segunartbomberpilot

Description: This painting was inspired by my meeting with Wing Commander (Ret’d) T.C. (Cam) Weir at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, B.C. I was drawn to the museum by the WW II Hampden bomber being rebuilt there. The aircraft was recovered from 600 ft of water off Patricia Bay on Vancouver Island (near the sight of the present Victoria airport) where it crashed in 1942. Remarkably the crew survived the ditching. I was privileged to be able to talk at length with Mr. Fred Gardam who has been the driving force behind the restoration of the aircraft and who has worked on this type of aircraft as a part of a long career in aviation. In listening to Cam’s story of his youth and war remembrances I was struck by the clarity of his memory. His story seemed to me in many ways so typical of his generation, of ordinary Canadian men and women, who had an extraordinary impact on the world in which they lived and of which we are the inheritors. Cam’s experiences ranged from actions in the air in aircraft such as the Hampden, to personal interaction with historic figures such as Guy Gibson - leader of the “Dambusters”, Arthur Harris - who led Bomber Command during the war and Lord Mountbatten – commander of the British Forces in the Burma/Pacific campaign. Cam was a witness to many major events in that conflict involving these well-known people, but it was his emotional and intense memories of his fellow aircrew and friends that left me with a deep impression of the impact of these times on his generation. The painting, is my modest attempt at a portrait of this man, who I believe symbolized many of his fellow RCAF veterans as they look back in the slipstream of over fifty years of time to those days. In the background is a depiction of a Hampden bomber with aircrew, having returned from a mission. Another Hampden is coming into a landing. Cam died several months after this painting was completed having seen it and been told of its selection for the Canada Aviation Museum's Artflight 2000 display.

Medium: Acrylic on canvas 24x36 (1999)
Display: Abbotsford Air show 1999. Canada Aviation Museum - Ottawa during Artflight 2000 show.RCAF display Okanagan Military Museum, Kelowna, BC (2003). Artist's collection.

STRATEGIC AIR POWER
In the early years of the Second World War, those pilots who completed training in Canada with the BCATP went on to England where they flew the first generation of RAF bombers such as the Hampden. Considered "state of the art" at the time of their introduction, the Hampden would be replaced by more capable aircraft such as the Wellington, Halifax, Stirling and Lancaster as Bomber Command fought its long campaign to bring the war to the heart of the Nazi empire.

For a compelling story about a Canadian airman lost in action in a Hampden bomber visit Bob Ingraham's excellent site at:
Joe Hicks and the Battle for Europe

SegunArt Artwork by Paul Seguna.
HOME ARTIST'S BIOGRAPHY AVIATION ART Prairie Fledgling (Anson) Bomber Pilot Memories (Hampden) Juno Beach Jump off (Spitfire) Whirlwind in Normandy (Typhoon) Air Force Assist (B-25 Mitchell) Battleships of the Sea and Sky (Sunderland) North Atlantic Nannette (Liberator) Texan 'Mosquito' in Korea (T6 Texan) RCN Seafire Display Team (Seafire,Firefly) RCN Sea Furies (Sea Fury) Birds of a feather (RCN Avenger and T33) CF-100, The First Canuck(CF100,B25 Mitchell and Vampire) Grey Ghost Flypast (RCN Banshee,Tracker and Sikorsky S55) Ground Crew Support-Aviano (CF 18) MARINE ART LANDSCAPE ART PHOTOGRAPHY PUBLIC RELATIONS WEB DESIGN CONTACT LINKS back to top	Aviation Art Gallery "Bomber Pilot Memories" Description: This painting was inspired by my meeting with Wing Commander (Ret’d) T.C. (Cam) Weir at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, B.C. I was drawn to the museum by the WW II Hampden bomber being rebuilt there. The aircraft was recovered from 600 ft of water off Patricia Bay on Vancouver Island (near the sight of the present Victoria airport) where it crashed in 1942. Remarkably the crew survived the ditching. I was privileged to be able to talk at length with Mr. Fred Gardam who has been the driving force behind the restoration of the aircraft and who has worked on this type of aircraft as a part of a long career in aviation. In listening to Cam’s story of his youth and war remembrances I was struck by the clarity of his memory. His story seemed to me in many ways so typical of his generation, of ordinary Canadian men and women, who had an extraordinary impact on the world in which they lived and of which we are the inheritors. Cam’s experiences ranged from actions in the air in aircraft such as the Hampden, to personal interaction with historic figures such as Guy Gibson - leader of the “Dambusters”, Arthur Harris - who led Bomber Command during the war and Lord Mountbatten – commander of the British Forces in the Burma/Pacific campaign. Cam was a witness to many major events in that conflict involving these well-known people, but it was his emotional and intense memories of his fellow aircrew and friends that left me with a deep impression of the impact of these times on his generation. The painting, is my modest attempt at a portrait of this man, who I believe symbolized many of his fellow RCAF veterans as they look back in the slipstream of over fifty years of time to those days. In the background is a depiction of a Hampden bomber with aircrew, having returned from a mission. Another Hampden is coming into a landing. Cam died several months after this painting was completed having seen it and been told of its selection for the Canada Aviation Museum's Artflight 2000 display. Medium: Acrylic on canvas 24x36 (1999) Display: Abbotsford Air show 1999. Canada Aviation Museum - Ottawa during Artflight 2000 show.RCAF display Okanagan Military Museum, Kelowna, BC (2003). Artist's collection. Historical note: STRATEGIC AIR POWER In the early years of the Second World War, those pilots who completed training in Canada with the BCATP went on to England where they flew the first generation of RAF bombers such as the Hampden. Considered "state of the art" at the time of their introduction, the Hampden would be replaced by more capable aircraft such as the Wellington, Halifax, Stirling and Lancaster as Bomber Command fought its long campaign to bring the war to the heart of the Nazi empire. For a compelling story about a Canadian airman lost in action in a Hampden bomber visit Bob Ingraham's excellent site at: Joe Hicks and the Battle for Europe
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SegunArt

Artwork by Paul Seguna.

Aviation Art Gallery

"Bomber Pilot Memories"