Allan G. Wyon

The Revd Allan Gairdner Wyon FRBS RMS (1882 - 1962) was a British sculptor and, in later life, vicar of St. Peters Church, Newlyn, Cornwall.

He specialized in memorials and works by him are found in several cathedrals. He was not, however, limited to this class of sculpture; one can find an example of his work in London in the relief of a male figure representing the "East Wind" [http://photos.ltmcollection.org/images/max/uf/i0000duf.jpg] on the London Underground headquarters building at 55 Broadway above St. James's Park Underground Station.

Biography

Wyon was born in 1882, the son of Allan Wyon F.S.A., Chief Engraver of Seals to Queen Victoria. He was educated at Highgate School and studied sculpture at The Royal Academy Schools where he won silver medals. From 1924 to 1930 he was Honorary Secretary of the Art Workers Guild. Wyon was well known as a sculptor, a fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, before he took Orders in 1933, when he was 51. In 1936 he became vicar of Newlyn, remaining there until his retirement in 1955.

He was married to Eileen May, third daughter of Frederick le Poer Trench, QC, JP of Dublin. They had one daughter. He was brother to Dr. Olive Wyon, translator of the theologians.

Eight years before his death Wyon underwent a very serious cerebral operation from which he never recovered, although he bravely struggled to take up his work again.

His obituary was published in "The Times", 27 February 1962.

Works

For many years Wyon was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy. His contributions cover a remarkably wide range in subject, form and material: symbolical figures and groups; portraits busts in marble and bronze; medals in silver and engraved seals, suggesting that he had a special talent for his father's craft.

Among the medals designed by him were; the Masonic Memorial Medal, The Prince of Wales Medal for the London Chamber of Commerce, and Lloyd's Medal for Meritorious Services. In 1931 Wyon showed at the Academy, in wax impressions, for Episcopal Seals for the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Bangor, and the Bishop of Monmouth, respectively.

Sculptured memorials in Salisbury Cathedral by Wyon include those to:

*Bishop F. E. Ridgeway.
*Bishop Donaldson.
*Lieutenant General Sir George M. Harper.
*Hon. Edward Wyndham Tennant.
*Bishop Ken.

Other memorials include those to:

*Bishop Percival in Hereford Cathedral.
*Bishop Frere in Truro Cathedral.
*Bishop Walpole in St. Marys Cathedral in Edinburgh.
*The combined Memorial to William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, and William Pitt the Younger at Hayes near Bromley in Kent.
*The figure of St Michael on Shrewsbury War memorial.
*Female standing figure with laurel wreath, Hinckley and District War Memorial. [http://www.hinckley.netfirms.com/Wyon.jpg]
* The Richard Corfield Memorial at Marlborough College.

Other works

*"The Sorrows of Mankind"
* "Eqyptian Nude", 1917 [http://julia.hanovercomputer.com/americana/samo04/catalog/images/70071.jpg]
* "Madonna and Child", Newlyn Church Cornwall
* "Christ the leader", In the South Transept of St Columb Major Church Cornwall
* "New Birth", West wall of the baptistery of St Columb Major Church Cornwall
* "Lion on Rock", 1920
* Seal for the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine [http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/seal.html]
*ltmcollection|uf/i0000duf.jpg|"East Wind" on 55 Broadway, headquarters of the London Electric Railway Company (now London Underground)