Painted plaster version of ‘The St John's Ambulance Bearers’, a bronze sculpture by Benjamin Clemens, 1919, which depicts two bearers assisting a wounded soldier during the First World War. Believed to be either a maquette for the original sculpture or a copy made for a later exhibition.

During the First World War, wounded soldiers of the British and Commonwealth forces were transported away from the frontlines along a so-called chain of evacuation. Depending on the nature and severity of their injuries this could involve very different forms of transportation – from stretchers to ambulance ships – and encounters with a range of medical personnel.

This sculpture depicts two individuals carrying a third, who is injured, simply by means of linking hands to create what was colloquially referred to as a ‘bandy chair’. The title of the sculpture was unknown for many years, but is now identified as either a later copy or possibly an original plaster maquette for the well-known bronze sculpture, ‘The St John's Ambulance Bearers’, which was created by Benjamin Clemens in 1919.

An image of the original sculpture forms the front cover of ‘Setting Sons’, the fourth studio album by The Jam, which reached no. 4 in the UK album charts in 1979.