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Gloucestershire foundry casts new WW1 memorial for US

AFP National memorialAFP
The vast 25 tonne bronze is America's first national memorial to US servicemen who lost their lives in World War One

A vast 60ft (18m) long memorial created at a foundry in Gloucestershire is to be installed near the White House in Washington, later this year.

The 25 tonne bronze is America's first national memorial to US servicemen who lost their lives in World War One.

Depicting one soldier's journey through the Great War, it has taken Pangolin Foundry in Stroud and American sculptor Sabin Howard around 10 years to create.

Actor Kelsey Grammer, a project supporter, said it was "breath taking".

AFP Actor posing for a sculptureAFP
Each figure featured in the memorial took hundreds of hours to create

To create the "epic" work, actors were over flown from the United States, dressed in period clothing and posed in front of banks of cameras.

The resulting 3D images were then created in foam and clay and sent back to the US to be sculpted from life.

The sculptures were then shipped back to Stroud to be cast in bronze.

Actors posing for cameras
Actors dressed in clothing from the period posed in front of banks of cameras to create 3D images

Mr Howard, who has described the work as "large, vast and epic", said he has "not taken a Christmas break".

"We're getting there, it's now a matter of days. It's been four and a half years and now I can count the days to the end," he said.

He added that the piece "should not be a glorification of war".

"I'm a pacifist and this [piece] should be about how we rise to the potential of who we can be as a species."

American sculptor Sabin Howard
American sculptor Sabin Howard, describes the work as "large, vast and epic"

Pangolin Foundry director Rungwe Kingdon, said he was "really happy" with how the casting had come out.

"What a project, what a project," he said.

"We're now planning the installation in Washington which is obviously a mission in itself."

National memorial
The sculpture will be erected and unveiled in Washington DC later in the year

American actor Kelsey Grammer, who lives near Bristol, has lent his support to the project, said the "monument is breath taking".

"It captures the dignity of the mission the people who fought in that war, were carrying in their hearts," he said,

"The people that they left, the people who served, the trauma that they endured and the legacy that it left behind."

The sculpture will be erected and unveiled in Washington DC later in the year.

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