Sydney March

Background

Sydney March, son of George Henry March and his wife Elizabeth Blenkin, was born in 1876 in Stoneferry, a suburb of Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of the 1891 census, Sydney worked as a monumental sculptor's apprentice. His father was a seed crusher foreman (oil miller). By 1901, the family had moved to Battersea, London, where his father was employed as a builder's clerk. Sydney studied at the Royal Academy Schools. He was the second of nine children, eight of whom became artists. Three of the March children became sculptors, Sydney, Elsie, and Vernon. The other five artists were Edward, Percival, Frederick, Dudley, and Walter. The ninth sibling was a sister, Eva. Their parents died in 1904.

By 1911, all nine siblings, as yet unmarried, were living together in the 17-room house "Goddendene" in Farnborough, Kent, England. Only two of the March siblings ever married, and between them produced three children. Eva married Charles Francis Newman in 1916. They had a daughter, Heather. Sydney's brother Frederick married Agnes Annie Gow in 1926. They had two children, Elizabeth and Cecil.

Career

Sydney and his siblings established studios at the family home of Goddendene in Locksbottom, Farnborough after 1901. The seven acre grounds had not only three large studios, but also a metal foundry. The studio walls could be slid back, such that the artists could work in natural daylight. The walls of the studios were sufficiently tall that parachutes could be hung to dry during the war.

In 1900, the Royal Academy Schools awarded Sydney first prize, a silver medal, for a model of a statue or group. Between 1906 and 1932, Sydney March exhibited thirteen times at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts. He exhibited a total of seventeen works at the Royal Academy, primarily portrait busts, statuettes, and equestrian statues.

In addition to casting works at the family foundry, Sydney also had his work cast by the silversmith and bronze foundry of Elkington & Co. One of Sydney's first commissions was a bust of Edward VII, after which the British Royal Family visited the family home of Goddendene. Some of his works included:

National War Memorial of Canada

It was not unusual for the March siblings to collaborate on their art pieces. The best known example of this is The Response, the National War Memorial of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. Sydney's brother Vernon, after a world-wide competition in 1925, was one of seven finalists out of a field of 127 entrants. The seven finalists then submitted scale models of their proposed designs. Vernon was awarded the commission in January 1926. His design included bronze figures of Victory and Liberty on top of a granite arch. Below the arch, at the rear, is an unlimbered cannon. The monument includes 22 bronze figures under the arch, representing the branches of the Canadian forces that existed during World War I.

Vernon March died of pneumonia in 1930, before the monument had been completed. With his sister Elsie March and four of his brothers, Sydney completed the bronze figures for the monument by July 1932. However, as the site in Canada had not yet been prepared, construction of the arch in Ottawa was delayed. Instead, the bronze figures were mounted on a base and displayed at Hyde Park in London for six months. Later, they were stored at the family studios at Goddendene. In 1937, the bronzes were shipped to Ottawa. After construction of the arch and preparation of the surrounding area, the National War Memorial of Canada was unveiled by King George VI on 21 May 1939. It commemorates the Canadian response in WWI.

Other collaborative works

One of the first major pieces on which the March family collaborated was the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers South African War Memorial. While Sydney was the primary sculptor, all of the March artists participated in the creation of the monument that was dedicated to the Inniskilling Fusiliers who died in the Boer War (1899–1902). The family erected it themselves in Northern Ireland in 1902. It was initially positioned on High Street in Omagh, County Tyrone, where it was unveiled by the Duchess of Abercorn on 25 November 1904. However, it was considered a traffic hazard and relocated to Drumragh Avenue in Omagh in February 1964.

Other art pieces on which the March family collaborated include the Lewes War Memorial at School Hill on High Street in Lewes, East Sussex, England. Sydney's brother Vernon was the primary sculptor. The war memorial features a central obelisk of Portland stone upon which an angel representing Victory is perched, her arms raised, one hand holding a laurel wreath. Other bronze angels sit at the base of the monument; adjacent shields list the names of the deceased soldiers of World War I. The Lewes War Memorial was unveiled in 1922. It was rededicated in 1981 to include the deceased of World War II. It is also on the National Heritage List for England.

There is also a war memorial at Sydenham, London, England, dedicated to the fallen soldiers of World War I and II who were employees of the south suburban gas works. The monument includes a bronze figure of Victory standing on a globe, with serpents at her feet. In addition, bronze plaques listed the names of the deceased soldiers, as well as those from the gas company who served. Sydney March was the primary sculptor for the Livesey Hall War Memorial, also referred to as the Sydenham War Memorial, which was unveiled by Lord Robert Cecil on 4 June 1920. It is on the National Heritage List for England. In October 2011, the three bronze plaques from the front of the memorial were stolen.

Death

Sydney March died at age 92 in the second quarter of 1968 in the county of Kent, England. Most of the members of the March family, including parents George and Elizabeth, are interred at Saint Giles the Abbot Churchyard in Farnborough, Kent, England. Sydney's ashes were buried in the family plot on 22 June 1968. In 1922, Sydney sculpted the bronze angel that marks the family graves. His last surviving sibling Elsie March died in 1974.

Legacy

In April 2011, the Chelsfield Village Voice, the monthly newsletter for the village of Chelsfield in the London Borough of Bromley, described the substance of a talk that local historian and author Paul Rason gave the previous month to the area historical society. The topic was the March family of artists. The lecture was accompanied by photographs, including one of Sydney's equestrian statue of Lord Kitchener during construction. There were photographs of the March family home of Goddendene in Locksbottom, Farnborough. The lecture also included images of the bronze figures of the National War Memorial of Canada. In addition, in 2011, an exhibition was held at the Bromley Museum at The Priory on Church Hill in Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley. The exhibition, which featured the work of local artists, included scale models created by members of the March family. Also, a black and white, silent movie filmed in 1924 reveals the March artists at work in their studios at Goddendene, and has been reproduced by British Pathé. In addition, the National War Memorial of Canada has been the location for Canada's annual National Remembrance Day celebration since 1939, with the only exception being those times when construction near the site precluded it. During those few years, the ceremony was held instead on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The original model for the National War Memorial is displayed in the Royal Canadian Legion Hall of Honour in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa (pictured).