Description
On 14 June 1940, the first German jackboots were heard on the streets of Paris. Within days France signed an armistice and Hitler could now turn his avaricious eyes north and across the grey waters of the Channel. The island of Britain stood alone and, faced with the threat of imminent invasion, few gave her much chance of survival.
Before the all-conquering Panzers could invade, Germany needed to gain air superiority and Goering boasted that his Luftwaffe ‘would quickly sweep the RAF from the skies’ – how wrong he would be.
The Battle of Britain began on 10 July 1940 and for the next eight weeks most front-line squadrons were often flying four missions a day. Totally outnumbered by the Luftwaffe the RAF was close to breaking point by early September, with some units reduced to a handful of pilots and aircraft.
Then on 7 September, an over-confident Goering made a fatal error. Believing the RAF destroyed, he changed tactics and the Luftwaffe began bombing civilian targets in London. It was the respite that Fighter Command needed and the tide of battle was turned. Against overwhelming and seemingly impossible odds, a replenished RAF repelled the Luftwaffe and by the end of October it was over.
Richard Taylor’s stunning new painting depicts Mk1 Spitfires from 92 Squadron undertaking a defensive sweep along the Kent coastline against a dramatic backdrop of the white cliffs of Dover, at the height of the battle in September 1940. The limited edition prints in this fabulous edition have been personally autographed by members of “The Few.”
THE LIMITED EDITION
Every print has been hand numbered and personally signed by the artist and three highly respected veterans who flew in the Battle of Britain.
Wing Commander JOHN ‘TIM’ ELKINGTON
Wing Commander TONY PICKERING AFC
Flight Lieutenant WILLIAM ROBERT ‘BOB’ HUGHES DFC AE
225 signed and numbered prints
25 Artist Proofs
Overall print size: 25” wide x 16” high
THE REMARQUE EDITIONS with THIRTEEN signatures
Richard Taylor’s original pencil remarques are almost without equal in the aviation art industry, displaying a level of depth and detail that seems impossible to capture in graphite. The two remarqued editions will feature an original pencil drawing created in the border of the print and the DOUBLE remarques feature an exquisite double sized drawing. Each print is additionally signed by a further TEN Battle of Britain veterans:
Flight Lieutenant TERRY CLARK DFM AE
Flight Lieutenant LEONARD DAVIES
Wing Commander BOB FOSTER DFC
Squadron Leader TONY IVESON DFC
Wing Commander TERENCE KANE
Wing Commander TOM NEIL DFC* AFC
Squadron Leader NIGEL ROSE
Squadron Leader GEOFFREY WELLUM DFC
Squadron Leader KEN WILKINSON
Corporal ALEC GRAY
25 Remarques
10 Double Remarques
THE PUBLISHERS PROOFS
Each of these stunning TWENTY signature Proofs carries all thirteen signatures on the Remarques but every copy is beautifully matted to conservation standards to include the original signatures of a further seven prominent Battle of Britain Aircrew.
Wing Commander PADDY BARTHROPP DFC AFC
Wing Commander HARBOURNE STEPHEN DSO
Wing Commander JOHN FREEBORN DFC*
Air Commodore PETER BROTHERS CBE DSO DFC*
Air Commodore Sir ARCHIE WINSKILL CBE CVO KVCO DFC*
Squadron Leader CHARLES FRIZELL
Warrant Officer LEOPOLD HEIMES
35 Publisher Proofs with TWENTY signatures
