From active service to art practice: Ant Hill MBE on creative service and remembrance

<p dir="ltr">As Plymouth prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, students from <strong>Arts University Plymouth</strong> have been working with <strong>Plymouth City Council</strong>, <strong>Babcock International Group</strong> and the children’s charity <strong>Never Such Innocence</strong> on a new public sculpture that honours service families and the city’s enduring connection with the armed forces.</p> <p dir="ltr">Among the creative team is <strong>Ant Hill MBE</strong>, a third-year <strong>BA (Hons) Fine Art</strong> student and former <strong>Royal Marines Major</strong>, whose 33-year military career has inspired both his art practice and his leadership within the project. The winning concept, designed by <strong>BA (Hons) Craft &amp; Material Practices student David Beasley</strong>, has been developed collaboratively by students David, Ant, <strong>Lucy Claire Walker</strong>, <strong>Doron Britz</strong>, and Claire Jones, with guidance from <strong>Lecturer Jane Prior, </strong> <strong>Employability &amp; Careers Advisor Louise Sharland</strong>, and <strong>Professor Stephen Felmingham</strong>, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at Arts University Plymouth.</p> <p dir="ltr">Commissioned as part of a wider series of commemorative points of focus stretching from the city centre to the Royal Navy Memorial on Plymouth Hoe, the sculpture symbolises Plymouth’s care, gratitude and respect for veterans and their families.</p> <p>The resulting work, titled <strong><em>Ebb and Flow</em></strong>, recognises the largely unseen emotional challenges faced by service families, representing feelings of absence and reunion when parents are away on duty. Designed and fabricated in partnership with Babcock, who funded and manufactured the finished piece at their Devonport facility, <em>Ebb and Flow</em> will stand beside <strong>Plymouth Council House on Armada Way</strong> and be unveiled during the city’s <strong>Remembrance 2025</strong> commemorations.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Ant was part of a small interdisciplinary team formed after a call went out for veterans and service-family members within the university community. Lucy Claire Walker, a second-year BA (Hons) Fine Art student, had taken part in remembrance parades as a Girl Guide. Dave Beasley, a former RAF engineer, now studies BA (Hons) Craft &amp; Material Practices part-time, after beginning on the same Extended BA pathway as Ant. They were supported by fellow students Dorron Britz and Claire Jones.</p> <p dir="ltr">“From the first meetings, I felt we needed to think more broadly about who the sculpture was for,” Ant explains. “Not just the Council or the kids involved in the workshops, but veterans, the British Legion, families and the wider public. In the military I used to think in terms of audiences and communication, that experience became really useful here.”</p>

<p dir="ltr">“Listening to those kids talk about what it’s like when a parent goes away, and comes back, was powerful,” says Ant. “Their words shaped everything that followed.”</p> <p dir="ltr">From those workshops came the central concept: <strong>an embrace that’s almost complete, but not quite</strong>. Two figures, a parent and child, lean towards each other, formed from overlapping sheets of metal. As the viewer walks around the sculpture, one figure disappears as the other appears.“When the Council first approached Arts University Plymouth about commissioning a sculpture, the idea was to commemorate 80 years since VE Day and have it ready for Remembrance,” says Ant. “They wanted to bring together students, veterans and service families, people who understand what remembrance really means.”</p>

<p>Constructed from <strong>polished steel</strong>, <em>Ebb and Flow</em> reflects the people and landscape around it, positioning the work as part of the city and the city as part of it, a nod to Plymouth’s deep maritime heritage. When seen through the imprint of the adult, the child figure raises its arms in the semaphore signal for ‘L’, standing for <strong>love, loss and longing</strong>.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Ant joined the Royal Marines on his 18th birthday and served globally, including on operations in <strong>Iraq</strong>, <strong>Bosnia</strong>, <strong>Northern Ireland</strong>, <strong>Sierra Leone</strong> and <strong>Afghanistan</strong> between 1989 and 2022.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My last few years were at Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth and then with Commando Force HQ,” he says, “planning multinational exercises in Norway with 25 different nations inside the Arctic Circle.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He left the Marines as a <strong>Major</strong>, choosing not to pursue further promotion. “I’d reached the point where I didn’t want to miss my son growing up,” he says. “He was coming into his formative years, and that was more important to me than anything.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Reflecting on his military life, Ant realised creativity had always been central to his work. “The parts of my career I enjoyed most were the creative ones, solving problems, planning strategy, working out how to communicate ideas,” he says. “Studying Fine Art just made sense. It’s the same process: you start with a concept of operations, you define your intent, the methods and materials to achieve it, and you present it to an audience. It’s a different context, but the thinking is familiar.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I didn’t want to constrain myself to one discipline,” he adds. “In Fine Art you can work with metal, glass, ceramics, painting, photography, video, anything. That freedom is what drew me to it. And I’ve loved it so much that I’m seriously considering staying on for an MA. I don’t want the journey to stop.”<br /></p>

<p>Once the project concept was chosen, following a public vote by the participating schools, Ant and David worked closely to develop the design and bring it to life.</p> <p>“We made short video pitches and sent them out to five schools,” Ant recalls. “The kids chose Dave’s design, which I would’ve pitched myself if he hadn’t beaten me to it. We had a shared vision.”</p>

