’39 On

...is a project created exclusively from one man’s vision to capture and immortalise veterans from World War 2 serving across Land, Sea and Air campaigns; old soldiers whose individual stories chronologically depict the journey from Dunkirk in 1940 to Burma in 1945.

The Inspiration

The inspiration for the project was indisputable, a photograph taken in the early war years which depicted a women proudly marching alongside Allied troops: with her chin held high and a union jack flag in hand she epitomised the feeling of the day and the values of a generation. This woman was my grandmother.

At the time the image was published in a wartime newspaper, and later incorporated into a hardback book entitled ‘The War’s Best Photographs’. This book along with the war stories conveyed became integrated into my childhood and fuelled a vivid imagination.
The descriptions of individual experiences, the adventures and sadness portrayed the unity and identity of a nation. The feeling of British pride, of fortitude and courage installed a need to immortalise the stories and discover the men and women, who through a sense of loss, collectively represented the people who did not return.
To celebrate their lives, their bravery and belief in the greater good, 39 ‘On captures the people who created our history, and fought for peace in our time.

''A country that refuses to look back has no future''

- Sir Winston Churchill

The Paintings

The complete project comprises of 65 oil paintings and starts with the paintings that represent the inspiration: the ‘grandmother’ and the ‘small boy’, then leads onto the portraits of veterans representing the conflicts. They cover the entirety of the Second World War from the beaches of Dunkirk, through the North African and European campaigns, to Burma and the Pacific and the capitulation of the Japanese. Amongst the portraits are smaller side paintings, ‘still life’ images of authentic military kit or composed visual war scenes which provide a link between the paintings.

Ending the project is a self portrait, a moment of reflection to the men and women who were lost throughout the war and, maybe more poignantly who were lost during the creation of this project.

The complete 39 ‘on project immortalises an era and creates a legacy to those who fought for our today. Below is a sample of the artworks contained within the exhibition, which has yet to be shown in its entirety.

‘History on the end of a brush’

- Peter Blackler

The initial painting of the project is the artist as a small boy reviewing the book which featured the photograph that became the inspiration for the project.

Represented within the oil painting is Garth Wright [left] and Cyril Watts [right] who as part of Neville Chamberlain's commitment to support Poland after Germany's invasion in September 1939, became part of the initial British Expeditionary forces [BEF]. Deployed to France to reinforce the European frontiers, they found themselves just nine months later part of the retreating forces due to Adolf Hitler's 'Blitzkrieg technique' which forced the Allied forces into a defensive perimeter surrounding the town of Dunkirk on the English Channel.

Garth and Cyril provide the foundation for the European Campaign within the 39 'On project, and having survived the Dunkirk evacuation as part of 'Operation Dynamo' they lived to fight another day.

For Garth this meant a period of time in the home services where he defended the airfields during the 'Battle of Britain'. But in 1942 he once again was deployed overseas as part of the eastern task force in 'Operation Torch', the allied invasion of North Africa. For two years he engaged in the desert warfare fighting in places such as Tebourba and the Kasserine region, before in 1944 being reassigned to Italy. Now part of a 4.2 mortar group he became part of the allied attack on the impregnable monastery at Monte Cassino. As the German forces retreated Garth remained in Italy until the end of the war, returning home in 1946.

As an experienced solider since 1932 Cyril was already well established in the Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment before Dunkirk. On returning to England he became part of the newly formed commandos and underwent intensive training and in 1941 accepted a commission to Lieutenant. In 1942 Cyril traveled to North Africa where he commanded a 8-gun battery which saw action throughout the next year. As the allies gain ground Cyril and his unit moved onto Tripoli in Libya and then onto Malta and finally across to Italy. Here Cyril became the battery Captain and mobilised his unit to a base in southern Italy. He remained in Italy until the end of the war when he was then assigned as the Provost Marshall with the allied military government at a brevet major rank. Cyril was finally demobbed in 1947.

With shared experiences they became long standing friends and had no hesitation in being painted together.

After enlisting in 1941 Wally Buckler was involved in the coastal defenses of England for over a year. However as a member of the Royal Pioneer Corp he came under the control of the 1st Army when he embarked on his first overseas deployment to Tunisia in 'Operation Torch'. Landing in November 1942, Wally was based at Bougie where he once again became involved in coastal defenses and the creation of a secure supply line, working on loan with the Royal Naval military police. For almost a year he ensured ammunition and supplies passed between Bone and Philippeville to the fighting troops until he was ordered home at the end of 1942 to prepare for 'Operation Overlord'.

Having landed on D+1, Wally immediately started the essential work to support the advancing allied forces. As the troops moved forward the Pioneers followed building bridges and roads under enemy fire. It was as Wally worked that he was wounded, returned to the beach and evacuated home. However within a month he returned to see Caen fall to the allies and moved onto Belgium, then Holland in the effort to support the Airborne at Arnhem. His journey continue throughout 1945 until he finally reached Germany where he heard the news of the German surrender. However it was not until 1946 that he returned to England.

