A stunning exhibition dedicated to the forgotten heroes of RAF Bomber Command is coming to Southport this November – with RAF veterans and their families invited to help shape it.
At the centre will be an incredible full-scale front section of an Avro Lancaster bomber, made entirely from cardboard and paper by acclaimed artist Suhail Shaikh.
Suhail is putting the finishing touches to the unique sculpture before transporting it from his home in France to the North West of England.
Suhail, who is working closely with The Atkinson Heritage and Participation Office Joanne Chamberlain on the project, wants RAF Bomber Command veterans to come and add their signatures to the aircraft.
He also wants as many people as possible to create thousands of paper poppies, bearing the names of RAF crew members, which will be seen tumbling from the open bomb doors of the Lancaster sculpture.
Members of the public are also being urged to come forward with any Bomber Command logbooks, letters, photos, and any other items that can be copied and used to form part of the sculpture.
There are a number of exciting pieces of memorabilia that will also form the exhibition around the Lancaster, with more details to be revealed.
Aircrew who served in Bomber Command suffered horrific losses during World War Two.
After the conflict, they were controversially denied a separate campaign medal.
In protest at this perceived establishment snub to his men, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Bomber Command Arthur Harris refused a peerage in 1946. He was the sole commander-in-chief not to become a peer.
Suhail Shaikh believes his new exhibition dedicated to ‘The Many’ will provide some long-overdue recognition.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
He said: “During World War Two, over 55,000 people who served in Bomber Command in the RAF were killed.
“That is more than 50% of the entire Bomber Command force.
“These men were all volunteers, they all felt they had a sense of duty.
“Their courage and determination were immense.
“Despite this, after the end of World War Two, all of a sudden they found themselves airbrushed out, there was a real lack of recognition for what they did.
“The people who were in Bomber Command didn’t want glory. But they all had a dangerous job to do, and they did it with courage and despite huge losses.
“After the war, there were no great parades, so special medals for them, not a lot of recognition for what they did.
The Lancaster at Southport Air Show. Photo by Andrew Brown Media
“The men of Bomber Command were very stoic, they took it quietly.
“Today, they are very deserving of recognition for what they did and for what they went through.”
Suhail Shaikh is currently in the process of sculpting the front section of a Lancaster bomber, to scale, from paper and cardboard to commemorate those who once served as part of Bomber Command during the conflict.
The finished work will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport from 25th November 2023 and it is hoped that the sculpture will then tour to continue to tell the story of ‘The Many’.
The exterior of the piece will be covered in copies of ephemera related to this subject.
Suhail and the staff at the Atkinson in Southport are asking for copies of photographs, logbook entries, letters etc to be passed on to them which will then become part of the finished work.
If you have any material that you would like to submit or have any further questions, please email: Joanne.Chamberlain@sefton.gov.uk
The Atkinson in Southport will be hosting a new exhibition of work by artist Suhail Shaikh. Central to this is a handmade paper Lancaster Bomber
Suhail Shaikh said: “It’s going to take three days to transport the Lancaster sculpture from France to Southport!
“I hope it doesn’t rain on the way, and I hope the container doesn’t leak! It wouldn’t be good when I have a huge cardboard Lancaster inside!
“The journey is nothing compared to the paperwork needed to get it through customs.
“Everything is on track though, and I am looking forward to bringing my Lancaster to The Atkinson in Southport.
“The work to get to this stage has been extensive.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
“I started my research on this last year, and have completed months of background work.
“I have enjoyed reading some fascinating books, including ‘Lancaster: The Second World War’s Greatest Bomber’ by Leo McKinstry. This is a really good book. It talks about the Lancster during construction, about Sir Arthur Harris, the missions, the issues that Bomber Command were faced with, and the decisions they had to face. It is a very difficult read.
“It brings to the forefront about what Bomber Command was doing to bring the war to Germany, after Germany and its bombers had caused so much devastation to Britain and to the rest of Europe. I can understand the moral issues they were considering in their decision making.
“I also enjoyed ‘So Few’ by John Golley. What I really loved is that it had letters from fighter pilots which gives you a very touching insight into their story.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
“‘So Many’ was John Golley’s book about Bomber Command. This also contains letters, photographs and other testaments to the people involved.
“When I read the letters in the book, it changed my entire outlook from trying to capture the larger picture of the war into reflecting the personal stories of the ordinary people who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances. It is all about real people. That is when I thought ‘how can I bring all this together?’
“I wanted to build a Lancaster, an aircraft which is so iconic.
“What the Spitfire and Hurricane are to Fighter Command, the Lancaster is to Bomber Command.
“On this project, instead of creating something which was a third scale, or half scale, as I have done previously, I wanted to produce something that was full scale.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
“Then I had a conversation with my wife who said ‘we don’t have that much space in our home!’
“So I decided to create the cockpit section at the front of the aircraft, which is where five out of the seven members of the crew were based.
“That was their home, that was their office, that is where so many of these young men lived, and where so many of them so sadly died.
“I wanted to recreate that space and then invite people at the exhibition to come and see what it is like not only from the outside, but also to come and see it from the inside.
