Howard Avenel Bligh St George (1894-1914), known as Avenel, and a second cousin of Orpen on the artist’s mother’s side, was born 16th December 1894, the second son of Howard Bligh St. George (1857-1940), (a land agent, and, also in Ireland and then England, a Justice of the Peace (JP)), and Florence Evelyn St. George nèe Baker (1870-1938). At the t.mes of Avenel’s death they lived in Ashorne Hill, Leamington, Warwickshire, subsequently, by 1917, taking up residence in Coombe House, Kingston Hill, Surrey. Avenel’s mother, known as Evelyn, the daughter of a New York banker George Fisher Baker (1840-1931), the ‘Sphinx of Wall Street’, was also Orpen’s friend, mistress and patron.

Educated at Eton College, Windsor, Avenel, joined the 1st Life Guards in January 1914, as a probationary officer, with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Second Lieutenant Howard Avenel Bligh St George landed with his Regiment, at Zeebrugge on the 8th October 1914, as part of 7th Cavalry Brigade, 3rd Cavalry division, which was first in the area of Bruges. The Regiment passed through Ypres on the 13th October and out along the Menin Road. On 30^th October 1914 the troops of the 1st Life Guards with the 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the 2nd Life Guards, the Machine Gun section of the Royal Horse Guards under the command of Charles Sackville Pelham, Lord Worsley and other troopers from the Royal Horse Guards, formed the rim around Zandvoorde facing the German attack from the south and east. From the 7th to the 11th November the Regiment was in billets at Verloren Hoek. On the 11th November the 1st Squadron belonging to the Composite Regiment joined the Regiment on absorption and in the late afternoon moved to south of Bellewarde Farm to support a counter-attack. On the 14th November 1914 the Regiment carried out reliefs providing 200 rifles to occupy the advanced trenches. The Regiment was in trenches all day on the 15th November with their position being shelled. Just over a month after having disembarked to go to the Western Front on 8^th October 1914, at the tender age of 19, on 15^th November 1914, Avenel was killed in action at Zillebeke. More information can be found in Stolen Lives - Individual Tragedies of the Great War by Andrew Hamilton and Alan Reed.

The work originally included the St George family heraldic shield consisting of thirteen crests and motto “Firmitas in cœlo.”positioned the top left. It has since been painted out.

For more information on this painting please visit www.sirwilliamorpen.com/howard-avenel-st-george-by-william-orpen/