamps, who she loved and was en-route to see at Yorkshire Wildlife Park that day last year.

Tuesday March 26 will be the opening evening for friends, family, sponsors at The Courtyard at Sledmere Estate; VIP night is the following evening; and the Elise Thomas Exhibition will then run for three weeks and will be open to the public.