It is appropriate that the central collection of the MOD should contain works of art depicting both twentieth century world wars.
Activity during the 1939-45 war is widely represented, and again the concentration is on naval activity rather than on land campaigns.
The works of the War artists were presented to the Admiralty and to the War Office in 1946 by the War Artists Advisory Committee. The works of art shown here are all on display in various conference rooms and senior offices around Whitehall.
This wonderful work shows the destruction suffered after the fall of France. Hennell was much affected by the courage of the French in their efforts to rebuild their infrastructure. The watercolour is is a powerful evocation of the French spirit.
The recently liberated townspeople, in spite of the ruined infrastructure of their city, are already flying the flags of liberation and working to rebuild.
At the end of the war Hennell stayed with friends in Indonesia, where he was caught up in the Indonesian uprising against the Dutch. In November 1945 Thomas Hennell was officially reported missing.
There were reports that he was mistaken for Dutch and held hostage before being killed by hostile Indonesians in the jungle but nothing was substantiated; in death, as in life, this artist remained enigmatic.