Resident at Vasey RSL Care Cheltenham Ex-Service Accommodation, Rob Pride, recently donated this beautiful lead-light window – which he made – to be displayed in the Community Hall.
A while back, Rob had a property on which he had horses – he has a soft spot for them.
Rob is also very crafty and has spent many years doing lead-light glass work. When the ‘Story Writing and Art (SWAC)’ competition at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital was running, he would often put his artworks into the competition and over the years, he won numerous prizes.
On one occasion at the SWAC exhibition, he saw a painting of a digger saying goodbye to his horse, and he recalled the AB Banjo Paterson poem, ‘The Last Parade’, written through the eyes of a war horse at the end of the war. Rob mentioned that it was an old favourite – read around the campfire on many occasions, and bringing a tear to the eye of listeners.
Rob approached the artist and asked if he could use the painting at the basis for making a lead-light window, which was agreed to. He then turned the painting into a ‘pattern’ suitable for a lead-light window.
In the meantime, he got in touch with the publishers of ‘The Last Parade’ to ask for permission to engrave the words of ‘The Last Parade’ onto the window glass.
Many hours of work later, the beautiful lead-light window pictured here was the result.
The window went on to win second prize at the SWAC competition and has been shown at the Bright Art Show as well.
When Rob moved to Vasey RSL Care Cheltenham, the window came with him and was living under his bed. Thanks to Rob’s generosity, it is now in a much more prominent place where it can be appreciated and enjoyed by residents and their guests.