Description
Honouring ‘One of the Few’
Artist Remarque Edition: 60cm x 50cm: (25 Prints)
Artist Studio Collection: 60cm x 50cm: (300 Prints)
SRA3: 45cm x 32cm: (50 Prints)
All Editions are signed and numbered by the Artist.
You will also receive a Certificate of Authenticity.
On Sunday, 15 September 1940, Pilot Officer Roy Achille Marchand took part in the intense aerial dogfights that came to define the most decisive day of the Battle of Britain. The day’s events unfolded with Marchand and the battle-hardened pilots of No. 73 Squadron being roused early at their remote satellite airfield at Castle Camps (“Freddie 1”) in Cambridgeshire. From dawn until 09:00 hours, the squadron was held at “Readiness”, then after 15 minutes “Available”. At 11:00 hours, ten Hawker Hurricanes were ordered to scramble and patrol Chelmsford at 15,000 feet. About 30 minutes later, a large force of free-hunting Messerschmitt Me109s crossed the coast near Dover, sweeping ahead of a wave of Dornier Do17 bombers bound for London. Vectored south of the Thames Estuary, No. 73 Squadron intercepted the raiders near Maidstone just after midday, immediately becoming entangled in a chaotic, swirling dogfight against the Me109s. During the frantic battle, Marchand’s Hurricane was critically hit and fell away from the fight unnoticed by his squadron colleagues, who were busy fighting for their own survival. When the remaining Hurricanes exhausted their fuel and ammunition, they returned to Castle Camps claiming three enemy fighters destroyed. Marchand was initially logged as missing but assumed to have force-landed safely at Biggin Hill. Tragically, later that evening, the squadron received the grim confirmation that Marchand had crashed at Nouds Farm, Lynsted (near Sittingbourne), and had been killed instantly at the age of 22. Even at this tender age he had already proven his fighting abilities and courage in the battle for France and now again during the fierce battles over Britain.
Size Calculator
70cm x 50cm = 27.5” x 19.5”
66cm x 40cm = 26” x 15.5”
48.3cm x 39.2cm = 19” x 15.5”
46cm x 34cm = 18.5” x 13”
38cm x 30.5cm = 15” x 12”