Returning to civilian life he never forgot is war services and was a member of the Normandy Veterans association, and indeed this is where we meet. His passion for life and the 39' On project was immeasurable and having spent time together we became close friends.

In 1942 at just 19 years old, Bill Cotter volunteered and after basic training he was assigned to No.6 Assault Regiment for combined operations training. By the time June 1944 arrived he was a trained commando engineer, specialising in bomb disposal. Landing on the 6th June 1944 at 'Juno beach' as part of the 'Operation Overlord' Bill was among the first to arrive and immediately began to clear the beaches. During the weeks that followed he worked closely with the advancing troops and the airborne units clearing safe passage as the allied advance progressed inland. As the Germans retreated they became more inventive with the traps and explosives left and Bill lost many of his unit to their cruel devices.

By October 1944 Bill left France and moved into Belgium, and from here he advanced into Holland and became involved in the legendary battle for Walcheren Island. After the island fell Bill remained to clear the mines, and in December 1944 sustained injuries that saw him return to England in 1945. Once fit for duty Bill was assigned to the Burma campaign, where he stayed until 1947.

An amazing man with an amazing story.

Connected through the Normandy veterans Association Harry Cummings, Bill Turner and Bob Bolt feature in this landscape portrait. Although friends through their comradery each man's journey was unique.

Called up in September 1939 Harry [left], was assigned to 5th (Prince of Wales), Battalion, part of the Devonshire Regiment. Assigned to home-front duties until he became part of the 86th Anti-tank regiment he landed 10 days after D-Day in a US M10 SP tank aboard a LST. As his overseas service began his tank unit headed inland towards Caen where Harry became heavily involved in the fight for Hill 112. Later this would earn him a certificate of service and devotion to duty signed by General Montgomery. For 11 months Harry fought in the liberation of Europe until finally whilst in the Hamburg region he recalled the announcement by Winston Churchill of the unconditional surrender of Germany. On returning to England he was assigned to the Burma campaign.

Having enlisted in November 1939, Bill Turner [Middle] landed on 'Sword beach' in the early hours of the 6th June 1944. As part of the 12th Battalion Devonshire regiment he faced the onslaught of the German defenses. With gun in tow, Bill drove a jeep from the shoreline, for 6 days he advanced with the Allies forces until he sustained an injury to his hand that saw him return home, and ended his wartime service.

In November 1943 Bob Bolt [Right] joined the Royal Marines and after 6 weeks of basic training in Scotland earned the prestigious green beret. As part of the No.4 Commando Brigade under the command of Lord Lovat Bob finally landed off course at 'Sword beach' at 0800 hours on 6th June 1944. Having rejoined his unit Bob rapidly moved inland and as the fighting intensified Bob was injured by a phosphorous shell. Shipped home he spent several weeks in treatment and once fit he returned to the Normandy coast in August 1944 where he joined the 30 Assault unit (AU). Through the remainder of the European campaign Bob was involved in many rapid raids, until finally in May 1945 he reached Germany where he stayed until returning home in July 1945. Reassigned for jungle training in Scotland, he received his next posting to Burma, however when the Atomic bomb was dropped in August 1945 his posting was cancelled.

In the home guards since 1941, Harold Wright transferred to the Royal East Kent Regiment in 1943 for basic training and on completion was assigned to the 12th Devonshire Regiment (Airborne) where he undertook glider training. As part of the 6th Airborne Division Harold became part of ‘Operation Overlord’, however due to a lack of gliders he journeyed by sea on 7th June 1944. Landing on ‘Sword beach’ Harold fought into Belgium until on 3rd September 1944 he returned home to prepare for the forthcoming Battle of the Bulge. For two months Harold fought in the bitter conditions of the Ardennes, until once again he returned to England for the airborne assault on the Rhine Region, codenamed ‘Operation Varsity’. On 24th March 1945 he boarded a glider for Germany and in the weeks that followed he advanced into Germany finally arriving at Wismar on the Baltic coast in May 1945. On 7th May 1945 he heard the German surrender and nine days later flew home to England.
In late 1944 Harold was assigned to cover the allied mission for the observing the Greek elections (AMFOGE), and this was where he remained until he was demobbed in March 1946.

Like many veterans Jimmie Blake did not serve in just one campaign seeing action across Europe, through the Middle East, India and into Burma.

On the day the war was declared Jimmie signed up and was accepted into the Royal Air Force. Selected to train as a wireless operator, he passed his exams and undertook further training to become part of an aircrew as a wireless operator/air gunner by 1940. Posted to Scotland he then began observer/navigator training, which gave him the opportunity to earn his sergeant stripes. In late 1940 he joined a squadron based in Northern Ireland tasked to cover the Atlantic, before being transferred to Devon. For nine months Jimmie continued to cover the Atlantic protecting the shipping lanes in the Norwegian Fjords. But by September 1941 Jimmie's pilot wanted to see more action so invited Jimmie to join him in the Middle east. For the next eleven months Jimmie's operational duties saw him cover desert warfare attacking convoys in famous areas such as El Alamein and Tobruk. But by November 1942 having tired of the desert he volunteered to serve in Burma. Traveling through Egypt and India he arrived in early 1943 and became based out of an airfield on the Indian Burmese border. As part of his squadron Jimmie once again supported the ground troops in the jungle until he received orders to return back to England at the beginning of 1944.

