This exhibition commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, in partnership with Imperial War Museums (IWM) and with the support of the Art Fund. The Battle of Britain was a decisive air campaign fought over England during the summer and autumn of 1940.
This show explores how the lives of people in Rochdale changed as a result of a war that was to become the most destructive in history. Particular focus is given to women because of the important role they played. Whether it was by undertaking war work, volunteering or providing childcare, women have a story to tell.
Below are some of the exhibition highlights.
An Aerial Battle 1940
Francis Dodd (1874–1949)
Oil on canvas
H 55.8 x W 45.7 cm
IWM (Imperial War Museums)
On loan from Manchester Art Gallery
Assembling a Hawker Hurricane, 1940– 47 Elsie Dalton Hewland (1901–79) Oil on canvas
Eve Kirk (1900–1969) 1929
Augustus Edwin John (1878–1961)
Oil on canvas
H 91.5 x W 60 cm
Rochdale Arts & Heritage Service
The Dancer and the Canary late 1940s
Ethel Léontine Gabain (1883–1950)
Oil on canvas & board
H 50.5 x W 41 cm
Rochdale Arts & Heritage Service
Collection of Rochdale Arts & Heritage Service
1940s Murphy radio
Collection of Rochdale Arts & Heritage Service
Wedding dress in RAF blue, 1941
Laura Knight (1877–1970)
Oil on canvas
H 102 x W 127 cm
Rochdale Arts & Heritage Service
Collection of Rochdale Arts & Heritage Service
Exhibition brochure for ‘Through the Eyes of a Child’, Rochdale Art Gallery
Touchstones Rochdale
Exhibition space, gallery 1