Pembrokeshire and the wider artistic community is mourning the loss of talented textile artist Eirian Short, described as a ‘renowned figure in the world of British embroidery’.

Eirian Short was born in Fishguard in 1924 and died earlier this month at the age of 97.

Eirian was conscripted to the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during the Second World War as was one of 30 women trained as an instrument mechanic to calibrate predicting instruments for the gunners in the Royal Artillery.

During her time in the ATS, Eirian became interested in art and following discharge studied sculpture at Goldsmiths College, London, before moving on to work in fabric and thread.

Well-known in the UK for her fabric pieces, she occasionally returned to making large painted structures. Her five books on textile techniques are still widely used.

Eirian married fellow artist, Denys Short, on December 31, 1951. The couple almost made it to their 70th wedding anniversary.

She remained at Goldsmiths as a visiting lecturer in the Textile Art department until 1985. A similar post in Hornsey College of Art ended in 1968, when she supported the students who had taken over the building, demanding changes to the curriculum Following her expulsion, she was invited by Lord Longford to help set up New Horizon a centre for young people adrift in central London. Eirian remained active on the committee until 1985. She and her husband Denys cooked Christmas dinner for the centre for many years.

Eirian returned permanently to Pembrokeshire in 1985, continuing to work as a textile artist well into her 90s, frequently inspired by the Pembrokeshire landscape and seascape.

She was instrumental in the creation of Fishguard’s Last Invasion Tapestry along with fellow artists Liz Cramp, Roz Hawksley, Audrey Walker.

Eirian, and Audrey also designed the Pembrokeshire banner, now on display in St David’s Cathedral.

Eirian was an illustrious and supportive member of Fishguard Arts Society (FAS) who described her as ‘an artist in the fullest sense of the word’.

“She was a skilled draftswoman who took her abilities into her, often intriguing, textile works,” said the society’s Gaynor McMorrin.

“Her support for the arts both locally, nationally and the society was boundless, always entering astounding works into our exhibitions.

“A most memorable time was in Tregwynt Mansion in 2012 when the ballroom was filled with an exhibition of her works alongside those of Denys Short.”

As her hands became unable to hold a needle, Eirian wrote various enjoyable pieces for the FAS magazine including an artist’s crossword where all the clues were related to artists or art movements.

“Like her works this was complicated and not easy to do at all,” said Gaynor.