Subject

Air Force and Navy at War

Text

n/a

Inscription

[Plaque] Tom Bell 1889-1978 Agnes Bell 1892-1979

Description & History

Originally this window was given anonymously, but was in fact the gift of Tom Bell, who wished that after his wife's death, she would be remembered by this window. The plaques on the sill below the window recognise the sterling work for St. Stephen's that both Tom and Agnes Bell maintained throughout their lives. Thus, the two windows dedicated to the Armed Forces commemorate the Bell family. This window, a companion to the John Stanton Bell window that depicts the Army's role in war, shows the tasks performed by Air Force and Navy personnel. The images are unusual representations, without cliche; a broken doll in a war ravaged city adds a small symbolrepresentingcivilian casualties. The vertical borders at either side of the main image show Biblical scenes of the struggle against evil.

References & Acknowledgements

A.A. Phillips, A Centenary History of St. Stephen's Gardenvale, [1982], pp.138-39, p.142 and unpaginated appendix; Nicholas Draffin, The Art of Napier Waller, Sun Books Ltd., South Melbourne, 1978, p.59.