As an RAF pilot instructor during the Second World War, he began painting self portraits and pictures of his friends. He completed his education at Byam Shaw School of Art, where he met his future wife Sheila Neal-Green, and began to make a living painting her friends and acquaintances.

Back in London, a few ‘spec’ paintings sowed the seeds of an immensely successful career. As he put it, 'once you’ve painted the field marshall, you are asked to paint the general, and once you’ve painted the general you get the colonel'. After more than half a century painting the great and the good, his body of work is like a visual representation of Who’s Who. Sitters include Prince Philip, Prince Charles and former Prime Minister Edward Heath.

Sancha said: 'One thing I’ve learned is that whatever size of portrait I’m asked to paint, I always start with a larger canvas. You can always cut it back, but you can’t make it any bigger later on. Metaphorically speaking, I always work from a larger canvas too. I like the details on the fringes, which sum up a sitter’s character. The area around the sitter is often as important as the actual person, and it’s not so much the actual process of painting which concerns me, it’s knowing beforehand what to paint. I also like a sense of movement, so that sitters don’t look as though they are sitting for a portrait. They should look as though someone else has just walked into the room.'