Walter Percival Starmer: war artist

Walter Starmer, seen here at work on the memorial to Michael Rennie, was born in 1877 in Teignmouth, Devon, the son of the Reverend Henry Starmer, a Congregationalist Minister. He trained at Norwich and Birmingham Schools of Art, and seems to have begun his career as a book illustrator with Gertrude M. Faulding's Old Man's Beard and Other Tales (1909).

In the First World War he served as a war artist recording in particular the work of the YMCA with the forces. Thirty water-colours are now in the collection of the Imperial War Museum, several of which were reproduced in Sir Arthur Yapp's The Romance of the Red Triangle [the emblem of the YMCA]. After the War he illustrated two volumes of Yapp's Piers Plowman school history series.

Y.M.C.A. IN A RUINED PARISH HALL IN FLANDERS, JUNE, 1916

Y.M.C.A. MARQUEE IN THE SHELL-SWEPT SOMME AREA

A REFUGE FOR THE REFUGEES

Y.M.C.A. HUTS UNDER SHELL-FIRE

Starmer met the first vicar of St Jude's, Basil Bourchier, in Arras in 1918 when the latter was serving as a chaplain to the forces. In 1920 he was commissioned to paint the Lady Chapel as a memorial to those who had died in the war, and then, in a series of further commissions, he went on to decorate the rest of the church.

As well as the Rennie memorial of 1942, Starmer recorded the Second World War with a drawing of St Jude's filled with furniture from local houses which had been damaged through enemy action.

Japan Tsunami Appeal

From Yukie Yagioka

Thank you very much indeed for your wonderful support for my appeal last Sunday. I am deeply grateful to you for all your kindness and generosity. The appeal was a great success and raised £756 and 40 pence. I really treasure the fact that you made these donations and the kind thoughts that accompanied them. All the money raised will be sent to the Japanese Red Cross through the British Red Cross (www.redcross.org.uk) after Sunday 27 March.

I do hope that the suffering of the people of Japan will soon be relieved. I pray to God for that.

I was so pleased you seemed to enjoy the sushi and I would also like to thank Miss Atsuko Takao who is a professional violinist. Her playing gave a more Japanese flavour to the event and she took time from her busy schedule to play for us for free. She will come and play again this Sunday.

I would like to make vegetable sushi again for this coming Sunday 27 March and this time I would like to give a small sushi pack to everyone including the children as a token of my gratitude and I hope this way to be able to return some of your kindness and generosity.

Thank you again for your kind hearts.

I look forward to your support this Sunday.