Darwen artist’s RAF church honour (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Darwen artist’s RAF church honour

12:10pm Monday 23rd November 2009

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A PAINTING by an amateur artist from Darwen has gone on display in a London church.

St Clement Danes, on the Strand, is the central church of the Royal Air Force, and of special interest to Bob Waters, of the Pot House area of Darwen.

Bob served in the RAF medical branch during national service 50 years ago.

When he took up painting 15 years ago, he painted the watercolour scene of the church on fire after it was bombed during the war.

He said: “I saw a black and white photograph of it in a firefighters magazine and decided to paint it.

“While it was quite a spectacular painting, I thought little of it and just filed it away, never thinking it would see the light of day again.”

But at a recent meeting of the RAF (National Service) Association, he mentioned the painting to chairman John Magee who suggested it should be presented to the church.

Mr Waters, 70, has sold several paintings, and a Christmas card he once designed was made into 10,000 copies and posted across the globe.

He said: “The prospect of having a painting hung in such a famous church is an honour which far surpasses all of my previous achievements.”

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