The London Blitz – Searching the Rubble by Claude Rowberry, gouache and charcoal on paper

This watercolour represents Air Raid Precautions wardens conducting searches for survivors in bombed buildings after an enemy attack. It is one of many made by Lieutenant Colonel Claude Rowberry in the Second World War.

Rowberry, a self-taught artist, had always compulsively sketched the scenes he encountered. His First World War drawings recall his time as a sergeant on the Western Front with the Tank Corps, while his Second World War works represent the devastation of urban architecture and loss of civilian life. In some he focused on structural details, such as the extraordinary spectacle of gnarled steel girders and plumbing pipes. Purchased in 2001. Copyright: the artist's estate / RAF Museum.