Tommy..

As he is affectionately known, sits on the green above the sea in Seaham! By a sculptor, Ray Lonsdale he is attracting lots of attention.
It's very hard to get anywhere near the statue itself with the visitors taking loads of snaps, I have put my own twist on this and removed all the people, cars, fences and buildings, purely to make 'Tommy' stand out..

This imposing metal sculpture, entitled 1101, owing to the fact the armistice went into effect at 11am on November 11, 1918, stands 9ft 5ins tall and weighs 1.2 tonnes.

Built out of special corteen steel, it has been installed on Seaham seafront in Country Durham to mark the centenary of the start of the Great War and will remain in place for three months.

The sculpture is also intended to represent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which many of the returning soldiers endured. Mr Lonsdale got his idea for the piece after hearing a story about a soldier from nearby Murton who won a war medal.

The poem on the back reads;

NOW ADRIFT IN THE WAKE OF THIS GLORIOUS SLAUGHTER,
HE' SEEN MANY A SOUL CLEANSED IN FILTHY WATER,

SEEN GODLESS MEN REACH OUT FOR THE BIBLE,
AS LEAD TORE THE FLESH FROM FRIEND AND RIVAL,

SOON HOME TO THE JOY AND CELEBRATION WITH KIN,
DRUNKEN SLAPS ON THE BACK AT A FAVOURITE INN,

BUT HEAVY IN HIS POCKET WEIGHS A SMALL PIECE OF CARD,
AND THE NOTE WRITTEN ON IT WILL BREAK A MOTHERS HEART.

ELEVEN 'O 'ONE

Poem by artist and sculptor Ray Lonsdale.