AFTER SAINT-NAZAIRE

An exhibition of drawings and gouaches by
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LIEUTENANT PHILIP DARK RN (1918-2008)
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recording his Captivity after the Raid on Saint-Nazaire and
the POW Camps Milag O, the ‘Aufnahmelager’ (Dulag), and Marlag,
on Luneburg Heath, near Bremen from March 1942 – May 1945.

Midday Saturday 23rd January – 6pm Saturday 20th February 2016

Talk

Nicholas Beattie, Chairman of the Saint-Nazaire Society and son of Sam Beattie VC will be talking about the Raid on Thursday 18th February at 6.30pm.

The Raid on St Nazaire on 28^th March 1942 was the most spectacular Commando raid of WWII. Of the 611 men involved 200, amongst them Dark, were captured. In conjunction with his written account of the Raid and his subsequent imprisonment – which we make available at the foot of this page – these drawings and paintings give us a vivid idea how those 200 men spent the next 38 months of their lives.

Dark had only the briefest of art school training before the War – he had been a medical student. But what his work lacks in technical skill it makes up for with an on-the-spot determination to get life down ‘as it is’; the paintings and drawings were made both to record daily life in a POW camp and to express the emotional cost of that existence. Dark was to become an eminent Professor of Archeology in later life having been introduced to the subject by a series of lectures given in Marlag O by an U.S. Marine POW, the Conjunctive Archeologist Walter Willard Taylor. His interest in how humans cope in confined worlds was surely fired by his own wartime experience.

That these works survived at all is remarkable. Before the evacuation march Dark rolled them into canisters made from discarded KLIM (Red Cross powdered milk) cans and hid them in the roof of his hut. A POW too ill to be marched out rescued them as the hut was being burnt down, and they arrived by post at Darks London address six months later, just in time for Christmas 1945.

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Brief Chronology

1942
March 28^th: Dark captured during ‘Operation Chariot’, the Raid on St Nazaire.
April 22^nd: POW camp Milag (Merchant Navy Camp) ‘The Black Hole’,
Westertimke, near Bremen. (No.s 9, 28, 49, 54).
May 11^th: ‘ Aufnahmelager’ (Sorting Camp) also known as Dulag (Transit Camp) Westertimke, Near Bremen.
(No.s 2 4, 5-7, 16, 22, 30-37, 39, 47, 48, 50, 56, 61).
September 8^th: Marlag O (Naval Officer Camp) Westertimke, near Bremen, Lower Saxony. (No.s 1, 3, 8, 10-15, 17-21, 23-27, 29, 40-46, 51-53, 55-60, 62-78).

1945
April 9^th: German march POWs from Marlag to Lubeck.
By April 24^th: in Lubeck.
May 3^rd: British tanks arrive.
May 9^th: Flown back to Britain.

1. POW Self-portrait, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Chalk. Signed and dated ‘13 May 44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11x8.25 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

2. ‘St Nazaire’, a commemorative garden in the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and blue ink. Probably May - August 1942. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 7.5x11.5 inches. £400. ●

3. POW Self-portrait, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Dated ‘28 Jan 45’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate 10.5x8 inches. £450. ●

4. Lower Saxony landscape from the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke (Cf. No.6) and a study of a POW drawing. Pastels and pencil. Signed and dated ‘5/42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 8x10.5 inches. £350.

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5. ‘View from the Aufnahmelagar’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Ink and watercolour. May-Sept 1942. Signed. Signed and inscribed ‘POW outlook’ or ‘Barbed-wire-itis’ verso. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.20. Ill. p.12. 7.5x11.5 inches. £400. ●

6. Marlag, from ‘Aufnahmelager’, when being built. Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf. No.4). Crayons. Signed and dated ‘24/5/42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 8x11 inches. £350.

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7. Woodland outside the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and ink. Signed and dated ‘6/42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 7.5x11.5 inches. £350.

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8. ‘Tiger’ Box, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.21. Ill. p.15. 9.25x7.5 inches. £225. ●

9. POW Milag O, the ‘Black Hole’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. (Cf. Philip Dark, Look Back this Once, p.23. Available to read lower down on this page). Pen and ink. Dark was held here 22nd April-11th May 1942. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 10x14.5 inches. £375.

