German – born Karl Martin Weschke (1925 – 2005), was a member of the Hitler Youth and joined the Luftwaffe in 1942 and, captured in 1944, spent the rest of the war in a Scottish prisoner of war having been captured after his first parachute jump. 

On release (1948), he worked as a stonemason in Soho and met Bryan Wynter (September 8^th) who encouraged him to move to Cornwall which he did in 1955 setting up home at Cape Cornwall, becoming close friends with Roger Hilton (April 30^th), the poet W.S. Graham (November 19^th) and Francis Bacon who had stayed in St. Ives for six months.

Weschke’s work was strongly linked to his immediate environment and the landscape was often a setting for his work, and often included animals standing in for humans.  Much of his work depicted his love of isolation and the effect of such as the human condition, often with humans feeling alienated as exemplified by ‘The Fire-Eater with Spectators’ (pictured left). 

Other works were related to personal experiences, demonstrated by ‘Body on the Beach’ (1977), pictured right, which was inspired by an accident on a cliff resulting in a serious fall onto the sand. 

After forty years living in Cape Cornwall and having presented numerous solo exhibitions, Weschke died on this day in 2005.