HMS Oakley L98 1942 1957 Hunt Class Destroyer By Eric Erskine Tufnell*

~ HMS Oakley L98 1942 1957 Hunt Class Destroyer By Eric Erskine Tufnell ~

The watercolour depicts HMS Oakley on a still sea. It is presented in a black and gilt glazed wooden frame with a lined single mount. Pencilled details are to the reverse. It is titled lower left and signed lower right.

~ HMS Oakley ~

HMS Oakley was a Type II Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was originally to have been named Tickham, however she was renamed after her sister ship Oakley was transferred to Poland and was renamed ORP Kujawiak (L72). She entered service in May 1943, carrying out convoy escort, patrol and anti-shipping attacks for most of the rest of the Second World War. She was adopted by the Civil community of Leighton Buzzard in Bedforshire as part of Warship Week in 1942. In 1957, she was sold to the West German Navy, serving as a training ship for the German Naval Gunnery school until scrapped in 1972.

~ Eric Erskine Campbell Tufnell ~

Eric Tufnell was born in 1888 and his career in the navy started at the age of 15 where he became a cadet at HMS Britannia. By 1904 he had joined HMS Albion and was appointed the midship man who was required to keep a log book where he kept his sketches, photographs and newspaper cuttings (which is now kept in Surrey County Library’s).

He worked on many naval ships and was part of the operational team to try and salvage the HMS Montague, however eventually turned to servicing the naval submarines. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the HMS C7 in 1910 and gained his first Commander position in 1913 aboard the Submarine HMS A8. He then became a Commander across a selection of submarines including the HMS B8, D4, M18 and more.

He turned to art after he retired from the navy as a way to top up his pension and support his family. The majority of his customers were naval officers who commissioned him to paint accurate depictions of the boats they served on.

He had a studio at the tailors Gieves and Hawkes on The Hard in Old Portsmouth, this work was displayed there, until the premises closure.

~ Condition ~

The watercolour is in excellent condition. The frame is in good order with a few minor chips.

~ Dimensions ~

The frame is 39 cm (15.25 inches) wide by 32.5 cm (13 inches) tall.

The exposed watercolour is 26 cm (10.5 inches) wide by 19 cm (7.5 inches) tall.

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