When the Great War broke out, John volunteered as a recruiting sergeant, but enlisted for active service with the Black Watch as a corporal on 25th September 1914. He trained with the 3rd Reserve Battalion at Nigg, Ross-shire until allocated to the 1st Battalion in January 1915 and went to France on 18th February. John was nearly 47 years old when he arrived on the Western Front.
On 9th May 1915 at Rue du Bois, France, Corporal Ripley led his section on the right of the platoon in the assault and was the first man of the battalion to climb the enemy’s parapet. From there he directed those following him to the gaps in the German wire entanglements. He then led his section through a breach in the parapet to a second line of trench. With seven or eight men he established himself, blocking other flanks, and continued to hold the position until all his men had fallen and he himself was badly wounded in the head.
Due to his wounds, he was evacuated to the Depot on 11th May. He was then returned to Scotland and attended a civic reception at St Andrew’s Town Hall on 29th June and was appointed Acting Sergeant in 3rd Reserve Battalion for recruiting duties in Edinburgh on 2nd July. The VC was presented to him by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 12th July. He also received a silver casket containing a War Loan and a purse of sovereigns from Provost Cheape on his return to St Andrews on 30th October.
Artist’s Response
The story that I chose was the story of Corporal John Ripley. Corporal John Ripley was a 48 year old man who was retired from the army, however on the outbreak of the war he rejoined without hesitation. During the war he and his men were ordered to advance on enemy lines despite many unsuccessful and fatal attempts. Corporal John Ripley led his men over 300 yards in under two minutes and had soon taken over the position despite the injuries of shrapnel going through his head and being shot in the leg. Eight days later Corporal John Ripley was presented with the Victoria Cross. I wanted to design a long lasting and unique tribute to this brave soldier that, is why I chose to use wood for my design and I also wanted to incorporate his Victoria Cross within my design to emphasise his bravery.
The art student that helped me was called Jodie McLachlan. Jodie and I discussed ideas and from this I came up with my design. From this design I decided to do a wood cut for my print, layering the different cuts on top of each other which gave the effect of a window. The best part of this experience was the processes of making the print with the professionals and master printmaker at Peacock Visual Arts and seeing the final product.
Andrew Jamieson
The International School Aberdeen (ISA)
Andrew Jamieson is 14 years old and was born in Aberdeen. Andrew is a pupil at International School Aberdeen and has been attending the school for six months.