10. ‘Marlag O, Germany, POW Camp’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Gouache. Signed. Signed, inscribed and dated ‘44’ verso. Provenance: Artist’s Estate Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.5. (as ‘Camp and Copse ‘outside’'). 22x15 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

11. ‘Plan of Marlag O’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Ink and crayons. Drawn between September 1942 - May 1945. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.4. Ill. p.14. 16.5x11.75 inches. £500. ●

12. ‘View from ‘Our’ Room’, POW Camp Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Dark shared with Naval Officers Robert (Bob) Nock (no.22), Bernard Mansfield (no.63), Dai Evans (no.65), Dennis Dugdale, Jack Grant, Alexander (Sandy) Henderson, Johnny Pryor. Johnny Sutton. Gouache. Signed. Signed and indistinctly dated (194)’4’ verso. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.7. 22x15 inches. £1500. ●

13. ‘Diana in Wardroomland’, sketch for the 1943 Pantomine, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf. Nos. 14 and 17). Crayon. Inscribed by the artist. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 14.5x10.5 inches. £800. ●

14. ‘Diana in Wardroomland’, Poster for the Marlag O Pantomime. Westertimke, Lower Saxony, 27th and 28th December 1943 (Cf. No.46). Gouache. Signed, inscribed and dated. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No. 18. (as ‘Poster for a Pantomime’). Illustrated p.17. Ask to see a copy of the Programme. ●

15. ‘Forced Labour II’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. (Cf. No. 68). Ink and pastel. In late 1943 following too many attempted tunnel escapes the Germans started to dig a moat 6 metres deep and 7 metres wide which took a year to complete around three sides of the Camp. Verso: indistinctly dated and inscribed ‘? 30 July / On ?? of Soil Party’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, Cat. No.30. Ill. p.24. Verso: Nightclub scene (Click here). Pen and ink. 22x14.75 inches. £800. ●

16. Still-life, the P.O.W ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. And, Dark and other Officers and Commandos being photographed at the Quay at St Nazaire when landing from the German Destroyer Jaguar. Crayons, and, pencil. May-August 1942. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 7.75x11.5 inches. £250. ●

17. ‘Marlag O Theatre’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. (Cf. Nos. 13 and 14). Pencil. Inscribed and dated ‘20.9.44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Lit: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994, p.17. 10.5x4.5 inches. £450. ●

18. Design for a theatrical production, the POW Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf. No.50). Ink and watercolour. Signed and dated ‘6/42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 7.5x11.5 inches. £250. ●

19. ‘Just before Lights Out’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Gouache. August 1944. Signed. Lit: Philip Dark, Look Back this Once, p.41. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.16. Ill. p.11. 15x14 inches. £1500. ●

20. ‘P.O.W Conversation Piece’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Gouache. Signed. Signed and inscribed verso. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.8. (as ‘Room Interior’). Ill. p.15 (detail). 14.75x21.75 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

21. ‘Field Kitchens and Milag’, from Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Gouache. Signed. Dated verso ‘44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.6. Ill. p.10. 11.75x20 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

22. Sub Lieutenant N.R. ‘Bob’ Nock RNVR (ML.298) (Cf. No.37), the ‘Aufnahmelager’, or Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 12.5x20 inches. £600. ●

23. POWs shaving, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Ink and crayon. May 1944. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 14.5x10.75 inches. £600. ●

24. Lieutenant Commander Alec Reid: ‘Too Much Reading’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and ink. Dated verso ‘24.10.42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.31. Ill. p.22. 15.5x19.5 inches. £500. ●

25. ‘Greek Windmills’. Inspired by a film of the Greek Islands shown by the Germans. Gouache. Signed. Inscribed verso ‘Wind and Greek Windmill’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.35. Ill. p.18 (as vertical). 15x22 inches. £750. ●

26. Study for ‘Oil of Ray Taylor painting’, (from the back), Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. (Cf. no.53). Pencil. July 1944. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 8.5x11.25 inches. £500. Lieutenant H Ray Taylor RNVR (c.1913-1954) was second-in-command of a motor gunboat sunk in the Channel in mid-1942. Before and after the War he was Art Master at Ermystead Grammar School, Skipton.

