Scarborough man Allan Grice pays tribute to his late wife with a painting by artist Alan Stuttle

Mr Grice lost his wife Anne to Covid in February. He presented the hospital where she was admitted, with a painting of four nurses in a Covid ward. Scarborough artist Mr Stuttle produced the picture during the pandemic.

Mr Grice, who is a retired fire and safety officer, originally from Yorkshire, met Anne in Islington, North London, in 1976 when he was working for London Fire Brigade. They married in 1988 and went on to have a son, Mark, now 32. They then moved to Devon in 1991 where Mr Grice continued his career with Devon Fire and Rescue, before retiring and moving on to Yorkshire some years later.

Originally from London, his late wife still had family in the South and it was when she went to care for her elderly sick brother, earlier this year, that she became infected with coronavirus.

She was admitted to the Whittington Hospital, North London, on January 19 of this year, her 67th birthday. She spent three weeks on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, but unfortunately died on February 13, with two nurses holding her hand.

Shortly before his wife died, Mr Grice was walking by his home in North Marine Road and noticed a painting in Mr Stuttle's gallery, he said:

"Whilst Anne was ill I could not visit due to the pandemic, but opposite my Scarborough flat is the gallery of esteemed artist Alan Stuttle. In his window was a most striking painting of Covid nurses and I bought a copy.

"As a former life saver with more than 30 years' service the efforts of NHS staff resonated with me hence my wishing to show gratitude for their care to Anne and numerous others during the pandemic.

"I bought a framed print of it and had a plaque engraved.

"I presented the painting to the hospital on March 25, and thanks to the kind efforts and assistance of ICU Administrator Eden Edwards, who displayed great empathy during her conversations with me whilst Anne was being cared for, the hospital accepted the painting which now hangs at the ICU entrance.

"It is not only a memorial to Anne but a tribute to all of the NHS staff and the hard work they have done throughout the pandemic."

The original idea of the painting by Mr Stuttle was to be a thank you to the NHS staff during the pandemic. Mr Stuttle said: "During the pandemic I had a lot of time on my hands and I wanted to do a tribute to the NHS, something to say thank you, so I did the painting of the four nurses.

"Allan Grice is a remarkable man, it is so terribly sad about the loss of his wife.

"I was very flattered when he came into the shop and told me why he wanted a copy of the painting.

"I am pleased that the painting has done its job to say thank you very much, it is nice for people to say thank you, especially in these times."