EARLY EVENING PATROL
by Robert Taylor
Led by Captain James McCudden, the SE5as of 'B' Flight, 56 Squadron RFC head out from the airfield at Estrée Blanche, north-eastern France, on an early evening patrol, September 1917.
Scarcely a decade had passed since the Wright brothers had made the first-ever flight of a power-controlled aircraft, but it was time enough for the world’s great military powers to fully grasp the notion of air power. By the summer of 1914 and the outbreak of World War I, every belligerent army possessed some form of fledgling air force, and over the next four years of conflict their pioneering airmen would write the basic rules of air combat.
They did so the hard way – through trial and deadly error. It didn’t take long, however, for the press to latch on to colourful tales of aerial derring-do coming from the Western Front with novel words such as flying ace, air supremacy, and dogfighting appearing. The names of Manfred von Richthofen ‘The Red Baron’, and Ernst Udet began hitting the headlines in Germany whilst in Britain the great Canadian pilot Billy Bishop VC shared column inches with the likes of Mick Mannock VC and James McCudden VC. It is McCudden’s flight of SE5a fighters that form the centrepiece of the late Robert Taylor’s masterful drawing Early Evening Patrol.
Only FIFTEEN prints are available worldwide!
Throughout his long career Robert always possessed a soft spot for the aircraft of World War I; an original wooden propeller, complete with embedded shrapnel, even graced his studio wall. The complexities of their wings, struts and wires, the canvas skins stretched over intricate wooden frames a constant source of inspiration which he said were ‘a joy to paint’, and the fast, nimble Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a, arguably not only one of the fastest but perhaps the finest fighter of World War I, was amongst his favourites.
In a fitting tribute to all the brave airmen to take part in the Great War, Robert depicts the SE5a to perfection. Central to his piece is Captain James McCudden leading the aircraft of ‘B’ Flight, 56 Squadron RFC away from the airfield at Estrée Blanche in north-eastern France, on an early evening patrol in September 1917.
Robert completed the original drawing back in early 2023 as a special commission. It was reproduced at the time as a high quality giclée fine art print on textured archival paper under his direct supervision through his exclusive publisher, The Military Gallery based in Great Britain. Every copy is issued personally signed by Robert, hand titled 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.
The Veteran’s Edition
Adding great historical authenticity, prints are mounted to full conservation standards to include an ORIGINAL fragment of WWI aircraft madapolam fabric skin and RARE original autographs of the very men who helped shape aerial combat as we know it. Authentic signatures of First World War airmen are hard to come by, and they have taken a number of years to source, their scarcity accounting for the very limited number available in the edition.
They include airmen who served with the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service before they were merged to form the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918. Some also went on to serve with distinction with the RAF beyond World War One – Sir Keith Park notably commanded RAF fighter squadrons during the Battle of Britain having previously served with No. 48 Squadron RFC and Sir Arthur Harris who, although well known for Commanding RAF Bomber Command at the height of the strategic bombing campaign of World War Two, had also previously served with 45 and 44 Squadrons RFC.
Number 1 – a unique piece unlike any other!
Making print #1 even more special, this completely unique piece also includes the original signature of the Victoria Cross recipient depicted, James McCudden, amongst a total of FOURTEEN autographs of First World War Airmen. Other notable names include two more VC recipients ‘Billy’ Bishop and ‘Freddie’ West, alongside Hugh Trenchard who was instrumental in establishing the RAF.
Not only is there an original fragment of WWI aircraft madapolam fabric skin within the matting, but print #1 also boasts an ORIGINAL bronze RFC Officer’s Cap Badge, an ORIGINAL set of embroidered RFC cloth wings and a full-size museum-quality reproduction Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military award for gallantry.
The full list of signatures reads:
- Major JAMES THOMAS BYFORD McCUDDEN VC DSO* MC* MM (1895-1918)
- Colonel RENÉ FONCK Ld’h MM CDG MM DCM (1894-1953)
- Air Marshal WILLIAM AVERY ‘BILLY’ BISHOP VC CB DSO* MC DFC ED (1894-1956)
- Marshal of the Royal Air Force CYRIL LOUIS NORTON NEWALL 1st Baron Newall GCB OM GCMG CBE KStJ AM (1886-1963)
- Marshal of the Royal Air Force HUGH MONTAGUE TRENCHARD 1st Viscount Trenchard GCB OM GCVO DSO (1873-1956)
- Air Vice Marshal RAYMOND COLLISHAW CB DSO* OBE DSC DFC (1893-1976)
- Air Commodore PHILIP FLETCHER FULLARD CBE DSO MC* AFC (1897-1984)
- Marshal of the Royal Air Force ARTHUR WILLIAM TEDDER 1st Baron Tedder GCB (1890-1967)
- Air Vice Marshal FRANCIS PERCIVAL DON (1886-1964)
- Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir JOHN MAITLAND SALMON GCB CMG CVO DSO* (1881-1968)
- Air Commodore FERDINAND MAURICE FELIX ‘FREDDIE’ WEST VC CBE MC (1896-1988)
- Flight Lieutenant HENRY JOHN LAWRENCE BOTTERELL (1896-2003)
- Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir ARTHUR TRAVERS HARRIS 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC (1862-1984)
- Air Chief Marshal Sir KEITH RODNEY PARK GCB KBE MC* DFC (1892-1975)
Print Numbers 2 – 15:
Alongside an original fragment of WWI aircraft madapolam fabric skin and museum quality reproduction Royal Flying Corps cloth wings, are the autographs of four famous First World War aviators:
- Air Commodore FERDINAND MAURICE FELIX ‘FREDDIE’ WEST VC CBE MC (1896-1988)
- Flight Lieutenant HENRY JOHN LAWRENCE BOTTERELL (1896-2003)
- Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir ARTHUR TRAVERS HARRIS 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC (1862-1984)
- Air Chief Marshal Sir KEITH RODNEY PARK GCB KBE MC* DFC (1892-1975)
- Media:
- Lithograph
- Size:
- 21.5 x 25.25 inches
- Release Date:
- 2/2026
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