| Place | Europe: United Kingdom, England |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART26129 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | Overall: 61 cm x 50 cm; Framed: 77.7 cm x 67.7 cm x 3.5 cm |
| Object type | Painting |
| Physical description | oil on plywood |
| Maker |
Colahan, Colin |
| Place made | United Kingdom |
| Date made | 1942 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Wing Commander Gynes Ramsbottom-Isherwood
Description
Wing-Commander Henry Neville Gynes Ramsbottom-Isherwood, DFC, Air Force Cross, RAF. Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, Ramsbottom-Isherwood went to Britain to join the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. He led the 151 fighter wing of the Royal Air Force fighting Germans alongside Russian pilots during the winter of 1941 at Murmansk on the northern edge of the Soviet Union. One of only 4 non Russians to be awarded the Order of Lenin he was presented with his medal at the Soviet Embassy in London in 1942, around the time that this portrait was painted. He later flew in the Middle East and survived the war, rising to the rank of group captain, and becoming the commanding officer at Martlesham Heath RAF base in Suffolk. He died in 1950 when the Meteor jet fighter he was testing ran into a snowstorm.