SEA & AIR RESCUE - Print & Book Portfolio

A highly-restricted edition remembering all those who took part in the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940.

No one can deny that the Battle of Britain was won by a few thousand young pilots from Fighter Command. The bravery, skill and resilience of Winston Churchill’s ‘Few’ is beyond doubt and without their heroism Hitler’s legions might well have been marching along Whitehall. Yet there is another, often understated truth: had it not been for the men upon whose shoulders was the responsibility for planning the air defence of Britain, or the tireless, dedicated support given by those ‘behind the scenes’, there would have been no victory.

Men such as ACM Sir Hugh Dowding, AOC Fighter Command who’d spent years meticulously planning the tactics for just such an event, or his Group commanders, including AVM Trafford Leigh-Mallory at 12 Group, and AVM Keith Park in charge of 11 Group in south-east England that would face the brunt of the fighting.

Also, always in the background but vital to success were the ground crews tasked with keeping the fighters serviceable, the armourers and the bowser crews. There were the members of the Observer Corps and those manning the Army’s anti- aircraft guns and searchlight units, the radar operatives, plotters, dispatch riders, telegraphists, and the men and women pilots who ferried new aircraft to the squadrons. And, never forgotten by pilots forced to bale out over the Channel, were the crews of the little ships that plucked them from the sea.

One such scenario was brought to life by the late Robert Taylor in his drawing Sea & Air Rescue as Spitfires from 603 Squadron provide air cover to an RAF Air Sea Rescue launch which, with help from the crew of a small armed trawler, has just rescued a downed airman off the entrance to Dover harbour.

Only ELEVEN Portfolios are available worldwide!

Completed by Robert back in August 2023, his drawing was faithfully reproduced as a high quality giclée fine art print on textured velvet paper under his direct supervision through his exclusive publisher, The Military Gallery based in Great Britain. Every copy is issued signed by Robert and embossed with the logo of The Robert Taylor Trust, a body established to preserve Robert's legacy and safeguard the future copyright of his work in years to come.

This is published in memory of all those who made victory in the Battle of Britain possible. The edition is especially limited due to both the rarity of some of the signatures involved and the small quantity of prints that Robert was able to personally sign.

The historical importance of the edition is highlighted by the addition of rare ORIGINAL autographs within the conservation matting, including the former British Prime Minister and three of the key decision-makers within Fighter Command at the time of the battle. Alongside are signatures of Churchill’s ‘Few’ – brave RAF pilots who flew Spitfires and Hurricanes during the summer of 1940, plus some WAAF plotters who were instrumental in the operations rooms.

But that’s not all…

Also included are fragments of both Spitfire AND Hurricane that flew in combat during the Battle of Britain, plus an original King George VI Florin Two Shilling Coin dated 1940 and museum-quality reproduction RAF wings.

Completing each portfolio is a matching-numbered copy of the book BATTLE OF BRITAIN 1940: THEIR FINEST HOUR’S HUMAN COST by leading author and historian Dilip Sarkar MBE which also contains a special bookplate personally hand-signed by a further Battle of Britain veteran.

The full list of autographs reads: