spencer lived in cookham until april 1920 when he moved to bourne end to stay with the trade union lawyer henry slesser and his wife. while there, he worked on a series of paintings for their private oratory. in all, during the year he spent at the slessor's home, spencer painted some twenty pictures including "christ carrying the cross", which is now in the tate. in 1921 spencer stayed with muirhead bone at steep in hampshire where he worked on mural designs for a village hall war memorial scheme which was never completed. in 1923 spencer spent the summer in poole, dorset, with henry lamb. while there he worked on sketch designs for another possible war memorial scheme. these designs convinced two early patrons of spencer's work, louis and mary behrend, to commission a group of paintings as a memorial to mary's brother, lieutenant henry willoughby sandham, who had died in the war. the behrends planned to build a chapel in the village of burghclere in berkshire to house the paintings.