A painting by my late father, James Field. He was an artist and illustrator with a passion for history. Below is the accompanying text he wrote at the time:
Having been the first to fly an aeroplane to war for Britain Lieutenant H. D. Harvey-Kelly was involved in the first recorded aerial victory for the Royal Flying Corps on 25th August 1914. Seeing an Rumpler 'Taube' whilst flying with two companions of 2 Squadron RFC, Harvey-Kelly dived on the tail of the enemy aircraft. The terrified German pilot tried to escape the whirling blades of Harvey-Kelly's BE2b. The two other British pilots joined in the game 'boxing in' the hapless German who had no other choice but to land in the nearest field. Before the 'Taube' came to a complete halt the German pilot was out of the cockpit and disappeared into a nearby wood. During the whole engagement not a single shot was fired as none of the 'combatants' was armed!
Original Painting Info:
MEDIUM: Acrylic on canvas board