Mark Postlethwaite
30 Squadron and Me
My first contact with 30 was at a 207 Squadron reunion in Leicester my home town. I had painted a 207 Sqn Lancaster for the event and it had made a favourable impression on its President, Air Vice Marshal David Dick. He told me that his ‘other’ squadron was looking for an artist to paint a 75th Anniversary piece and wondered if I would be interested.
I said yes of course and two weeks later I drove through the Main Gate at Lyneham to begin a long and very happy relationship with 30 Squadron. The first painting was a montage of all the types flown by the squadron arranged around two Hercules. This was a very challenging commission but it also provided me with a good education on the distinguished history of the squadron.
When the painting was unveiled at the 75th Anniversary reunion I found myself chatting with men who had flown every type all they way back to the Westland Wapiti!
Word spread around Lyneham that there was a cheap artist who would trade painting hours for flying hours and I picked up several commissions from the base over the following years.
During this time, I kept up a close relationship with the 30 Squadron Association and we informally set out to paint chapters from the squadron’s history, sometimes commissioned, sometimes completed as a personal project. These projects usually raised money for Lyneham charities via the sales of prints and the originals ended up in the crewroom. To date I think we’ve covered Wapitis, Blenheims, Hurricanes, Thunderbolts, Dakotas, Beverleys, the C-130 (many times) and most recently of course, the A400 Atlas.
Quite some time ago, I was officially made an honorary member of the 30 Squadron Association. Although I have worked with most front-line squadrons over the years, 30 always felt like ‘my’ squadron, so the honorary membership meant a great deal to me, and still does.
I look forward to working long into the future with the Squadron and Association. It’s always a privilege to visit the active squadron and see my work hanging on the walls. The aircrew are younger now of course, and getting a quick flight is far more difficult(!), but the atmosphere and buzz is still there of men and women who fly and risk their lives for a living. I was, and will always be, in awe of each and every one of them.
Mark Postlethwaite
Aviation Artist
If you would like to find out more abouts Mark and his paintings please visit www.posart.com