An artwork dedicated to a famous conscientious objector from the First World War has been removed over claims it is ‘offensive’ ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
The fresco that bears the words of pacifist Walter Ayles was erased from a subway in Bristol after a Tory councillor said it ‘denigrated’ those who fought in the Great War.
Those behind the artwork say its removal constitutes ‘a clear act of censorship’.
Tory councillor Mark Weston, left, has demanded a memorial to conscientious objector and former Bristol MP Walter Ayles, right, who was jailed in 1916 for refusing to join the army
The memorial to the former Bristol MP has been branded as ‘offensive’ by a local councillor
Ayles was jailed for refusing to fight in the war but is now remembered by various panels around Bristol – the city where he later became an MP.
But one particular artwork has prompted controversy after Tory councillor Mark Weston branded it ‘distasteful’ and ‘offensive’ ahead of Remembrance Day.
The panel carries Ayles’ description of the Great War as ‘cold-blooded murder’, and ‘crimes against God and man to maintain the honour and glory of the British Empire’.
Mr Weston said he received a complaint from a resident last week who said the panel was ‘distasteful’, particularly with ‘Remembrance Sunday coming up’.
He said: ‘I think it’s actually distasteful myself, too.
‘Surely they must understand this is a sensitive time and I read the wording as a denigration of the men who did stand and fight and die.
‘Surely they must see it as offensive?’
Bristol City Council ordered this panel’s removal following Cllr Weston’s complaint
Bristol City Council ordered the panel to be removed following Mr Weston’s complaint.
But Richard Jones, vice-chair of the Bearpit Improvement Group, which co-ordinated the exhibition, demanded ‘the immediate reinstatement of the board and an apology from those responsible for its summary removal’.
‘The removal of the board is a clear act of censorship by Bristol City Council that has no place in an open and democratic society,’ he said.
‘This exhibition sought to celebrate some of the untold stories of Bristol’s past social campaigners and should be seen as stimulating debate and interest in Bristol’s distinctive history.
‘It is ironic that it was taken down during the same week that George Orwell’s statue was unveiled at the BBC in London with the motto: ‘If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear’.’
Others speculated that the move could be politically motivated.
Dr Madge Dresser, who helped co-ordinate the exhibition and is a senior research fellow at the University of the West of England, said:
‘I’m so angry about this, mainly for the artists involved.
‘There were a few radical quotes from Walter Ayles, but this was about showing a different side of Bristol’s history.
‘Maybe the Conservatives don’t like the celebration of quite a left-wing person.’
Walter Ayles became a Labour councillor for Bristol in 1910.
In 1916 he was imprisoned for two months for his refusal to fight in the First World War.
He served as a Labour MP for various constituencies – including Bristol North – for a total of 11 years between 1923 and 1953.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said the authority was looking into the complaints and would respond in due course.