Ashley George Old
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Ashley George Old (born 1913, d. 2001) was an artist best known for documenting the lives of prisoners of war forced to construct the
Thailand-Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...
. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
he was stationed in Singapore, and when it fell to the Japanese in February 1942, he was taken prisoner and sent to work on the aforementioned
Death Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...
.


Training and early career

Old trained at Northampton College of Art, where he was taught anatomy by Lewis Duckett MC, a World War I ambulanceman. Subsequently he worked for the famous commercial art firm Carlton Artists. He later took further training at the
Camberwell School of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgrad ...
.


World War II drawings and paintings

The brutal POW camp conditions and medical treatments in River Valley Road Camp,
Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. History First prison Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside ...
and Tamuan were extensively documented by Old in a series of drawings and paintings.


Major Arthur Moon Collection

Many of Old's works were buried in the ground and retrieved after the war. They eventually found their way to the State Library of Victoria in Australia where they form part of the Major
Arthur Moon Major Arthur Moon (17 May 1902 – 28 October 1973) was an Australian army doctor who saved the lives of dozens of Far East prisoners of war as the Thailand-Burma Railway was being constructed during World War II. Early life Moon was born on ...
collection and can be viewed using the link below. Often the works are of horrific subject material but contain a haunting beauty. The Major Arthur Moon collection catalogue cover shows a painting of a beckoning hand titled 'Bomb wound (air attack)' and is compared in the narrative to Picasso's Guernica as a truly extraordinary image of war, although Old's realistic images versus Picasso's more abstract modern image are of very different types. Some paintings, such as the
birthday card A birthday card is a greeting card given or sent to a person to celebrate their birthday. Similar to a birthday cake, birthday card traditions vary by culture but the origin of birthday cards is unclear. The advent of computing and introduction of ...
for Major Moon (also showing
Edward Dunlop Colonel Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop, (12 July 1907 – 2 July 1993) was an Australian surgeon who was renowned for his leadership while being held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II. Early life and family Dunlop was born in Wa ...
), even manage to find humour in adversity.


Burma Railway Medicine Book

This publication is the result of the long post-war collaboration between the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and British ex-Far East POWs. It features several examples of Old's work.


Wartime portraits

A painting by Old of Stanley Gimson, later to become Sheriff Principal of Grampian Highland and Islands, is held at the Imperial War Museum. Gimson's diary, also held by the museum, records the details of the sitting. The entry, while admiring, betrays the class attitudes of the time: ''Had my portrait painted again, this time by a Northampton man named Old. He is a great hulking, fair-headed yokel with a face like a harvest moon – faintly reminiscent of Holbein’s Henry VIII. As he works he keeps up a continuous monologue – “That’s excellent – interesting position that – now will get the eyes”. His work is splendid though doesn’t seem to be in keeping with his character. The watercolour he did today is a fine piece of work, but is too much glamorised. I wish I could send it home – it would dispense of all fear.'' The extraordinary speed with which Old could work, even under the most difficult conditions, is clearly shown by the portrait of "Dusty" Rhodes, which Old records as having been done in three minutes. The portrait of Ernest Warwick is another example of the 1000 or so portraits Old is reported to have painted, although only 18 are known to have survived. Portrait of "Dusty" Rhodes by Ashley George Old.jpg, Portrait of POW "Dusty" Rhodes. A three-minute sketch by Old painted in Thailand in 1944 Ernest_Warwick_painting_by_Ashley_George_Old.png, Portrait of Ernest Warwick by Ashley George Old


Contemporaries

Old was a contemporary of fellow
FEPOW Far East prisoners of war is a term used in the United Kingdom to describe former British and Commonwealth prisoners of war held in the Far East during the Second World War. The term is also used as the initialism FEPOW, or as the abbreviation F ...
artists
Jack Bridger Chalker Jack Bridger Chalker (10 October 1918 – 15 November 2014), was a British artist and teacher best known for his work recording the lives of the prisoners of war building the Burma Railway during World War II. Biography Chalker was born in Lo ...
,
Philip Meninsky Philip Meninsky (born 1919 in Fulham, England, died in 2007) was the son of Bernard Meninsky. Despite an early passion for art, at his father's wish, he initially trained as an accountant, before being called up for National Service. After a firs ...
and
Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's S ...
, all of whom risked their lives on a daily basis to make these historic records. Old and Meninsky were reunited in 1995 after 50 years as guests of the Imperial War Museum for an exhibition ''Victory in the Far East'' – held 15 August to 15 December 1995.''Legion – The Journal of the British Legion'' Vol. 16 No.4


Later works

Until his death in 2001 the artist remained both deeply traumatised and enchanted by his experiences in the jungle while a POW. These conflicting emotions are evident in many of his later works; both horror and beauty are shown in the woodlands scenes below. These were painted at Cupid's Green, near Hemel Hempstead, in 1959. The artist spent many months there observing and recording the area's change from an old market town to one of the post-war 'New Towns'. Image:Cupid's Green2.jpg, A dark view of the woods at Cupid's Green Image:Cupid's Green1.jpg, The woods at Cupid's Green transformed into a jungle


References


External links


Works of Ashley George Old held at State Library of Victoria

Work of Ashley George Old held at Imperial War Museum, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old, Ashley George British war artists World War II prisoners of war held by Japan 2001 deaths 1913 births World War II artists Burma Railway prisoners