On 16 July, Project Vernon volunteers David Sandiford, Grenville Johnson MBE, Martyn Holloway and Rob Hoole accompanied sculptor Mark Richards and his assistant Emma Lilley to the Morris Singer foundry at Lasham in Hampshire to witness some of the processes it will use to cast the Vernon Minewarfare & Diving Monument in bronze. The monument is due to be installed next year in Pool B at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, the former location of HMS VERNON.
On 6 August, a panel of Project Vernon volunteers, constituting members of the main supporting organisations (MCDOA, AORNFCD, MWA, TCA and RNCDA), visited the studio of distinguished sculptor Mark Richards in Ludlow, Shropshire and approved his final design of the Vernon Minewarfare & Diving Monument. The Project Vernon panel comprised Grenville Johnson MBE, Colin 'Scouse' Kidman QGM, David Sandiford, John 'George' Turnbull and Yours Truly (Rob Hoole), seen here flanking sculptor Mark Richards and his assistant Emma Lilley.
This is Mark Richards’ studio, a converted school which was previously a workhouse.
This is the half life-size model from which the one-and-a-quarter life-size bronze sculpture, and eventually miniatures, will be produced.
N.B. The supporting scaffolding poles will not appear in the finished product!