Anne Crawford Acheson Awarded The C.B.E.

Edenderry Woman Awarded The C.B.E.

Miss Ann Crawford Acheson formerly of Edenderry Portadown, was awarded the C.B.E.for services rendered during the Great War 1914-1918.

Miss Acheson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire on the 1st January1919 “for services in connection with the war” in her capacity as Head of the Plastic Department, Orthopaedic Branch, Queen Mary’s Needlework Guild. She was invested with this award at Buckingham Palace on 25th February 1919.

Ann Crawford Acheson was born on the 5th August 1882, at Carrickblacker Avenue, Portadown. Her father was John Acheson whose profession was that of a Druggist and her mother was Harriet Acheson. Her birth was registered by her father on 20th Sept. 1882.

Ann Crawford Acheson died 13th March 1962 at Lagan Valley Hospital in Lisburn Co. Antrim. She died aged 79, unmarried and her profession was described as a retired Sculptor. Prior to her death she was residing at Glebe House Glenavy, Lisburn. Her death was registered by her nephew Mr J. A. Faris, of Belfast. Miss Acheson’s obituary was printed in the Times newspaper of the 16th March1962.

Miss Ann Crawford Acheson, C.B.E., whose death is reported, was an accomplished craftswomen, with a special talent for decorative garden figures in lead.

The daughter of John Acheson, she was born at Portadown, Nothern Ireland and was educated at Victoria College Belfast and the Royal University of Ireland, where she took a degree in modern literature.

She received her professional training at the Royal College of Art, South Kensington, gaining her diploma in sculpture in1910. She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.

For a good many years Miss Acheston was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy. The great majority of her works shown there, being garden or fountain figures under such titles as “The Imp” “Water Baby” “Watersprite” “Mischief” and “Boy with Puppy”

As these titles will suggest, Miss Acheston regarded playfulness, as one of the requirements of garden sculpture. She never descended to the mere quaintness, which was produced so many monstrosities in terra-cotta for the adornment of suburban gardens and when her figures- of which “the Imp” and “Sally” were the most popular-were shown in a garden setting, as they were at the British Empire Exhibitions at Wembley in 1924 and 1925, they had a very pleasing effect.

For one thing Miss Acheston’s broad modelling for her favourite material, lead, gave a sculptural dignity to her most fanciful inventions. She was not however, limited to lead and her Academy contributions included several heads, medallions and statuettes in bronze. Among other works she was responsible for the portrait bust in the Gertrude Bell Memorial.

There were three garden figures by her in the 1923 Exhibition of Decorative Art at the Royal Academy and she exhibited at the Paris Salon and in Rome, Brussels, Stockholm and Toronto.

Miss Acheson was one of several sculptors, who during the 1914-1918 War, worked at the Surgical Requisites Association’s headquarters at Mulberry Walk, Chelsea.

For her services in this connexion she was awarded the C.B.E.

Our thanks to Mr C Mann for his research on this matter.