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27. ‘POW Dream’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Gouache. Signed. Signed and inscribed verso. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.17 (‘A Dream of Escape’). Ill. p.18 (as vertical). 14.75x22 inches. £800. ●

28. Possibly Lieutenant R (‘Ronny’) O. C. Swayne MC (ML 306) (1 Commandos) (Cf. No.50), Milag, Westertimke, Lower Saxony Pencil. Signed and dated ‘4.42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 9.5x12 inches. £450. ●

29. ‘Skipper’ Greengrass, ‘Johnny’ Sutton, ‘Jack’ Grant and Unknown playing Bridge, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. (Cf. Nos. 58 and 60) Pencil. 1944. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 20x25 inches. £450. ●

30. Sleeping POW, the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, or Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Signed. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 10.5x14.5 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

31. Window and Wire: the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Signed and dated ‘17.8.42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 7.75x11.5 inches. £225. ●

32. Alec Henderson, reading, probably the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and ink. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 10.5x14.5 inches. £400. ●

33. POW enjoying his pipe, the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Signed and dated ‘11.6.42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 7.5x11.5 inches. £300. ●

34. Lieutenant J.M. ‘Johnny’ Roderick MC (3 Tp. 2 Commando), Milag O, or the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Signed and dated ‘5/42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 10.75x8 inches. £350. ●

35. Asleep: the POW ‘Aufnahmelagar’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Summer, 1942. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11.5x7.75 inches. £225. ●

36. Reading in bed: the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Dated by the artist ‘28/8/42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11.75x7.75 inches. £225. ●

37. Sub Lieutenant N. R. ‘Bob’ Nock RNVR (ML.298) (Cf. No.22), the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and blue ink. Signed and dated, ‘7/42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 7.5x11.5 inches. £250. ●

38. Lieutenant E. A. ‘Ted’ Burt DSC RNVR (ML 262) (Cf. Nos. 52 and 56), the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and blue ink. 1942. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 7.5x11.5 inches. £400. ●

39. Bunk bed, the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and ink. Dated ‘29/8/42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 7.5x11.5 inches. £400. ●

40. ‘Reading’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and ink. Dated verso: ‘16.10.42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.10. Ill. p.10. 15.25x9 inches.

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41. The hut stove, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Ink and red chalk. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 20x12.5 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

42. POW ‘Captain Paddy Rheinhold’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Ink and crayon. Signed and dated ‘18/9/44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.14. Ill. p.14. 12.25x9.5 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

43. POW ‘Lieutenant Commander S. H. Beattie V.C. R.N’ (1908-1975) Commander of H.M.S Campbeltown, St Nazaire Raid. Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and ink. Signed, inscribed and dated ‘Feb.44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.12. Ill. p.13. 11.75x9 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

44. Sub Lieutenant ‘Boy’ (‘Blondie’) William Pirie Mewes RNVR (ML 267) who tried to escape the first time ‘Albert RN’ was used. He escaped after his third attempt. Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen, brush and ink. Dated verso ‘15.11.42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 15.5x9.75 inches. £450. Lieutenant Mewes decorating the Christmas tree 1944
Lieutenant Mewes's White Ensign from HMS Glory ●

45. POW reading, POW Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Ink. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 22x15 inches. £600.

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46. POW Temporary Acting Lieutenant Frank Charles Hamel RNVR (1917-2012). Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Co-writer of ‘Diana in Wardroom Land’ (Cf. No.14). Pencil. Signed and dated, ‘44’. Inscribed verso ‘Frank Hamel’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 12x8.5 inches. £300.

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47. Sub-Lieutenant Michael Wynn RNVR (Later Lord Newborough) Captain of MTB 74, St Nazaire Raid (Cf.No.48). Milag O, or the ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. April/May 1942. Pencil. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 12.25x8 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

48. Sub-Lieutenant Michael Wynn RNVR (Later Lord Newborough) Captain of MTB 74, St Nazaire Riad (Cf. No.47). Milag O, or the ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertinke, Lower Saxony. April/May 1942. Pencil. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 12.25x7.75 inches. £750. ●

49. POW reading, ‘The Black Hole’, Milag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and ink. Signed and dated ‘4-42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 9.5x8.5 inches. £400.

