Night Attack Over Southampton Water

This dramatic picture is one of the group that was lost at sea, so no better image will ever be available! There seems to be a lot of light around from flares and searchlights, a bit like seeing a scene in a flash of lightning. The upright wall on the left and the post on the right made me see the central foreground as being ‘upright' at first. When I cover them up with my hands, the light foreground lies down flat again. But they are necessary for the composition as is the large stately bollard in the centre. One …

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This dramatic picture is one of the group that was lost at sea, so no better image will ever be available! There seems to be a lot of light around from flares and searchlights, a bit like seeing a scene in a flash of lightning. The upright wall on the left and the post on the right made me see the central foreground as being ‘upright' at first. When I cover them up with my hands, the light foreground lies down flat again. But they are necessary for the composition as is the large stately bollard in the centre. One intrepid small boat makes its way through the perilous scene.

The three others destroyed at sea were Destroyer and Minesweeper (1941), HMS Resolution Returning to Portsmouth (1941) and Trawler Against Heinkel (1941). Click the 'Lost at Sea' tag for more of the story.