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Cranston Fine Arts Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth R Roddis, Joe

Chief Fitter Joe Roddis

A crew chief fitter in the RAF from 1939 to 1945 and worked on Spitfires all this time, during the Battle of Britain he was Bob Doe's fitter and was also involved in the Normandy campaign working on numerous forward bases during 1944 and 45. He stayed in the RAF post war and in the early 50s was posted to 617 Sqn on Canberras and saw action in Malaya conflict. He died on 17th April 2017.

Chief Fitter Joe Roddis - Signed Aviation Art

This Sceptred Isle by Robert Taylor. 4 of 5 editions available. All 5 editions feature up to 15 additional signatures. £175.00 - £425.00

Text for the above items :

This Sceptred Isle by Robert Taylor. For nearly a thousand years the white cliffs of southern England had taunted many a foreign army. These fortress walls of chalk, however, were defended by the moat-like waters of the Channel, and together they had shielded the British from her enemies. Alongside Drake they had defied the armies of Spain and her great Armada and, in 1805, had halted the march of Napoleon's Grand Armée. No enemy force since that of William the Conqueror in 1066 had successfully managed to cross the Channel in anger but, in May 1940, one of the most powerful armies the world had ever seen arrived at Calais. An invasion by Hitler's all-conquering Wehrmacht was imminent - or so it seemed. To cross the Channel and breach the English defences, the Luftwaffe simply had to gain control of the skies, and with massively superior numbers the outcom seemed inevitable. The fate of Britain lay in the hands of less than 3,000 young airmen from Fighter Command - Churhill's 'Few'. By July the most famous air battle in history was underway and, over the next three months under tranquil summer skies, the 'Few' battled to defend their Scpetred Isle. Impossibly outnumbered and flying daily to the point of exhaustion, by October these courageous young men had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, emerging defiantly victorious. The threat of invasion might be over but a terrible price had been paid - during that long battle for the survival of Britain 544 had been killed and 422 wounded; and of those who survived a further 814 would be killed before the end of the war. This painting pays tribute to the valiant 'Few', portraying a fleeting moment of calm for the pilots of 74 (Tiger) Squadron during the height of the Battle of Britain. With his commanding officer Sailor Malan (ZP-A) to his right, Acting Flight Lieutenant John Freeborn (ZP-C) takes time to reflect on another day of intense combat while passing over the white cliffs and the familiar lighthouse at Beachy Head, as the squadron cross the English coast to head for home.