Ernest Alfred Cole (1890–1979) was a British sculptor and printmaker born in Greenwich, London. He studied at Goldsmiths' College School of Art and the Royal College of Art and in Italy and Paris. While at the RCA his work came to the attention of Selwyn Image and Charles Ricketts, the latter becoming a great supporter of Cole's work which he compared to that of Alfred Stevens. In 1913 a life size figure of John the Baptist by Cole was erected at

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road ...

. He was commissioned in 1914 by

Ralph Knott Ralph Knott (3 May 1878 – 25 January 1929) was a British architect. He was responsible for building the massive 6-storey "Edwardian Baroque" style County Hall building for the London County Council. Knott was a native of Chelsea and was th ...

to contribute twelve figure groups for the

London County Hall County Hall (sometimes called London County Hall) is a building in the district of Lambeth, London that was the headquarters of London County Council (LCC) and later the Greater London Council (GLC). The building is on the South Bank of the ...

, of which he completed five and a half before enlisting for military service in the

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles is a regiment of the Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, the regimen ...

in 1916. He then served in France in 1917 as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 4th Reserve York and Lancaster Regiment before being transferred to military intelligence. After World War I Cole resumed his work, but Knott was dissatisfied with the work, and terminated his contract in 1921 with only six groups completed. Additional sculptures for County Hall were provided by

Alfred Frank Hardiman Alfred Frank Hardiman (21 May 1891 – 17 April 1949) was an English sculptor. He was born at 17 Orde Hall Street, London, the son of Alfred William Hardiman, silversmith, of Holborn, and his wife, Ada Myhill. Life Hardiman won a London Coun ...

in the late 1920s. Cole's work aroused some controversy at its unveiling, although he was still supported by Ricketts, Image and

Laurence Binyon Robert Laurence Binyon, CH (10 August 1869 – 10 March 1943) was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. Born in Lancaster, England, his parents were Frederick Binyon, a clergyman, and Mary Dockray. He studied at St Paul's School, London ...

. While in the United States on military intelligence during 1917–18, Cole met his wife, Laurie Manly (d.1957). From 1921 to 1924, Cole continued his studies in New York, Italy and Germany before settling in Kingston, Kent. In 1924 he briefly succeeded

Francis Derwent Wood Francis Derwent Wood (15 October 1871– 19 February 1926) was a British sculptor. Biography Early life Wood was born at Keswick in Cumbria and studied in Germany and returned to London in 1887 to work under Édouard Lantéri and Sir Thomas ...

as Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, but left after a few months. Afterwards, he and his wife lived reclusively in Kingston in a house which Cole had commissioned, claiming it was the first steel-frame

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

to have been built. At the outbreak of World War II the Coles were briefly imprisoned under suspicion of being Fascist sympathists, due to Cole's subscription to '' Il Popolo d'Italia'', and his wife apparently an admirer of and correspondent with

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

. Cole was reported as having destroyed much of his work soon after completion.

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