Joseph Alphonse Marie English (

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

, 5 August 1882 – Vinkem, 31 August 1918) was a Flemish draughtsman and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Life and work

His father was an

Irishman The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been continually inhab ...

, Henry English, who married a Flemish woman, Marie Dinnewet.
Belgian War Dead Register, accessed 19 February 2022. Later on, Joe was naturalised as a Belgian subject, did initial military service with the Belgian Land Component, Belgian Army in 1902, and collaborated closely with the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

artist Juliaan Devriendt.

was at that time the centre of the

Flemish Movement The Flemish Movement (, ) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgium, Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemis ...

. In 1914, he was mobilised. At the end of 1915, he worked as an artist in

Veurne Veurne (; , ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , ...

, where he became a prominent front soldier. He designed the typical gravestones honouring the Flemish soldiers who died in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. English died at the age of 36 from an untreated

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

in the military hospital L'Océan at Vinkem on the night of 31 August 1918. He was initially buried in the Belgian military cemetery at Steenkerke. The very first IJzerbedevaart took place there at his sepulchre in 1920. In 1930, his corpse was placed in the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

of the IJzertoren (the Yser Tower, named after the River Yser) in

Diksmuide (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke ...

. Through his friend , a number of English's oil paintings and water colours, which depict Veurne during the war, were permanently exhibited in the town hall there.

References

External links

The ‘AVV VVK‘-headstone Joe English

joe-english-kunstschilder.be
a website maintained by a granddaughter of the painter
Website on the Great War in Flanders Fields
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Joe 1882 births 1918 deaths Painters from Bruges Belgian Army personnel of World War I Flemish activists Prix de Rome (Belgium) winners Belgian war artists Belgian people of Irish descent Deaths from appendicitis World War I artists 20th-century Belgian painters Belgian military personnel killed in World War I