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50. ‘R. Swayne’ asleep, and, Figure composition for theatre performance, the POW Aufnahmelager, Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf. Nos. 18 and 28). Lieutenant ‘Ronny’ (later Sir Ronald) Swayne M.C. was a Demolition Party Commando aboard ML 306 intending to land at the Old Mole, St Nazaire. Pencil. Signed, inscribed and dated: ‘R.Swayne. 8.30 a.m. 7th June 42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11.5x7.5 inches. £250. ●

51. ‘Reading in Bunk, Sub-Lieutenant F.E.M. Arkel (sic)'. Probably Francis Walter Manning (‘Frank’) Arkle, Acting/Sub-Lieutenant, RNVR: ML 177. Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Ink and crayon. Signed and dated, '17.6.44' verso. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Images of POW life ... by Professor Philip Dark, Falmouth Art Gallery, 1981, Cat No.17; Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.13. Ill. p.11. 14.5x10 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy
To read Sub-Lieutenant Arkle's story of his participation in the St Nazaire Raid, which appeared in Issue 26 Spring 2013, of Everyone's War, the Journal of the Second World War Experience Centre CLICK HERE You can visit the Centre's website here - www.war-experience.org ●

52. Lieutenant ‘Ted’ Edward. A. Burt DSC RNVR (ML 262), Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf. Nos. 38 and 56). Pencil. Dated 20.10.44. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.9. 12.25x9.25 inches. £600. ●

53. Study for ‘Oil of Ray Taylor painting’, (from the front), Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf.no.26). Pencil. Inscribed with colour notes and ‘Painted first painting 31st July 44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11.5x8.25 inches. £500. Lieutenant H Ray Taylor RNVR (c.1913-1954) was second-in-command of a motor gunboat sunk in the channel in mid 1942 and he taken to Marlag O. Before and after the War he was Art Master at Ermystead Grammar School, Skipton.

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54. ‘Chiefy’ W. H. Locke DSC RN, Warrant Engineer of HMS ‘Campbeltown’, Milag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pen and ink. Signed and dated ‘4-42’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 9.5x6 inches. £350. ●

55. POW reading or sketching, the POW Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Summer 1944. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11.25x8.25 inches.

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56. ‘Socks’, the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf. Nos. 38 and 52). Pencil. Signed, inscribed and dated: ‘Socks’ – E. Burt POW Lt RNVR. 27.8.42. Lieutenant Edward Burt RNVR. St Nazaire Riad, ML 262 (No.2). Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11.5x7.5 inches. £375. ●

57. ‘Captain Graham F. W. Wilson DSO RN’, Senior Naval Officer and British Confidence Officer, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Wilson had been the Commander of HMS Vandyke, sunk during Operation Alphabet to evacuate Narvik 10.6.1940. Pen and ink. Signed, inscribed and dated ‘18.12.43’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 12x9 inches. Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

58. Pencil study for oil painting ‘Jack Grant – model for painting’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. (Cf. No.29) Pencil. Inscribed and dated ‘Glants (sic) Feb 44’ verso. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11x8.5 inches. £450. First Lieutenant ‘Jack’ S Grant RNVR was captured when his A6 Tank Landing Craft was sunk off Crete late May 1941.

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59. POW bunk, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Dated verso ‘Feb 44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 10.5x8 inches.

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60. ‘For Gefangener Bridge Four / Skipper Greengrass’. (Cf. No.29). Possibly Acting Captain J.M.Greengrass RNR. Pencil on blue grey paper. Inscribed. Dated verso ‘Feb 44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 10.5x8 inches. £225.

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61. Smoking and reading, the POW ‘Aufnahmelager’, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. May-Sept 1942. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11.5x7.75 inches. £225. ●

62. ‘Das Reich’, 2 Januar 1944 / Als gefangener nach / Deutschland’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Inscribed by the artist in German. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 12.25x10 inches (irregular). £225. ●

63. POW ‘Bernard Mansfield’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil on blue grey paper. Inscribed. Probably February 1944. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. POW Bernard Mansfield was one of nine men sharing the hut at Marlag O in which Dark lived for two and a half years. 10.5x8 inches. £400.

