Sculpture bronzed in Chalford to be installed near White House

Sabin Howard is currently visiting from the United States to see the final parts of his sculpture be bronzed

An American sculptor creating part of a US national war memorial has been in Gloucestershire to see it being bronzed.

Sabin Howard is spending time at Pangolin Foundry in Chalford, where a team is working on his sculpture.

It will form part of a national World War One memorial outside the White House in Washington D.C, set to be unveiled in September.

Mr Howard said he aimed to make the work "incredibly human".

The specialist team at the Pangolin Foundry has been casting and constructing the huge work of art, which is going to be 6ft (1.8m) in height and nearly 60ft long (18.2m).

Each of the 38 figures is modelled on a real service person or veteran wearing their uniform.

'Incredibly human'

A Korean marine and a ranger who both lived near Mr Howard in Connecticut and experienced PTSD due to their experiences, are featured in the sculpture, which has taken a decade to complete.

"The expression on their faces - you can't get more real than that," Mr Howard said.

"I felt that it was very, very important to make a sculpture that's incredibly human and references the people that it actually holds sacred."

Mr Howard's sculpture, as seen here in maquette form, will be almost 60ft in length by the time it is finished

The 25-tonne memorial piece tells the story of a soldier's journey and transformation as he leaves home, goes to battle and then returns.

Mr Howard said: "The first figure you see on the wall is the daughter and this is not by accident, but the very last figure you see on the return home is the daughter as well.

"The transformation that really comes to a point and a focus here is the dad who has been transformed by the battle scene.

"He's confused and he is alienated and he is the only figure who stands alone, looking directly at the viewer."

'Universal story'

Working with Mr Howard on the sculpture helped "heal" one "shell-shocked" veteran

In researching the project, Mr Howard contacted soldiers who had returned from wars "shell-shocked".

One veteran worked for the sculptor, whose studio is in New Jersey, for two-and-a-half years and said he left feeling "healed".

"It was a respect for what he had done and he became a new man, repossessed of his soul when he left our studio," Mr Howard said.

"It's a national WW1 memorial but it could be any moment in history, it could be any place on the globe.

"For that reason, it's universal in its story."