I've recently discovered an amazing official war artist
named Anthony Gross.
In 1942 he was sent on a troop carrier, the m.v. Highland Monarch, from England to
Egypt via Sierra Leone and the Indian Ocean. He made a series of drawings
during the voyage, which took around eight weeks, which are a fantastic record
of daily life on board. Some of Gross' drawings have provided me with real
in-sights into my father's diary.
For example, on Thursday
14th October 1943 Norman recorded:
"Transport arrived, picked us up and dumped us on the
wharf alongside "S.S. Orbita" an armed merchant cruiser used
as a troop carrier.
Climbed the stairs (damned if I know the nautical name) and
then, after finding ourselves on the top deck, tried to find our mess, which we
were told was "just forrard".
Eventually discovered it and found it to be a place about
the size of a single tennis court where 360 of us were to eat and sleep for
Heavens knows how long – not a very pleasant prospect."
Gross' drawing of m.v. Highland Monarch at Avonmouth gives a real sense of what it must have been
like to arrive at the dockyard and see the vessel you were going to board.
 |
| By Gross, Anthony [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
And these drawings have a great feel of the congestion and overcrowding
below decks that Norman described at the start of his journey to Sierra Leone in 1943.
 |
| By Gross, Anthony [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
 |
| By Gross, Anthony [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
I'm planning to add some more of these fantastic drawings to
future blogposts but if you want to check them out for yourself just click this link.