Michael Edmonds (9 April 1926 – 30 March 2014) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

artist and architect born in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England but with strong connections to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was a co-founder of the

56 Group Wales The 56 Group Wales () is an artists' organisation founded in Wales in 1956, with the aim of promoting Welsh Modernist art and artists. The name was originally simply the 56 Group: "Wales" was added in 1967, in response to a feeling that the org ...

Life and work

Edmonds, an only child, grew up in the countryside near Wareham, Dorset. He was educated at Kings School, a boarding school in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, then studied at the Royal West of England School of Architecture,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. As a '

Bevin boy Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in coal mines between December 1943 and March 1948, to increase the rate of coal production, which had declined through the early years of World War II. The programme was named after Ernes ...

' working in the coal mines to aid the war effort, he came to

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. In 1951 he married Thelma Seager, from

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, and they settled in

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

to bring up a family. As an architect Edmonds worked in South Wales (initially for the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

in Cardiff),Moore, David, ''A Taste of the Avant-garde: 56 Group Wales'', page 9

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and private practice in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

until his retirement in 1979. He had also studied art at

Cardiff College of Art Cardiff School of Art & Design (CSAD) is one of the five schools that comprise Cardiff Metropolitan University. It originated as the Cardiff School of Art in 1865. History Cardiff School of Art & Design opened in 1865 as the Cardiff School of ...

during the late 1940s and subsequently created a number of experimental constructions of modern materials (such as fibreglass). In 1956 he co-founded the '' 56 Group'' in Cardiff with artists

Eric Malthouse Eric Malthouse (1914–1997) was a British artist and print maker who spent most of his career in South Wales. His work can be found in several collections including the Tate, the National Museum of Wales, the National Library of Wales, Aberystw ...

and David Tinker. The Group intended to promote Welsh radical and abstract modern artMoore, David, ''A Taste of the Avant-garde: 56 Group Wales'', pages 6–7 (and successfully did so into the 21st century). In 1957 an abstracted landscape ''Summer Fields'' was included as one of the 'Young Artists of Promise' in

Jack Beddington John Louis Beddington (1893–1959) was a United Kingdom advertising executive, best known for his work as publicity director for Shell in the 1930s and as head of the Ministry of Information Films Division during World War II. Biography Earl ...

's book. Edmonds continued to receive commissions for church fonts, murals and crosses until the late 1960s, when he had to prioritise his architecture work. Notable artworks included a sculpture in metal, resin and fibreglass for Penarth's Trinity Methodist Church and a 9-metre ceramic mural (1959) for the

pneumoconiosis Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of interstitial lung disease where inhalation of dust (for example, ash dust, lead particles, pollen grains etc) has caused interstitial fibrosis. The three most common types are asbestosis, silico ...

unit at Llandough Hospital. An oil painting, ''Bessemer'' (1955) is now in the collection of the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales (USW) () is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. The ...

. He returned to Wales in 1984 to live in Montgomery, Powys. In 2001 he joined the Watercolour Society of Wales. In 2013 his memoirs, ''War Underground'', recounting his time in the mines near

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain. It is north of Cardiff an ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, written in the 1940s then left for 70 years in a drawer, were published by the South Wales Record Society.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edmonds, Michael 1926 births 2014 deaths 20th-century English architects Alumni of Cardiff School of Art and Design Artists from Dorset Members of the 56 Group Wales Bevin Boys