One of the drawbacks of working on a project in secret is that others can’t pipe in and say, “I have just the thing for your mini scene!” Now that The Aero Squadron Lounge has been revealed, a friend and fellow miniaturist was able to do just that.
Elga inherited two small paintings from a collection belonging to her late Mother-in-Law and offered to send me scans so that I might add these little paintings to The Aero Squadron Lounge. I was overjoyed at the thought, and I fell in love with them when I saw them.
The watercolor paintings measure 10″ x 7″ and are signed by F. E. Glazier. One is titled St. Gent, JE and dated April 24, 1916. The inscription on the back reads, “D. Companies first billet in France.”
The other is titled La Bizet and dated May 12, 1916. The inscription on the back reads, “Le Bizet canal at back of Le Bizet Trench.”
Elga wrote, “I always wonder if it was a soldier that painted them and send them home to the family as they are quite small, wanting to show them the farm he lived on and the place where he was fighting in the trenches.”
We both did a little bit of sleuthing on the internet to see if we could make a connection to anything more recent. Even though one painting’s inscription states this was in France, Elga wondered if it was actually Ghent, Belgium. I’m not sure what the “JE” stands for on the front, either. Le Bizet seems like it also might be in Belgium based on a limited google search, though Elga found that it is right on the border with France. She also found a few online references to Le Bizet in WWI related links.
Elga was able to find an F. E. Glazier listed in the 1940 U.S. Census, working under the assumption that D Company was from America. However, Elga lives in South Africa along with the paintings, as did her Mother-in-Law.
I found a listing for Private F. E. Glazier on a July 14, 1916 roll call page from the South African Infantry, stating that he was injured July 19th.
Elga looked in her phone book and found two listings for people with the surname Glazier in the Cape Province. Her Mother-in-Law lived in Cape Town for over 20 years, and Elga surmises she bought the paintings at a fair or market. She’s not sure her Mother-in-Law even knew what they were, their age or the fact that they are original watercolor paintings of historical significance. She thinks they were purchased simply because they are beautiful landscapes.
That they are, so I’ve printed the scans in miniature and made matchstick frames for them. Since the Lounge is dark, I’ve set up a vignette to show their detail and color.
Even in miniature, they look like real paintings.
I moved some things around to make room for them in the Lounge.
Adds a bit of authenticity, don’t you think? Thanks so much, Elga!
So, there’s our clever little mystery. Maybe someone will stumble upon this blog post and have something to add. Elga and I would love to know the rest of the story. :D
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Someone reached out to me from this post and emailed more information about Mr. Glazier (edited to remove identifying information). Thank you for adding to the story.
“Fred Glazier was a veteran of WWI. He served with the South African army and was injured at the battle of Delville Wood (15 July – 21 July, 1916). In fact, he lost a leg during that skirmish. At some point after the end of WWI, Fred moved to live in the little town of Port St Johns, on the east coast of South Africa. My dad … vividly remembers Fred Glazier, whom he called ‘Old Man Glazier’ in the years after WWII. Fred was an artist who painted a number of pictures of the landscapes around Port St Johns. My uncle … owns a painting done by Fred Glazier depicting the mountains and river mouth around Port St Johns. Fred Glazier was a great fan of cricket, obviously not as a player because he was an amputee, but as a supporter, and was the first President of the Port St Johns Cricket Club.”
