After landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick of the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance helped evacuate wounded soldiers using donkeys. He was shot and killed in May, aged twenty-two.
After his death, the legend of 'Simpson and his donkey' grew, and he has become an iconic figure in modern Australian history. Modern historical work has toned done the legend somewhat.
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| 'The Man with the Donkey' Horace Moore-Jones, 1917 |
It is a nice figure to paint, although my donkeys need practice. I added the rope and a 32mm wooden base. I decided not to add any gore, and gave the casualty a pale shocked skin tone. Although a delightful sculpt, neither the medic nor the donkey are showing any sense of urgency!
Plot twist- the Moore-Jones watercolour above is not actually of Simpson! Moore-Jones mistakenly thought that the photo he based his work on was of Simpson, but it is actually New Zealand Medical Corps Private Dick Henderson.
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| Dick Henderson Source |
For more about Simpson (and the posthumous controversies), see the Australian War Memorial page and this Sydney Morning Herald article.
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| Statue at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra Source |
Lest we forget.