Once back in England Jimmie returned to operational duties across the Atlantic, protection convoys and attacking German shipping. He would remained based at home until finally receiving his release papers in August 1945.

Eileen Parsons is one of the two women featured within the 39 'On project, when war was announced she was already one year into her three year nursing training. Based in London she cared for the men from the British Expeditionary forces as they returned from the Dunkirk beaches in May 1940. With the onset of the Blitz the nursing staff worked around the clock and for the next two years she trained as she worked until her training was completed. As the grip of war deepened Eileen came forward to join the Army nursing service. Transferred to Scotland, she boarded a ship bound for the Far East and arrived in Mumbai via Egypt in September 1942. Within days she became a manager of a small pox ward, where she stayed for six months until the epidemic ended and she received her next posting to a hospital ship. Sailing from Madras she found herself on board a floating hospital treating injured soldiers and those with infectious diseases acquired through jungle combat. Within a year she was transferred to Bangalore where she became a junior sister of a ward. Eileen's life became the ward until six months later she managed to take some leave. It was at this time she meet her future husband, after just three days he proposed and three weeks later they were married in the summer of 1945 .

As a married women Eileen continued to work and when the bomb was dropped in August 1945 she nursed the returning young soldiers as well as the Japanese prisoners of war who had been in the vicinity of the bomb, something that she will never forget. In 1946 she received orders to return to England, where she left the armed services having achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Time spend with Eileen gave a rare insight into the human tragedy of war, a truly remarkable women to have spent time with.

Having completed three out of four years of his a mechanics apprenticeship William (Bill) Kennard joined up five months before the declaration of war as a vehicle fitter with the 43rd Wessex Division. Too young to be dispatched with the British Expeditionary Force to France, he was assigned to home defence. However when the withdrawal from Dunkirk happened Bill became heavily involved in sourcing vehicles for the armed forces, anything any age or condition was requisitioned, and Bill had to fix it.
In autumn 1942 Bill orders to serve overseas saw him transfer to Freetown in Africa where he was assigned to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical (REME) and promoted to corporal rank. For the next 18 months Bill maintained the vehicles essential to the Allied advance, travelling into the jungle under unrelenting conditions. By May 1944 he was deployed to Burma working as part of a field workshop. To outwit the Japanese the mobile workshop moved constantly, setting up canvas areas to keep the men and equipment dry. As they moved deeper into the jungle Bill services guns, radios and instruments as well as vehicles, every spare part was adapted and utilised to keep the unit moving. As the frightening intensified the Allied troops moved south towards the Arakan area and Bill was promoted in February 1945 to staff sergeant, and then to a sergeant major just six weeks later. As they prepared to push forward the news arrived that the atomic bomb had been dropped, however Bill remained in the jungle until January 1946 assisting with the safe withdraw of troops and equipment. In February 1946 he began the journey home to England to be demobbed.
Bill's respect for the men on the front line was heartfelt and boundless; a humble man who understated his role.

Recruited into the Royal Navy at 19 years of age, Dennis Plews began his service life in July 1940. Trained as a coder in the communication branch his first posting was in October 1940 at HMS Drake in Plymouth, however it was a short placement and within two weeks he became based out of Belfast escorting convoys in the North Atlantic and Scottish waters. In January 1942 Dennis attended signal school for six months, on successful completion he was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Voluntary Reserve based at Portsmouth. Whilst here he took every opportunity to continue his training in gunnery/torpedo and, attended Greenwich Naval College before being based at Scotland as First Lieutenant of a motor launch. In June 1943 Dennis was promoted to commanding officer of the motor launch, and a few weeks later the crew was assigned to serve in Bombay. After a lengthy journey they arrived in India where they served alongside the Indian Navy. Throughout the next two years Dennis saw service providing cover for the aircraft carriers between the Kenyan coast and Ceylon, as well as patrolling waterways as part of the coastal defences. Joining HMS Kenya he became part of the British Pacific and Eastern fleets and took part in many operations before falling ill and spending time in Ceylon Hospital. Whilst in hospital he met up with an old friend and they agreed to switch boats and Dennis returned to being a commanding officer of a motor launch.
With his new crew Dennis patrolled the inland waterways rife with smugglers; however in November 1944 they received the orders to move northwards and cross the Bay of Bengal towards Ramree Island in Burma. Here they once again patrolled the inland rivers and became involved in the evacuation of allied soldiers from the jungle. For the next ten months they supported the allies, undertaking dangerous missions under fire as they advanced against the Japanese. For Dennis the war did not stop until the second atomic bomb was dropped on 9th August 1945 when he was reassigned back to coastal patrol in India. Here he contracted malaria and was hospitalised for two weeks, during this time he received his discharge papers and after a long journey home arrived in England in November 1945.

Ending the project is a portrait of the artist, a lone figure holding his grandfathers medals. The painting represents the personal journey to create this unique project : a mark of remembrance for those who were lost.