Published: Wednesday, 2nd July, 2008 12:00
Dollar memorial is restored to its original glory
By Helen Walker
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The face of Dollar Academy war memorial created by former pupil George Henry Paulin in 1920.
Pic by: Dollar Academy
A SCHOOL trip to the Battlefields of Belgium has led to Dollar Academy’s war memorial being brought back to its former glory.
The bronze memorial at the school was produced by Dollar Academy former pupil George Henry Paulin in 1920 and is a striking representation of a kneeling figure with outstretched hands.
The 1921 account of its unveiling says, “The monument, which has been designed by Mr G.H. Paulin, A.R.S.A., a former pupil, consists of a youthful figure, cast in bronze, kneeling upon an imposing pedestal of Woodburn stone. The figure is symbolic of ‘Youth’ coming forth from the Academy to offer itself as a sacrifice if need be, to the service of the Empire.”
Its appearance, however, had deteriorated over the years – but has now been restored after pupils and Academy Bursar Justine Wilkes saw another Paulin sculpture, a memorial to the 51st Highland Division, at Beaumont Hamel during the 2007 trip to Belgium.
This memorial – which depicts the face of Paulin’s brother, Charles Ross, who was killed in World War I – was in immaculate condition.
Mr Wilkes was struck by this powerful memorial to the soldiers who had lost their lives in the battlefields overlooked by the sculpture, and by the fact that the face of the Highland soldier was that of one of Dollar’s own former pupils.
He was moved by the immediacy of the connection between past and present, and was determined to restore the Dollar monument to similarly immaculate condition to honour the memory of former pupils who had paid the ultimate price in the two terrible wars, and other conflicts, of the 20th century.
On his return from Belgium, he contacted Powderhall Bronze, one of the few fine art bronze foundries in Scotland, established in 1989 by Brian Caster.
Mr Caster – who was mentored by the renowned sculptor, Eduardo Paolozzi, during his postgraduate training at the Royal College, London – was delighted to be asked to help to restore the Dollar Academy war memorial.
He said, “The sculpture hadn’t been maintained for many years and had developed a verdigris coating.
“Most of the time, this isn’t harmful – it’s usually inactive – but it can detract from the visual appeal of the sculpture.
“However, the memorial also displayed signs of active corrosion where the bronze was being eaten away.
“We used a chemical – liver of sulphur – to neutralise the active corrosion and then carefully washed the sculpture to get rid of bird lime, grit and dirt.
“The next stage was to take the sculpture back to its original patinated finish. Examination of the heart of the memorial – the deep crevices – revealed that the memorial had been a very dark brown.
“The patina was applied to the key of neutralised verdigris.
“The bronze was heated until it ‘sizzled’ and this caused a reaction between the bronze and the chemicals which produced a brown oxide on the surface. The whole sculpture was then coated in wax to protect it.”
Mr Caster said that returning works to their original beauty was a great privilege. “Some argue that restoration is not conservation, but I believe that any great artist would wish their work to be returned to the spectacular condition it was in when it first left the foundry – Paulin would be no exception.”
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