'Soldiers in a church, Belfast', 1971

Oil on board by Ralph Lillford, 1972-1973.

With the rapid increase in the number of troops stationed in Northern Ireland from 1969, living space for the Army was a problem. Accommodation was in very short supply and soldiers were often billeted in old, empty buildings such as mills and factories: consequently, the living conditions were usually quite basic.

Early on Easter Sunday morning in 1971 the artist encountered the discordant sight of a company quartered in a Belfast church. The church had been converted into a makeshift barracks, fitted out with tables and beds, while the soldiers had made a clothes-line out of a light cord.

Between 1971 and 1976, drawn by an interest in the civil conflict, Ralph Lillford made repeated trips to Northern Ireland to draw what he saw in the streets.