A HALESOWEN photographer has created a stunning memorial to his mother and hundreds of NHS staff who have died battling Covid.

Anthony Williams is hopeful that when the pandemic is over the framed photo-montage (see below or click on the picture above) can hang proudly in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where his mum died in March as the pandemic first struck.

Anthony took inspiration from the Angel statue that stood in Lightwoods Park, Bearwood, created by Stourbridge sculptor Luke Perry (above).

Anthony had just lost his mother, Janet Whittle, aged 87, and his work as a professional photographer because of the virus and lockdown.

After stopping at the park to view the statue of the Angel erected as a tribute to NHS staff he decided he also needed to do something to say thank you to the NHS staff who had looked after his mum.

So using a photograph of the Angel as his starting point, he replaced the park background with images of the virus, and inserted into them the names of 236 NHS staff – doctors, nurses, care home workers, porters, cleaners etc.

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And then he added his mother’s name.

Anthony had gone through the pain of kitting out in PPE to be able to visit his mother in hospital before she died.

The work was both a thank you to the staff who looked after her and it helped him come to terms with his loss.

He has approached both the QE and Russells Hall hospital to offer the work as a gift.

Anthony, who has had no work since the first lockdown, says it’s been a ‘really tough’ year but that the work has helped him through it. It’s both a thank you and ‘it tells a story.”

“I just want people to see it.”

It currently sits in his studio in Halesowen in a 12 x 16 frame.

Anthony Williams Photography can be contacted at antwilliams@btclick.com