FLYING OFFICER
PERCY DRAKE BROOKSHAW
(1907-1993)
The R&R of an WWII RAF Aerial Photography Interpreter
Tunisia and Puglia, September 1943 – July 1944
Front Cover ‘Self, San S. (San Severo), March (19)44’. Ink and watercolour. Signed, inscribed and dated. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
Inside Cover: Telegram dated 1st May 1944 reading, ‘Great Britain 27th April / Birthday Greetings my thoughts are with you/ all my love dearest / Doreen’ and addressed to ‘1144412 / Brookshaw / Med. Allied Photo Recce Wing / RAF/CMF’ Label printed ‘Reserved for Officers’ and amended in pen and ink ‘and F/O Brookshaw’. Signed by W. R Dalzell, Peter Hunt, Charlie Chandler, J. Lees, E. J. Impney, Joe Taylor, Isaac Newton (‘Apples’), Joe Dope, and one indecipherable. 12.5x16.5 inches.
P.1 recto: Partial map of Tunisia and Italy with red crayon line marking Brookshaw’s journey by land and air from Tunis to San Severo, Puglia, Italy. Collage: 6 texts about the state of the War and ‘Opera House – “The Sky’s the Limit” with Fred Astaire and Joan Leslie. Paramount - “Reunion in France” with Joan Crawford and John Wayne’. The Opera House and ‘Paramount’ were in San Severo. A continuation of the map on the Inside Cover of Album 1. 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.See Verso●
P.1 verso: The Artist’s wife and child. Ink, watercolour and gouache, with collage of cut photographs. 12.5x16.5 inches.
P.2: View from Brookshaw’s Hut, Tunisia. Dated ‘2? Sep.43’, 1943. Pen, brush and ink. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.3: ‘Fort de l’eau’, Tunisia. 1943. Pen, brush and ink. 12.5x16.5 inches. £225.
P.4: Officer reading, Tunisia. 1943. Pen, brush and ink. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.5: ‘Fort de l’eau’, Tunisia. 1943. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.
P.6: ‘The Tent, Tunisia’. 1943. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.7: View from Brookshaw’s tent, Tunisia. 1943. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.
P.8: ‘Sidi Bu Said’ (sic) Tunisia. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and dated, November 17th (19)43’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £225.
P.9: ‘Sidi Bu Said’ Sic) Tunisia. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Signed, inscribed and dated, November 17th, (19)43’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £225.
P.10: Writing by ‘Four Gun light’, ‘La Marsa’, Tunisia. 1943. Pen, brush and ink. Inscribed. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.
P.11: Smoking and reading, ‘La Marsa, Tunisia’. Pen, brush and ink. Inscribed and dated ‘17th November (19)43’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.See Verso●
P.12: Sleeping Officer, ‘Tunisia’. Pen, brush and ink. Inscribed and dated ‘20th November (19)43’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.See Verso●
P.13: Study of an Officer, Tunisia, 1943. Pen, brush and ink. Inscribed ‘before sunbathing’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.14: ‘John Hainstock, La Marsa’, Tunisia. Pen, brush and ink. Signed, inscribed and dated ‘21st November, (19)43’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.See Verso●
P.15: ‘(Jimmy?) Tunisia’. Pen, brush and ink. Signed, indistinctly inscribed and dated ‘28th November (19)43’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.
P.16: ‘Whitlingham sketching, Sidi bu Said’ (sic). Tunisia, 1943. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Signed and inscribed. 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.See Verso●
P.17 recto: ‘John & Stan / Sunbathing’. La Marsa, Tunisia. Pen, brush and ink. Inscribed and dated ‘4th December (19)43’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.17 verso: ‘La Marsa / Inside Tent / 5th Dec. (19)43/Evening / Nothing else to do!’. Tunisia. Pen, brush and blue ink. Inscribed and dated. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.18: ‘Inside the tent on a sunny day / Tunisia’. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Signed. Inscribed and dated, ‘Nov. (19)43’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.19 recto: ‘Good bye N.A. / off at 09.40, 9.12.(19)43’. Collage of aerial photo (?Tunis) photos, newspaper, brush, ink and watercolour. Also inscribed ‘Down at 11.40 after a lunch of bread, butter, hard boiled egg and an orange’ at San Severo, Puglia. 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.See Verso
P.19 verso: Collage from torn Italian grammar page, cigarette packet and image of San Severina Abate, San Severo. 12.5x16.5 inches.
P.20 Verso: ‘Sigarette / Vermouth / Signorino’.1943/44. Watercolour and ink with collage of Mussolini. Extensively inscribed. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.See RectoSee Verso●
P.21: The Bay of Naples. 1943/44. Gouache. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.See Verso●
P.22: recto: The Bay of Naples. 1943/44. Gouache. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.See Verso●
P.22 verso: Flyer for ‘No.2 R.A.F. Aircrews Rest Camp’ with General, Messing, Meal Times, Bar, Dances (and) A Final Word’. 12.5x16.5 inches.
