Graham Ibbeson The People's Sculptor: Bronze, Clay and Life by Trelkeld John

Author:Trelkeld, John
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783408030
Publisher: Wharncliffe
Published: 2013-06-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Raggy Lads and Les

Carol’s prolonged and critical illness and the strain of producing the statue of the UK’s best loved comedian took its toll. From 1999 into the spring of 2000 Graham became ill and fell into a scary gloom. ‘I felt as if my body was shutting down; all my body ached, I felt exhausted all the time. I was sleeping a lot and could not focus my thoughts.’ As Carol recovered – the only sign of the major operation was a dimple on the side of her head where the surgeon had entered to do the brain surgery – Graham suffered physical and mental burn-out. Post-viral debility (like ME) was diagnosed. His reaction to noise became exaggerated. A loud bang would make him shake for ages and the sound of a car horn convinced him the ground was opening up and he was walking on sponge. Even the pub, where the camaraderie helped to relieve the pressures of his craft, lost its lustre.

Anti-depressants and a healthier lifestyle including exercise and a change in diet helped him to emerge out of this personal hell. At the same time he was approached by Leeds Civic Trust to come up with ideas for a public sculpture for the centre of the city. It was a welcome tonic, giving him a new purpose and sense of direction. The local newspaper ran a poll to find the Man of the Millennium and Leeds-born Arthur Louis Aaron, a former student at the Leeds School of Architecture, was chosen. He was twenty-one years old and an acting flight sergeant in the RAF volunteer reserve when he was awarded the VC in the Second World War. His aircraft, a Short Stirling heavy bomber, was hit by gunfire during a raid on Turin in Italy in August 1943. The aircraft was badly damaged, the navigator killed and Aaron’s jaw was broken and part of his face torn away. He was given morphine, managed to fly for a while but then gave instructions to the bomb-aimer who successfully belly-landed the plane in North Africa. Aaron died nine hours after the touchdown.

Graham produced a 17ft-high work at the bottom of the Headrow in Leeds on the Eastgate roundabout. It was unveiled in March 2001. ‘Although Aaron was a war hero I did not want the sculpture to be a war memorial. I based it on a child’s aspirations to fly which Aaron surely had as a child. I needed to design a vertical sculpture so it could be seen on the Eastgate roundabout from all approach roads.’

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