“My choice for the start for the materials used was for ordinary cardboard packaging.
“It is partly symbolic. In the way that cardboard packaging, that you receive every day in parcels, is so disposable and so easily thrown away, it is of no value, so it was that so many lives were thrown away during the war.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
“I also wanted to design something that was a little rough around the edges, with some elements that are unfinished, because during the war, aircraft production was not focused on the finish.
“Everything had to be produced quickly to send it into battle as fast as possible.
“The spirit of people in Great Britain during the wartime years was to get on with things and to make do with what you had.”
The Lancaster is incredibly detailed. A huge amount of thought and research has gone into making it.
At the navigator’s position is a map of Bremen, a regular target for Bomber Command.
On the map is a flight path drawn in pencil, and in the corner of the map are distances scribbled in miles.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
Outside are ghostly figures of crew members which gradually thin out as they go down, representing the sad and gradual disappearance of this brave generation.
Inside, you get a sense of just how small and cramped space is inside a Lancaster. The crew all had to huddle over, all wearing full kit and surrounded by lots of equipment.
Suhail said: “I started building the Lancaster in January this year.
“It has been 10 months of very intense work. No weekends, no vacations!
“But deadlines are deadlines, and time really is of the essence for this project.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
“The most important aspect of this project is the veterans of the Royal Air Force, and particularly those who served in Bomber Command during World War Two.
“There are only a handful of them left now. I want to be able to put the Lancaster on display before we have lost them all.
“I wanted to do this for the veterans. I would love to connect with as many of them as possible, it would be great to see them come to the exhibition and sign their names on the Lancaster.
“That would bring the whole story to its essence.
“Since the entire exhibition is all about creating a 3D experience saluting all the veterans who served in Bomber Command, if we can encourage some of them to sign the fuselage, it would bring the project to light.”
This is a vitally important time for Suhail. He is in the midst of a six year period where creating moving artworks that recognise the courage of the World War Two RAF veterans, and all those who supported their efforts in a variety of ways, is essential.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
He said: “Over the past few years, I have been very conscious that the years between 2019 and 2025 mark the 80 year commemoration since World War Two took place.
“This will probably be the last period of its kind that we will have the opportunity to recognise all those who fought during that conflict.
“I have been working on creating something new each year to recognise the courage of the RAF, the excellence of British aviation engineering, the brilliance of the nation’s aircraft design, its unrivalled engine manufacturing.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
“Things fell into place for me when I got the chance to create a Polish Spitfire for an exhibition in The Atkinson in 2021.
“After that I designed a Hawker Hurricane for the Potteries Museum in Stoke, and then a full-scale sculpture of a Supermarine Spitfire in Stoke.
“Straight away I moved into the Lancaster project.
“Working on Spitfires and Hurricanes was my way of paying tribute to all those who served in Fighter Command.
“Now it’s time to recognise those who were in Bomber Command.
“This new exhibition is not about glorifying war. Far from it.
“It is more about highlighting the people living and working together in those extraordinary circumstances and putting their best together and standing up for values in life that are important.
“That is what has been driving me while I have been creating this exhibition.”
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
With the display coming to The Atkinson soon, Suhail Shaikh is seeking people’s help.
Firstly, he would love to see any Bomber Command veterans get in touch, to come and add their signatures and for family members to come forward with any Bomber Command memorabilia whether it be letters, logbooks, pictures, or anything else of interest.
Secondly, he would like people to help create paper poppies – and lots of them.
He said: “Under the Lancaster, with the bomb doors open, we are looking to have 55,000 poppies that will be streaming out of it.
“I would love to see veterans and families of Bomber Command veterans create their poppies and write names dedicated to crew members on them.
“From the start of the exhibition and beyond, we want people to contribute to it and to see it grow.
“We want this exhibition to be a really 3D experience, with each poppy having a name, and people shaping how it develops.
The Many, which features the life-size nose section sculpture of an RAF Lancaster by artist Suhail Shaikh, will be on display at The Atkinson in Southport
“Even if people can’t make it to the exhibition itself, they can send in the names they want to be added, and that is something that can be done.
“It is very symbolic that we are launching this appeal during November, when Remembrance Sunday is held in Southport and throughout the UK.
“So many people in the UK have a connection to the Lancaster and to Bomber Command.
“I am very humbled that I can create something that ripples through the collective history of generations of people in the UK that means something to them.”
After Southport, the Lancaster is going on tour. People in other parts of the country will be able to create their own poppy tributes to go with it, they will be able to add their own signatures and share their own stories.
Suhail said: “I hope there are other museums or places that can take the Lancaster exhibition after it has been on display in Southport.
“This is a story that can go on and on, and can really develop as time goes by.
“It is the stories of individuals who were in Bomber Command, and the people who supported Bomber Command, that are so important. Those individual stories are what needs to be in the forefront of what we are seeking to create.
“It is about making those connections with people and letting that grow.”
- The Many by Suhail Shaikh is at The Atkinson on Lord Street in Southport town centre from 25th November 2023. For more details please visit: www.theatkinson.co.uk
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