The London Blitz – Ruined Buildings by Claude Rowberry, watercolour and charcoal on paper

This is one of a number of works made by Claude Rowberry in which he represented the devastation caused by enemy bombing raids. Rowberry visited bomb sites with his sketchbook, drawing from first-hand encounters. Although he made many drawings during the London Blitz, he depicted this ruin scene after the war.

Rowberry served as a Sergeant in the Tanks Corps during the First World War and as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army during the Second World War, while discreetly practising as an amateur artist. He was a compulsive sketcher but cautiously hid his work from public view. Following the death of his widow in 1965, Rowberry’s drawings were found by his son and exhibited. Purchased in 2001. Copyright: the artist's estate / RAF Museum.