In 1970 Robert was working as a Research and Development engineer at Kelvin Hughes where he was designing a chart desk for a submarine belonging to The Royal Navy.
At home, he had a love for wood carving.
When some Naval Officers were visiting one day, to check how the chart desk was progressing, they mentioned a three-foot model of an 19th century Admiral that was originally the house sign of Henry Hughes & Son Ltd. This gave them an idea for a trophy to be competed for by Naval ships, and they discussed their idea with Robert.
‘Bob’ as he was known, had previously carved a trophy, a wooden hand holding a cube for the ‘Best Apprentice’ at Kelvin Hughes, so he offered to carve the trophy.
The “Little Admiral” was to be about 12 inches high, so it would fit in a display cabinet.
Being a perfectionist, Bob started by doing research.
He went to the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich to get an exact idea of what every detail of the uniform should look like.
He also went to Chatham Dockyard for further inspiration and then on to Chatham Timber Merchants to find the right type of wood.
Once all the research was complete and the materials and tools gathered, it was time to start.
The first step, design, draw then make a model.
Bob had to sketch his idea on paper first so he could work out the size of the piece of wood, as the log would need trimming down.
The wood he chose was Lignum Vitae (bought before the ban on imported hardwoods), this is an extremely hard wood making it easier to carve the fine detail and the colour and grain would be the best match for the uniform.
The log was about three feet long, that gave him spare in case he made a mistake! First, he had to saw the log in half, then trim off the excess at the sides making sure he didn’t remove too much, this gave him a basic rectangle to start.
He initially made a framework out of wire mesh, then he added plasticine so he could get a rough idea of the 3D image and how he would start cutting the wood to shape.
From the drawing and 3D model Bob could work out the starting size of the piece of wood, as the log would need trimming down.
He then chalked a rough outline to follow.
Slowly the figure was taking shape. Now for the detail.
The detail is finished with no mishaps.
The finished trophy
One Admiral admires another.
And finally the presentation.