Alain Jordan Clement John (20 June 1920 – 23 December 1943) was an aspiring sculptor of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

descent who joined the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a navigator, and was killed during the Second World War. John is known for his statue of ''Christ in Blessing'', which stands in the ruins of

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

in memory of those who died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Background of John and his statue

John was descended from an

merchant family that had migrated from

New Julfa New Julfa ( fa, نو جلفا – ''Now Jolfā'', – ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; hy, Նոր Ջուղա – ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayande River. Established and named after the old ...

, Persia to settle in Calcutta, India. Alain Jordan Clement John was born in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

. He was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the tim ...

in Tiverton for six years, and had passed the entrance to King's College in 1938 and was told he could travel abroad until term started. John instead chose to return to the School for a term to model a statue for an empty niche over the door in the School tower, "overlooking the quadrangle".

It was in 1938 that he commenced work on the model, intending it to be a figure of Peter Blundell who founded the school in 1604. He twice changed his mind, first to mould the clay into a likeness of St Peter. That did not satisfy him and he finally set to work on a model of Christ blessing the multitude.''Western Morning News'', 21 December 1943.

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

, then a master at the School, said of the clay model that "''No finer piece of work has been done by anyone in this country this year''". The original statue was completed by John, aged 18, working day and night, at Easter 1939, at a public house in

Tiverton, Devon Tiverton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587. History Early history The town's name is conjectured to derive from "Twy-fo ...

, having chosen to finish the sculpture rather than visit his parents in India. Cast in concrete, and "lengthened, like the great

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

figures, the original work is high and remains in place, having stood in the niche at Blundell's since at least 1943.

World War II

John enlisted with his friends at Euston for the RAF at some point after August 1940, preferring to fly with those friends as a Navigator Sergeant rather than seeking a commission. His service number was 1378473. He undertook a "long series of night flights over Germany", and died in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

from injuries sustained on a mission. Those of his friends from Blundell’s, who were with him on the raid, "returned unscathed".

Cast of ''Christ in Blessing'' at Coventry

Neville Gorton, then

Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield. The present ...

, wrote to the Times and other newspapers on 29 December 1943 to propose that John's statue be recast as an Air Force Memorial, commenting on the statue that "''It is a moving work of faith and tenderness, and of the quality in its faith and its art Eric Gill’s judgement stands''". The

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

initially considered placing it in the

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

memorial to The Few of the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

. The statue was subsequently re-cast at the commission of Neville Gorton and stands in the ruins of the old

as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the war.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:John, Alain 1920 births 1943 deaths British people of Armenian descent People educated at Blundell's School Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II English sculptors English male sculptors 20th-century British sculptors Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Burials at West Norwood Cemetery