Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA (1898 –1986) was a British artist and sculptor

I appreciate that Henry Moore is not less well  known but what is perhaps not known is that he served during the First World War

Born on 30 July 1898 in Castleford, West Riding of Yorkshire, UK, Henry’s parents were Raymond Spencer Moore and his wife, Mary, née Baker.). His father was Irish and became pit deputy and then under-manager of the Wheldale colliery in Castleford.  Educated locally and encouraged by his parents to study, Henry began modelling in clay and carving in wood at an early age. He decided to become a sculptor when he was eleven years old, after hearing about Michelangelo's work in Sunday School.

Henry volunteered to serve in the Army during the First World War but was initially turned down by the Artists' Rifles regiment (the obvious choice) because he was considered too short. However, but eventually he was accepted by the Civil Service Rifles – he was the youngest man to serve in that Regiment - and assigned to the 3rd Battalion. Posted to the Western Front, Henry and was wounded during a gas attack that took place on 30th November 1917 in Bourlon Wood, during the Battle of Cambrai.  He was sent back to Britain and spent two months in hospital, before becoming recovered after hospital treatment and became a physical training instructor.  

“It was in those two years of war that I broke finally away from parental domination which had been very strong. My old friend, Miss Gostick, found out about ex-servicemen's grants. With her help I applied and received one for the Leeds School of Art. This was understood from the outset merely to be a first step. London was the goal. But the only way to get to London was to take the Board of Education examinations and to win a scholarship.”

Henry Moore in James Johnson Sweeney, 'Henry Moore', Partisan Review, New York, March-April 1947, p. 182

After an illustrious career, Henry died on 1st August 1986

Find out more here: 

https://www.henry-moore.org/about-henry-moore/biography/childhood-and-education