Answers sought as grandfather uncovers picture from 1943 signed by RAF artist and used to hang on wall in Gronant home

David Wilson, 62, who grew up in Meliden, decided to sort through family artefacts which had been cluttering up the spare room and his loft.

In doing so, the now retired Sheffield based police officer came across a hand-painted picture he hadn’t seen for about 40 years, by the artist who signed it ‘RAF Victor Chamberlain 1943.’

The picture and frame show that sourcing materials for this activity was scarce and ‘anything and everything’ was used in the project.

David, who is married to Kim and has two sons Gareth, 34, and Iain, 32, said: “I wasn’t surprised when I unearthed the picture but I hadn’t seen it since around 1970. It was wrapped in a plastic shopping bag.

Mr Wilson's grandparents taken whilst they were courting just after The Great War. Taken at the American Galleries studio in Kimnel Camp, Rhyl on a Bank Holiday.

Note the singing medals on Mr Wilson's grandfather's watch chain. These are their genuine clothes of the era

“The picture came into the family initially in Gronant - The RAF had an anti aircraft post in the village guarding the approaches to Liverpool.

“My grandparents lived in number one Bethesda Street, the old terrace of quarry houses. The room at the house was gloomy with just one window. The painting hung on the wall and didn’t see much sunlight but the front door was always open for locals to call in for a chat, in Welsh, and a cup of tea. This is evidence of how gregarious my grandparents were.”

Mr Wilson believes the painting was a gift from the artist in response hospitality offered by his grandparents to those stationed in the Anti Aircraft Battery, based in Gronant, during the war.

“The family had a well established relationship with the airmen based a few hundred yards away from the front door,” he explained.

“My father Gerald Wilson [who played football for Prestatyn Town FC and was in the RAF on emergency service between 1946 and 1948] used to visit the hut the airmen used and lived in.”

“As a teenager in the war, he used to visit the RAF Post and chat with the airmen. He eventually enlisted in the RAF between the end of the war and the beginning of the Berlin Airlift.”

Mr Wilson’s grandparents, Robin Wilson, a quarryman in upper Gronant, and Elizabeth Jane Wilson, who had originally been in service to a GP in Holyhead and moved with the household when the doctor took over a medical practice on Nant Hall Road in Prestatyn, befriended and entertained the airmen.

Mr Wilson's Grandfather outside 1 Bethesda Street. There is a bit of a glimpse of the interior of the room. The painting was hung on the wall on the right as you entered the house.

It is not known who the man is sharing the pose. It could be the artist visiting after the war has ended?

It is believed Elizabeth a member of the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS).

“As it was the only way to get to the RAF post, it would have meant the airmen would have had to pass the front door of their house,” Mr Wilson said.

“It is nice to see how the airmen passed their time, such as this painting, or other creative arts they may have enjoyed, even though the country was at war.

“I can remember a half demolished brick building opposite the builders’ merchant on the road down to the beach and think that that must have been the location of the AA Post.

“I think that is now completely raised to the ground.”

Mr Wilson’s grandparents and parents have died, so he is unable to verify some information, but he is hoping that older people will have some recollection of the building or even wartime memories of the RAF post there.

Mr Wilson's father in uniform shortly after he had enlisted in the RAF. This photo was taken at a studio in Rhyl. Mr Wilson assumes this must have been his first leave home after basic training in RAF North Luffenham in the county of Rutland, Leicestershire.

The base overlooks Rutland Water and has been sold recently to be a housing development for around 2200 new dwellings.

“The painting is signed and dated in 1943 by RAF Victor Chamberlain, but closer examination seems to show the surname as Chamblain,” Mr Wilson said.

“It has only ever hung on a wall in Bethesda Street.

“Dad didn’t show it and obviously we haven’t. However we plan now to hang it in the room which our granddaughters use as a play room when they visit.

“I have tried to identify the artist from Forces’ Records Websites in the last few days but have experienced limited access.

“The name Chamblain does not show at all and Victor Chamberlain of the RAF appears a couple of times but later than 1943.”

Mr Wilson, who has granddaughters Isabelle, three; Lexi, 18-months-old and another due this month, is also wondering what became of the airmen posted there during 1943 - if they survived the conflict? And where were they posted after Gronant?

Anyone with information is asked to contact Mr Wilson by emailing david1wilson@talktalk.net