<p dir="ltr">Over the summer, the pair refined the design and collaborated with engineers at <strong>Babcock International</strong>, whose expertise in materials and engineering helped realise the sculpture safely and faithfully. Engineers <strong>Steve Ball</strong> and <strong>Alan Charlick</strong> have led the fabrication process, which includes <strong>waterjet cutting</strong> and <strong>precision assembly</strong> at Babcock’s Devonport f</p> <p>The sculpture was engineered and fabricated by <strong>Babcock International Group</strong>, with additional contributions from <strong>Cutlass Mechanical Engineering Ltd</strong>, in collaboration with Plymouth City Council.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Working with Babcock has been fantastic,” says Ant. “Alan really invested in it. He’s from a Navy family and he completely understood what we were trying to do. A number of people at Babcock were former military kids themselves, so they really cared about the outcome.”</p> <p>Babcock and Plymouth City Council also coordinated a <strong>STEM dockyard visit</strong> for local schoolchildren, giving pupils the chance to see the sculpture’s fabrication in progress.</p> <p>“It’s a brilliant opportunity for those kids to connect the creative and technical worlds,” Ant says. “They’ll literally see their ideas taking shape in metal. For us students, working hand in glove with an industry partner like Babcock has been invaluable. You learn to speak a different language, to negotiate and collaborate. It’s not just art for its own sake, it’s about communication, planning and impact.”</p> <p>The sculpture was engineered and fabricated by <strong>Babcock International Group</strong>, with additional contributions from <strong>Cutlass Mechanical Engineering Ltd</strong>, in collaboration with Plymouth City Council.</p>

<p dir="ltr">For Ant, one of the project’s most important achievements is how it connects remembrance to the future.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This project gives younger generations ownership,” he says. “Traditions like Remembrance could fade if they’re not understood or passed on. Involving the kids means they’ve got a stake in it now. They’ll be able to visit the sculpture, walk around it and know they were part of its story.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Remembrance isn’t just about the past, it’s about the present and the future too. It’s about recognising that the sacrifices continue, not only from those who serve, but from their families as well.”<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">In July 2025, <strong>Arts University Plymouth</strong> formally signed the <strong>Armed Forces Covenant</strong>, affirming its commitment to supporting veterans, service personnel, and their families across all aspects of creative education. The signing took place at the university’s Tavistock Place campus in partnership with <strong>Plymouth City Council</strong> and representatives from the <strong>Armed Forces</strong>, further strengthening the city’s collective support for those who serve.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Covenant is a national promise to ensure that members of the Armed Forces community are treated with fairness and respect. For Arts University Plymouth, it marks an ongoing commitment to removing barriers in education and employment, and to recognising the unique experiences that veterans and service families bring to creative learning.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is a proud moment for Arts University Plymouth,” said <strong>Professor Stephen Felmingham</strong>, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic). “Many of our students and staff have direct experience of military life, and signing the Covenant makes clear our commitment to standing with them. It’s about understanding the challenges some veterans face, and working together to build a more supportive and creative future.”</p> <p>The Covenant pledge builds on the university’s recognition as one of Plymouth’s <strong>Charter Champions</strong>, known for promoting fairness, inclusion and community engagement across the city. It underscores the values that projects like <em>Ebb and Flow</em> embody, collaboration, empathy and civic pride, while creating new opportunities for service leavers and military families to thrive through creative education.</p>

<p dir="ltr">At <strong>Arts University Plymouth</strong>, collaboration across disciplines and with industry is embedded in the curriculum. Students on the <strong>BA (Hons) Fine Art</strong> and <strong>BA (Hons) Craft &amp; Material Practices</strong> degrees are encouraged to experiment across materials, processes and ideas, from sculpture and installation to digital and participatory work, and to engage directly with real-world contexts through live projects, residencies and public commissions.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ranked <strong>#2 in the UK for Teaching Excellence</strong> and <strong>#4 for Student Support</strong> in the Daily Mail University Guide 2025, the university’s approach to creative education combines professional practice with civic purpose.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This project shows exactly what creative education can do,” says Ant. “It’s about taking lived experience and turning it into something meaningful and public. It’s been a privilege to contribute to something that honours the city’s military heritage while involving its young people and communities.”<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">Arts University Plymouth students created design concepts for <em>Ebb and Flow</em>, which were shared with local military linked schools: Hooe, Eggbuckland Vale, Leigham, St George’s and Sherford Vale. The schools chose the winning design, created by BA (Hons) Craft &amp; Material Practices student David Beasley, a former Royal Air Force engineer, and developed collaboratively with <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-fine-art">BA (Hons) Fine Art</a> student and former Royal Marines Major Ant Hill MBE. They were supported by fellow students Lucy Claire Walker, Dorron Britz and Claire Jones.</p> <p dir="ltr">The sculpture depicts a parent and child leaning towards each other. As viewers move around it, one figure fades as the other appears, reflecting the constant cycle of presence and absence. The child raises its arms in the semaphore signal for ‘L’, standing for love, loss and longing – a symbol drawn from the reflections of children involved in the workshops.<br /></p>