The First World War is Over
With this piece, his concern was to depict the horrors of war. The rough concrete base that he used, was so different from those in all his other models. There was no pleasing shape, the materials of twisted metal and barbed wire conveying his sense of revulsion. He wrote:

"This depicts the general image that war leaves in one's mind, that of a ragged body trapped in barbed wire where it has been either forgotten because there are so many other bodies, or it has been too dangerous for any one to recover it and give it a decent burial.

'First World War is Over' by Philip Betts [35x25x25cm]

This man is one of thousands who must have run up the wrong alley of barbed wire, and finding his advance cut off, he was killed before he had time to think of retreat. His raised right hand signifies that one of his last thoughts was of the futility of war; at the moment of death, his wish was that all fighting and all war would cease.

The missing left hand and the drooping head signify that the battle continues to rage on. The pierced stomach shows how his death was caused; nothing and nobody could have survived such a mortal wound".

On the Remembrance Day that followed the sculptures completion, Philip placed the symbolic red poppy on the sculpture to honour and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War.

To be reminded about the symbolism of the red poppy, click here or below.