Art work remembers Great War veteran

The multi-media work features a painting of Mr Patch overlaid with original recordings of his memoirs and the haunting musical score of Radiohead’s track Harry Patch (in memory of).

During the 3.41-minute clip, a portrait of Mr Patch, who was the longest surviving British veteran of the conflict, is painted on a grey background in 2,671 individual brush strokes.

Mr Patch, who died in Wells, Somerset, aged 111 in July 2009, can be heard recalling the moment he was hit by a shell and lost three close friends.

The artwork, Harry Patch, was commissioned by the Not Forgotten Association (NFA) to mark 100 years since the beginning of World War One, in which more than 700,000 UK service personnel lost their lives.

London-based artist and Channel 4 documentary film-maker David Tucker produced the piece, which has the blessing of Mr Patch’s family and the support of Radiohead. It was inspired by a photograph taken by international award-winning photographer and former Royal Marine Giles Price, once an NFA beneficiary.

Mr Price, who served with 40 Commando based in Taunton, Somerset, said: “Collaborating on this project for the Not Forgotten Association has been of huge importance to me.

“After I was injured in Iraq in 1991, they were a vital lifeline to me and my family. For the last 10 years I have been supporting them and working with them to try and help other former servicemen and women who find themselves in times of need.”

Mr Price was injured in 1991 while serving in Iraq and was supported by the NFA following his medical discharge. After his recovery, Mr Price retrained as a photographer and documented the last remaining soldiers of both world wars in his 2005 series The Old Guard, which included Mr Patch and was displayed in the National Portrait Gallery.

He is one of this year’s finalists for the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, announced on November 12.