RAF Morse School at Olympia, Blackpool by Charles Cundall, oil on canvas

Cundall produced a series of panoramic views of Admiralty and Air Ministry subjects for his Official War Artist commissions in the Second World War. In this work a large cohort of RAF wireless operators undergo initial training to decipher Morse Code.

Morse enabled air crew to communicate securely over long distances and exchange information with RAF stations. During the war, Olympia Hall in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens was given over to RAF training during the daytime while continuing to function as a ballroom in the evenings. From the Air Ministry allocation of works from the War Artists' Advisory Committee, 1947. Original accession number: LD1208. On loan from the RAF Air Historical Branch (MOD). Copyright: Crown (expired) / RAF Museum.