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64. POW reading, the POW Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Pencil. Summer 1942. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 11.5x8.25 inches. £400.

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65. POW Dai Evans, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Chalk. Inscribed verso ‘Dai Evans’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. POW Dai Evans was 1 of nine men sharing the hut at Marlag O in which Dark lived for two and a half years. 8x10.5 inches. £400. ●

66. ‘The Fruits of War are Death’. Gouache. Signed. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.39. 19x13.5 inches. £650. ●

67. ‘Agony’ (‘Confinement’); Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Ink and gouache. Signed. Signed and inscribed verso. Provenance; Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.28 (as ‘Confinement’). Ill. p.13. 10.75x8 inches. £850. ●

68. ‘Forced Labour’ I, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf. No.15). Gouache. Inscribed and dated verso ‘Spring ’44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.29. Ill. p.19. 22x15 inches. £800. ●

69. ‘Barbed-wire-itis’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Gouache. Signed. Signed and inscribed ‘Claustrophobia’ verso. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.25. Ill. Frontispiece opp. p.1 and p.20. 15x11 inches. £800. ●

70. Study for ‘Only Propaganda’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf. Nos. 71 and 72). Pencil. Verso dated ‘Sept 44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Literature: ‘Only Propaganda’. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.36. Ill. p.21 10.5x8 inches. £300.

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71. ‘Only Propaganda’ (Cf. Nos. 71 and 72). Gouache. Signed. Signed, inscribed and dated ‘9th Oct. 44’ verso also ‘All the Fuhrer left them – Winter ’45 (sic), Germany’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.36. Ill. p.21. 19x13.25 inches. £800. ●

72. Study related to ‘Only Propaganda’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony (Cf. Nos. 70 and 71). Pencil. September/October, 1944. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Lit: ‘Only Propaganda’. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.36. Ill. p.21. 10.5x8 inches. £400. ●

73. ‘Good Fare Through Rations’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Gouache. Signed. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat.No.43. Ill. p.27. 22x15 inches. £500. ●

74. Searchlights over Bremen from Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Gouache. February 1944. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. 14.5x10 inches. £600. ●

75. ‘The Horror of Tinned Food’, Marlag O, Westertimke, Lower Saxony. Gouache. Signed. Dated verso ‘44’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.26. Ill. p.16. 22x15 inches. £500. ●

76. ‘A Dream of Escape’, Marlag O, Westertimke. Gouache. Signed. Indistinctly dated verso. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.27. Ill. p.18 (as vertical). 15x22 inches. £600. ●

77. ‘The Horror of War’. Ink and crayons. 1944. Signed. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.38. Ill. inside back cover. 19.75x25.5 inches. £500. ●

78. ‘The Russian Front’. Gouache. Painted in 1944. Signed. Dated verso ‘16th January’. Provenance: Artist’s Estate. Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1994. Cat. No.37. Ill. p.23. 19.5x25.5 inches. £800.

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Sketches of the Raid on St Nazaire and
Sketches made while evacuating POW Camp Marlag O

Nine studies made in POW Camp Marlag O to record the St Nazaire Raid, 28th March 1942. CLICK HERE
Acquired by the National Museum of the Royal Navy ●

Twenty five pencil drawings recording the evacuation of Philip Dark and his fellow POWs from Marlag O to Lubeck between 10th April and 7th May 1945. CLICK HERE

Look Back This Once: Prisoner of War in Germany in WWII

This account was written by Philip Dark in 1994 using diaries and notes kept during his incarceration as a Prisoner of War in ‘Marlag O’ (Naval Officers Camp), near Bremen, between April 1942 and May 1945. An edited version of it was published by the Honolulu Academy of Arts as a catalogue to accompany their exhibition In Captivity: Images from World War II by Prisoner of War Philip Dark in 1994.

A digital copy of this Manuscript is made available below by kind permission of the Artist’s Estate. Click the book to enlarge and read. ‘Esc’ will return you to this screen.