Wall art in messes

[The Scottish Fg Off]

Having just been in a function in a JRM somewhere in HM's RAF, I was surprised and disappointed that the walls were not adorned with neither pictures of stn based Ac or, bettter still!!!, Lancasters 200' above the German countryside and Spitfires downing Messerschmitts.
Instead, newlabour/boyband fashion "art" were on the walls.

Is it just me, or should our heritage in all our messes?

[Ex F111]

Does their mess committee want to pay for art to look at or Beer to drink?

[Tiger_mate]

During WWII, artist Frank Wootton painted from front line locations around Europe and Burma employed as a war artist by the RAF.

In the 1950`s, artist David Shepherd 'thumbed lifts' around africa on Transport Command aeroplanes in exchange for original aviation art. We got aircraft paintings and he got to paint elephants, and as it happens his donated work is now priceless*.

Since the sixties, art has taken second place to photography within the armed forces. However if you visit the Officers Mess at Bentley Priory, you can see the immense 'atmosphere' that can be achieved with a Mess that oozes heritage. Original art does not come cheap, but there is a mountain of good work in storage by the RAF Museum and one cannot help but think that this work would be better placed adorning the halls of all Mess` around the country.

*Priceless and on public display without safety and security guaranteed versus leave it safely in storage under lock and key. Is a sign of the world in which we live. However, the home regiments in NI leave their priceless silver on permanent display and visitors have not been tempted.

[Pontius Navigator]

12 Sqn had pictures of Garland and Grey. At one point AOC 1 Gp had them up in Bawtry Hall and was most pissed off when OC 12(B) at the time insisted on getting them for the sqn. AOC tried to say we had no where secure. Really he had to have the mess redecorated to hide the marks. We also had the sqn silver on display. Does 12 still have its pictures on display?

On later sqns I don't recall such displays of memorabilita but I know some sqns do.

Wittering, as a leading edge VSTOL station, was about ditch a couple of paintings of a Valiant and a Victor - old white painted and very passe. They were on the books at £500 each. Then someone asked if they were worth anything as they were Shepherd's.

We kept them then but I don't know what happened to them since.

[Pontius Navigator]

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

[airborne_artist]

Shepherd is highly collectable. 21's OM has a Shepherd entitled "Evening in the Desert" depicting Stirling in the Western Desert in 42 with a patrol.

Double signed prints (100 were signed by Shepherd and Stirling) of the painting go for £1000. I'd guess the original should be insured for quite a bit more...

[4Foxtrot]

The RAF Museum in Hendon has a huge collection of paintings that can be loaned out to stations. I believe the only cost is that for transportation and insurance of the art. You used to be able to browse the art archive online but I can't seem to find the link anymore.

Alternatively, the MOD art archives offer art to MOD establishments on similar terms, however CDS/CJO generally plunder the collection for their own premises. Loads of portraits of dead admirals available apparently.

[A2QFI]

The Twin Pin Squadron(s) at Eastleigh gave David Shepherd trips around Kenya to do some of his wildlife paintings and I remember that some of his originals were in the mess in the early 60s. One wonders where they are now? Slight thread drift. Where is all the mess silver from disbanded squadrons kept and who does it 'belong' to?

[Regie Mental]

There's at least one DS painting of a Twin Pin in Aki Mess.

Silver in theory goes to Stafford for strorage although they never seem to have any. Been trying for years to get some silver for my squadron without success, despite the closure of many stations.

[Pontius Navigator]

A2QFI, lots of silver 'loses' it corporate value. The last sqn to win the Laurence Minot Trophy was 44 (Rhodesia) Sqn. A copule of years ago the PRO at Waddo was trying to track the trophy down. We are talking seriously big, FA Cup size. She placed an advert in the RAF News.

I was the only person who responded. I had seen it in the Mess at High Wycombe a couple of years previously. When I checked next there it was gone. I believe it had been moved to the CinCs office.

Another trophy was the 'Armament Officer's Trophy. Splendid award presented annual but I can't remember exactly what for, I think one was to the best weapons loading team.

Strike produced a booklet about 1975 with all the trophies and their history. To my vexation my PA lost it about 5 years ago.

Other trophies seem to come and go. I have not heard of the Mountsey Trophy for years whereas some units used to go all out to win it. Is the LG Groves still in vogue or has it withered with the demise of Air Clues?

New trohpies and awards are now doing the rounds.

[Top Right]

PN,

The Mounsey Trophy is at Waddo (somewhere near to you?), since their team has won it for the past 5 years - but the format is not what you recall.

In 2002 the RAF Swimming Association moved to change the RAF Inter-Command Swimming, Diving and Water Polo (3 disciplines) championships into an Inter-Station format. At the same time they considered the Mounsey format was a bit out of date for these more modern times. Should the RAF really be press-ganging as many Stn personnel as possible to swim 12 lengths just to score points and win a trophy?

So from 2003 onwards the Mounsey Trophy has been awarded to the Stn that is the overall combined champion across the 3 disciplines at the RAF Inter-Station Championships. Waddo has won it for the first 5 years of the Mounsey in this new guise - this year's championships will take place at Cranwell from 15 to 16 November.

For those out there looking for available silver, I understand it's now kept at Donington. Should have more details to follow up this post next week.

[parabellum]

David Shepard also did some beautiul paintings of steam engines, (Railway).

[WhiteOvies]

PN,
IIR the Wittering Shephard's are on display in the appropriately named Victor and Valiant Conference rooms in the Ops/Eng HQ Building. Not sure if it's just RN but there should be a Silver Store which you can ring up and loan silver for mess functions. Not sure where it is but as mentioned previously a lot of the stuff from Stafford is now at Donnington.

As an aside was at Bentley Priory last weekend and the place has history oozing from it. Such a shame that the RAF sees fit to flog it. :*

[Pontius Navigator]

Thanks WhiteOvies and Top Right.

I had a look for the Laurence Minot. Several old sites of which this 7 sqn one is one of them:

http://www.rafupwood.co.uk/lmbt.html

Apart from having so few sqns capable of dropping bombs and even fewer available in UK and even fewer flying hours to actually enter a competition, we seem to have lost the will to compete and publicise our abilities.

[BEagle]

What really pi$$ed me off was to learn that some utter ar$e of a station commander at a large ex-Vulcan base near Lincoln decided that all traces of Vulcan heritage were to be swept away from his base....:mad:

Same thing, apparantly, when the 617th Bombardment Wing converted to the Borenado. All Vulcan photos, paintings etc were not to be displayed in the new pointy-jet squadron crew room.....

Mind you, I don't know whether 216 has anything left over from their brief existence as a Buccaneer squadron until that folded (quite literally).

[greycoat]

PN, WhiteOvies info probably more up to date, but as House Member at Witt in early 90s I remember the Valiant was on display in the ante-room but was locked away during the Christmas break.