I also remember Waddo mess, as real mess, full, and with its own football pitch and football team, commissioned a massive painting to adorn the end wall of the snooker room. It would have been some 8 feet x 10 feet.
It was commissioned from an ex-memeber and I saw it part finished. IIRC it was of the waterfront with Hampdens near the hangars and huge stick-like aircrew, in No 1s, moving around. Large parts were of bare canvas with charcoal sketching. Its tones were dark and sombre with dark blue skyscape and the groundscape overlain in darker tones.
Years on I believe that it may well had had great merit. At the time I tended from neutral towards the anti-faction but not that strongly. Anyway, before I joined the mess they cancelled the project. The completed work was hung but some 20 years later it was no more.
So in earlier days Messes did have the courage to commission notable works. Even in the 70s Penelope Douglas was doing the rounds painting squadron aircraft in operational poses although I think they were Mess commissions and not sqn ones. At Akrotiri she painted 5 Wg RAF Regt and the 84 Sqn WW.
Th eonly Penny link I could find was this one:
http://www.directart.co.uk/mall/more.php?ProdID=7275