Gunner F. J. Mears (1890–1929) was a British soldier of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and subsequently a successful artist, painting war scenes, before his early death.

Early life and military career

Mears was born in 1890. Details of his life, including his full name, are scant. Originally a skilled metal worker, he served during

with the rank of gunner in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

, as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He saw action at

the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French language, French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. I ...

and the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...

, and was medically discharged in 1917, after being subjected to a

poison gas Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perman ...

attack.

Art

After the war, he was unfit for his previous work and living on a weekly disablement pension of 8s (). With the encouragement of his wife, and despite having no formal art training, he painted a number of scenes of battlefields at night, featuring silhouetted soldiers. He worked in pencil or ink and watercolour, on paper, sometimes embellished with silver paint.

He signed his work "Gnr FJ Mears BEF", or "Gnr FJ Mears RGA BEF", but always wrote this upside down, explaining: "The whole of the World is upside down... Why then should my signature only be the right way up?". He described one of his early works as: That picture was advertised for sale in the window of a shop on

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

and was bought by Dame

Katharine Furse Dame Katharine Furse, ( Symonds; 23 November 1875 – 25 November 1952) was a British nursing and military administrator. She led the British Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment force during the First World War, and served as the inaugural Direct ...

, who had led the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

force during the war. It was said that income from the sale rescued Mears and his wife from poverty and destitution—it was reported in the press that, before this, "one day they shared a kipper, another day they had a few potatoes".

In May 1920 an exhibition of his work, at the George C. Clackner Gallery at 20,

Old Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

, London, included 30 paintings. Their buyers included Lieutenant General

Hubert Gough General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough ( ; 12 August 1870 – 18 March 1963) was a senior officer in the British Army in the First World War. A favourite of the British Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, he experienced a meteoric ...

, who had commanded the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918, Major-General John Ponsonby (Gough's successor), the American actress and singer

Elsie Janis Elsie Janis (born Elsie Bierbower, March 16, 1889 – February 26, 1956) was an American actress of stage and screen, singer, songwriter, screenwriter and radio announcer. Entertaining the troops during World War I immortalized her as "Forces ...

John Wodehouse, 3rd Earl of Kimberley John Wodehouse, 3rd Earl of Kimberley, (11 November 1883 – 16 April 1941), styled Lord Wodehouse from 1902 to 1932, was a British peer and Liberal politician. He was a champion polo player. Background Wodehouse was the eldest son of John Wode ...

Gwendolen Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk Gwendolen Mary Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, 12th Lady Herries of Terregles (née Constable-Maxwell; 11 January 1877 – 28 August 1945) was the eldest child of Marmaduke Constable-Maxwell, 11th Lord Herries of Terregles and his wife, An ...

, and Nancy, Lady Astor. A review in '' The Daily News'' of 7 May 1920 was headlined: His address was given in May 1920 as 13, Windmill Street,

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tub ...

, London,13 Windmill Street: where he and his wife occupied "a room about 9ft by 6ft" with no bed, because they could not afford to buy one. Another address, written on the reverse of some of his works, was given as "Fern Villa, Markenfield Road,

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, Surrey".Fern Villa: ; extant in 2020 Mears died in 1929, at the age of 38 or 39, due to the effects of the gas he had inhaled during the war.

Legacy

Mears' works are in public collections, including several at the Imperial War Museums, and eight in the World War History & Art Museum (formerly of

Alliance, Ohio Alliance is a city in eastern Stark County, Ohio, United States. With a small district lying in adjacent Mahoning County, the city is approximately northeast of Canton, southwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 21 ...

and now a touring collection). A number of his paintings were included in the ''Brushes with War: Art From The Front Line'' exhibition at

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It reopened in 2006 after a three-year refurbishment and since then has been one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions. The museum has 22 galleries, h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mears, F. J. British Army personnel of World War I 1890 births 1929 deaths 20th-century British painters English watercolourists Artists from Guildford Royal Garrison Artillery soldiers World War I artists People from the City of Westminster Military personnel from Surrey Military personnel from Guildford