FORMER England and Gloucestershire wicket-keeper Jack Russell has produced a remembrance painting based on his great, great uncle's experiences in World War One, writes Sally Bailey.

Edward Hogg died in 1914 in Belgium while fighting for the Gloucestershire Regiment.

Stroud's favourite sporting son decided to mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War by displaying a new painting of the man whose footsteps he traced to the very field where he died.

Russell said he was proud of his ancestor, and the artwork, called Seconds from Hell, would be a lasting memorial.

When he was a little boy the cricketer turned artist used to play beside the war memorial that carried his great, great uncle’s name.

The painting has been in the window of Jack’s gallery in Chipping Sodbury High Street, so freshly finished for the anniversary of his relative’s death that it remains unsigned.

Last year the former Archway student decided to retraced 7323 Private Hogg’s steps to the Belgian village of Zwartelen and the field from which 300 men never returned.

The one-time Forest Green goalkeeping coach said:“I wanted to know what happened to him and his brother.

“I found a photo of him about five years ago and that was my inspiration. Last year, with the help of historian Nick Fear and the regiment’s diaries, we found the very field where he died. We sat in the car from 6am, waiting for the right time and then, at 9am, when they were ordered into the woods, I walked down the road to the spot.

“It was hard to know what happened in that field. It was horrific. They lay out there all day, suffering. Some of them made it back under the cover of darkness. The accounts of that time are very moving. 500 went out that morning, only 200 came back.

“It was strange to feel so emotional, even though I’d never met the guy. He was my family. I felt like I knew him and this was the closest I could get to him. It was a lifetime’s pilgrimage.

“I don’t paint blood and guts and gore, and James Bond action, it’s the moment before all hell breaks loose. Because I’d found a photograph of Edward I could paint him looking back one last time.”

Jack spent the anniversary of Private Hogg’s death at the memorial in Slad that bears his name, popping in to his mum’s for a cup of tea and a reminisce.

Seconds From Hell holds a special place in Jack’s heart and will probably be one of the only paintings of his that he doesn’t sell.

“I’m thinking this needs to stay in the family, be here after we’ve all gone. And maybe we’ll put it out to mark Remembrance Day every year.”