Journal | Art and the Futility of War (an indirect Ukraine Dispatch 28)
Art is in many forms. These are products of my imagination, but each tells a chilling story, a reminder of the futility of war. These works relate to the Strategic Air Offensive against Nazi Germany from 1939-1945. Each is of particular relevance to me; they tell part of my family's need to deal with an aggressor and the terrifying price paid by both, indeed, all sides.
In the first painting, we see the Searchlights Probing the Night Sky over Koblenz, in the Rheinland Pfalz. The air offensive resulted in the obliteration of Koblenz on 6 November 1944, and by the end of the War in Europe on 8 May 1945, only 20 percent of the city remained. I have very close ties with Koblenz and Düsseldorf, a blessing indeed.
In the second painting, the title needs no further explanation ~ Berlin ~ A Rain of Fire 1944. Again, Berlin is very close to my heart as I was stationed at RAF Gatow in Berlin in 1990 for a short commandant posting.
This dovetails with the third painting entitled Berlin 1944 ~ Maximum Effort Lancasters Over the Reichstag. I was honoured to give a toast in one of the Ante-Chambers of the beautifully restored Reichstag on my command's behalf, to the German People.
The fourth painting comes closer to home for me personally ... entitled Avro Lancaster Disintegrating Over Hamburg. A city I always find to be peaceful, warm, and affectionate.
The final painting is perhaps the most evocative ... entitled Mid-Air Collision Two Avro Lancasters over Pfaffenhausen, das Beyern, Deutschland am 16-17 Januar. 1945.
This last relates to PB402 LQ-M (my uncle's aircraft) in collision with KB850 WL-O.
Why am I moved to create these pieces?
It is my way of communicating the absolute terror, for both sides, when one man unleashes a war just like another man did in September 1939 and which resulted in a Nation's absolute resolve just across the English Channel that when all had fallen beside them, to remain standing, firm, and then to do the most awful thing of all ... to wage total war.
They are deliberately abstract. Why, ability aside, all the thoughts that race through our minds are often images, distorted, and imperfect, but nonetheless, convey genuine sentiment.
“Yes, war is futile, but when an aggressor seizes lands and seas, the aggressor deserves to be pushed back to their borders with such ferocity that they will not dare to chance their hand again. ”
7 October 2022
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© Kenneth Thomas Webb 2022
Ken Webb is a writer and proofreader. His website, kennwebb.com, showcases his work as a writer, blogger and podcaster, resting on his successive careers as a police officer, progressing to a junior lawyer in succession and trusts as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, a retired officer with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and latterly, for three years, the owner and editor of two lifestyle magazines in Liverpool.
He also just handed over a successful two year chairmanship in Gloucestershire with Cheltenham Regency Probus.
Pandemic aside, he spends his time equally between his city, Liverpool, and the county of his birth, Gloucestershire.
In this fast-paced present age, proof-reading is essential. And this skill also occasionally leads to copy-editing writers’ manuscripts for submission to publishers and also student and post graduate dissertations.