P.23 recto: ‘From the Veranda / S.S’ (San Severo). Pen, brush and ink. Inscribed and dated, ‘9th December (19)43. 12.5x16.5 inches.See Verso●
P.23 verso: Collage with newspaper, Communist graffiti, pen, ink and watercolour. San Severo, 1943. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.24 recto: ‘La Repubblica’ (sic). Pen, brush and ink. Inscribed ‘from the Varanda (sic)/ SS’ (San Severo) and dated, December (19)43. 12.5x16.5 inches. £225.
P.24 verso: Groups of Locals sketched form the Veranda of Brookshaw’ s billet, San Severo. Pen and ink. December 1943. 12.5x16.5 inches.
P.25: The Danger of Malaria: collage of documents, netting and gouache. San Severo, 1943. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.See Verso●
P.26: ‘Jimmy writes home’. Pencil, pen and ink. San Severo. Inscribed and dated, ‘19th December’. 1943. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.27: ‘Ken tries out the ‘Jam Session’. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and dated, ‘Dec.29th (19)43, S.S.’ (San Severo). 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.
P.28: ‘Stan writes home’. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Signed. Inscribed and dated, ‘9th Jan.(19)44, S.S.‘ ( San Severo). 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.See Verso●
P.29: ‘Ken writes home’. San Severo. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and dated, ’12 o’clock midnight, 11th Jan. (19)44’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.30: ‘Our billet – Ron just up’. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and dated, ‘Jan.14th (19)44, S.S.’ (San Severo). 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.31: ‘Ron’ reading. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and dated ‘Jan.15th (19)44, S.S.’ (San Severo). 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.32: ‘…Curry reads ‘New Yorker’. San Severo. Pencil, pen, brush and ink. Signed, inscribed and dated, ‘25th Jan. (19)44. 12.5x16.5 inches. £475.See Verso●
P.33: ‘The ‘Eating’ house from the ‘Red Billet, San Severo’. Pencil, brush, watercolour and gouache. Inscribed and dated, ‘28th Jan (19)44’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.See Verso●
P.34: ‘Frank sitting on Varanda (sic) in the sun… San Severo’. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and dated ‘28th Jan (19)44’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.35: ‘The billet in Italy. We hang out our washing on 13th Feb. (19)44’. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.
P.36: ‘In billets Italy, Jimmy reads 2 months old Weekly ‘Mirror’. San Severo. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Signed. Inscribed and dated ‘21st Feb.(19)44’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.37: ‘I bathed on March 25th (19)44’. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and dated. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.38: ‘Day Off’, San Severo. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and dated, ‘30th March, 1944’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £675.See Verso●
P.39: Washing drying, billet, San Severo. March/April 1944. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed in two hands: “I put your water on Mrs B” (?a.k.a Brookshaw) “I call that nice of you Mrs D” “What I always say Mrs B, it’s the poor what ‘elps the poor. How do you like them whites Mrs B?” “Them whites is a treat Mrs D. I always put a blue ’andkerchief in with me whites- to keep their colour as you might say, dearie. What so you think Mrs L uses?”. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.40: At the billet’s open window, San Severo. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Signed and dated, ‘19th April (19)44. 12.5x16.5 inches. £675.See Verso●
P.41: Bathing, billet, San Severo. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Dated, ‘23rd April’ (1944). 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.42: Letter-writing, billet, San Severo. Pencil, pen, brush and ink. Dated, ‘25th April (19)44’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
P.43: ‘Jimmy’s day off!’, billet, San Severo. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and dated ‘27th April (19)44’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.
P.44: ‘Ron has a bath’, billet, San Severo. Pencil, pen, brush and ink. Inscribed and dated, ‘27th April, (19)44’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £225.
P.45 recto: Beach scene. Watercolour. 1944. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.45 verso: Collage of Newspaper reports of 6th June 1944 Normandy Landings from ‘Pinpoints’. 12.5x16.5 inches.
P.46 recto: Collage of ‘Pinpoints’, 17.6.1944 reports on ‘Pilotless Planes, a photograph of Italian street children and a photograph 16 British soldiers (The team of Aerial Photograph Interpreters of which Brookshaw was a member?). 12.5x16.5 inches. £100.
P.46 verso: Photograph of a portrait of ‘F/O (?W)R Dalzell’, signed and dated ‘Drake Brookshaw (F/O RAF CMF) May, 1944. 12.5x16.5 inches.
P.47: ‘Ron and Stan sunbathe on the balcony’, of the billet, San Severo. Pencil. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Inscribed and signed. Dated ‘18th May (19)44’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £675.See Verso●
P.48: Letter-writing, billet, San Severo. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. Dated, ‘16th June, (19)44’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £575.See Verso●
P.49: ‘F/Lt Bieniawski’. Pen, ink, brush and watercolour. Inscribed and dated ‘6th July 1944’. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.See Verso●
P.50: Waiting Carrozze. Probably drawn from the verandah of the billet, San Severo. Dec 43-July 44. Pen, brush, ink and watercolour. 12.5x16.5 inches. £225.
Inside back cover: Crowd, San Severo. Pencil, pen, brush, ink and watercolour studies probably made from the verandah of Brookshaw’s billet, San Severo Dec 43-July 44. 12.5x16.5 inches. £375.
Back Cover.