The art of defence
Dick Hewitson sees artistic merit in Dorset’s wartime defences. Tim Saunders found out more.
Published in December ’18
There are countless coastal defences in Dorset and these important historical objects are of artistic merit to painter Dick Hewitson from Corfe Mullen, who captures them in oils. ‘They are forgotten objects in the landscape that I see as monuments commanding respect,’ says Dick, who has lived in Dorset since 1970. Born in 1940, he is of a similar age to most World War 2 pillboxes – they were called this because of their perceived resemblance to boxes of tablets.
Vulnerable but Resolute – ‘Type 25 pillbox near Redcliff Point’ Oil on wood panel, 50cm x 50cm
It is because of Dorset’s important coastal location that its landscape is home to so many of these defences. Practicality and a quick build time were the criteria for erecting the harsh structures. Architecture was of little concern and yet their simplicity somehow grabs the attention, thanks to Dick’s interpretation. Several of his paintings show various FW3 Type 25 pillboxes, made of concrete. ‘This type is cylindrical, but I have also painted some Type 22 hexagonal pillboxes,’ he explains. ‘Two are at the Weymouth end of the Fleet, one on the edge of the water and one on a low cliff. The one in the inter-tidal zone is made of brick and concrete. The other one, on the cliff, is concrete. Another hexagonal Type 22 pillbox, partly buried at the bottom of the cliff at Highcliffe Beach, is concrete.’
‘Scoured – Type 25 pillbox near Ringstead’, Oil on wood panel, 50x50cm
They vary in size, some having an internal diameter of about six feet. ‘Had we been invaded, it would have been very hazardous inside, peering out through the loopholes at night, looking for enemy vessels or troops. Enemy rifle or machine gun fire could have entered the loopholes and ricocheted inside the pillbox.’
After some research, Dick, a keen walker, came across a Type 25 pillbox at Redcliff Point near Osmington. ‘I walked along the coast path from Osmington Mills, eventually going down onto the beach near Osmington and walking west. This pillbox, the painting of which is entitled “Vulnerable but Resolute”, is now partly buried in the shingle beach and moving closer to the sea,’ he says. On this same expedition, Dick found another pillbox, ‘Clay Footed’, at the bottom of the cliff. Later during this productive day he walked from Ringstead along the shore towards White Nothe and found the remains of another Type 25 pillbox, ‘Scoured’.
Several years ago, he first saw a lookout on the top of the cliff, by the coast path near Bran Point, Ringstead. This went on to become the subject of his painting, ‘This England 1’.
Dick Hewitson painting
Dick has so far painted twelve of Dorset’s pillboxes, in a total of twenty works, with several more to come. ‘It’s a time-consuming exercise because I have to find them before I can paint them and I might take a few days to find just a couple of pillboxes,’ he explains, adding that he has made more than one painting of some. ‘If I find a photograph of a particular pillbox, which might have been taken recently or more often many years ago, I then go out and look for the actual structure as it is now. I am very interested in the current state of each pillbox.’
Sometimes a pillbox is hard to find, but once it is discovered, Dick may make several visits while researching a painting. ‘I might want to see it in different weather conditions or light,’ he says. Dick currently has about four which he has visited and drawn but not yet painted. It is now difficult and illegal to reach certain pillboxes that are increasingly overgrown and partially hidden by aggressive plant growth, as is the case with the one near the railway bridge in Sterte, Poole.
His interest in World War 2 coastal defence was first aroused during his time as a teacher. ‘The first World War 2 pillbox and lookout I saw was at Kimmeridge, on the beach, in the days when I was teaching A-level biology fieldwork in the Purbecks,’ recalls Dick, a biology teacher for 37 years. His experience of studying the ecology of many Dorset habitats has influenced his painting. ‘Pillboxes often have hard edges, straight lines or regular curves, and representing these components in paint contrasts with the organic way I treat more natural landscape features.’
‘This England 1 –Coastal Lookout’, Bran Point or nearby, Oil on Board, 30x42cm
Dick first painted in the mid-1960s after being inspired by Peter Lanyon’s painting, ‘Offshore’, at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. He started painting seriously at the end of 2010 and completed a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at West Dean College in early 2014. Most of his painting is done in the studio. When painting landscapes, initial research in the field usually and increasingly involves quite rapid sketches using various media, singly or together: pencil, ink, charcoal, graphite, watercolour washes. Now that he has established something of a reputation for painting pillboxes, they are playing a significant part in his current output. But he also paints other landscape subjects, such as cliffs and jetties, as well as abstracts.
While the pillbox work has raised his profile, the fact that Dick’s paintings have been selected for significant exhibitions, including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2016, the RWA Annual Open 2017 and the Bath Society of Artists 2018, has also helped considerably. A week-long exhibition in the Shaftesbury Arts Centre gallery in October showcased Dick’s pillbox paintings.
www.dickhewitson.co.uk
