Night Vigil by Anthony Gross, watercolour and ink on paper

This scene represents a member of the Observer Corps keeping watch from a sandbag look-out post, while barrage balloons are positioned to divert enemy aircraft away from air raid targets.

Two Balloon Command operatives are depicted in the distance. Women (from the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force - WAAF) replaced male operatives a year later. As an Official War Artist, Gross covered coastal defence subjects for the Home Office, and campaigns in Europe, Asia and Africa, besides working independently on drawings of wartime London. Copyright: the artist's estate and Bridgeman Images / RAF Museum.