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Description
A painting of Newport's auxiliary war service units, featuring a crashing German Heinkel III bomber. This oil painting on canvas with dimensions of 2740 mm in height and 2130 mm in width, was created by Stanley Cornwell Lewis in 1940. It was never finished as the artist was enlisted and posted to the Royal Artillery in North Wales.
In the left-hand corner of the canvas, an outline of the Heinkel III bomber plane is identifiable, with the remnants of a house depicted underneath. On 13 September 1940, the bomber, which was returning from a mission near Liverpool, crashed in Newport, hitting the home of a Jewish family. The parents, David and Marjorie Phillips, survived the crash; however, their children, Malcolm and Myrtle, who were sleeping on the ground floor, did not escape the wreckage. The loss was felt by Newport itself, but also the Newport Jewish Community. The Phillipses were highly respected and ran a tobacconist shop. A headstone for both children was built at St Woolos Jewish cemetery to honour them and their bravery in such a devastating and unpredictable event.
Sources:
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-home-front-156321/search/actor:lewis-stanley-cornwell-19052009/page/1/view_as/grid#;
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13408747.Read_how_a_German_bomber_crashed_on_a_Newport_street_killing_two_teenagers/.
Depository: Newport Museum and Art Gallery.
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