Raleigh seeks to solve art mystery

PAINTING DEPICTS FALKLANDS CONFLICT

- CARL EVE

THE hunt is on for a mystery artist who painted a dramatic landscape capturing a scene from the Falklands War.

The picture was found in a former classroom at HMS Raleigh, in Torpoint, by a staff member who works for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which is responsible for enabling defence people to live, work, train and deploy at home and overseas.

With the classroom not currently in use, the painting had been all but forgotten about. A key part of DIO's role is to maintain the military estate and ensure that Ministry of Defence (MOD) buildings are able to support armed forces personnel.

The painting was found in Building 110, affectionately known as the Fieldhouse block - named after Admiral John Fieldhouse, who led the retaking of the Falkland Islands. The artwork shows a graphic scene from the Bluff Cove air attacks during the war.

The far right of the image is thought to show a burning RFA Sir Galahad during the attack, which saw the greatest loss of British life throughout the entire conflict. A total of 56 British personnel were killed in the attack, with 48 of these perishing following the bombing of RFA Sir Galahad.