OLD BOYS’ CLUB: Enjoying the launch of the Navy in Black and White were four of Prof Edward’s shipmates from the initial intake of the Fleet Air Arm (from left) Ron Hay, Bruce Schmitz, Trevor Bycroft and Les Matterson.
SOME great stories were told at Wednesday’s launch of Navy in Black and White.
Four of John ‘Prof’ Edward’s mates, who were also part of the first intake of the Fleet Air Arm in 1948, were present.
Ron Hay, Bruce Schmitz, Trevor Bycroft and Les Matterson were all proud to see their mates’ work on display.
“We were all in the initial airman recruit entry in January, February and March 1948,” Mr Schmitz said.
“They sent us, 18-year-olds, to England for two and a half years,” chuckled Mr Matterson.
“I met an Irish girl and brought back a wife,” said Mr Bycroft.
“It’s great to see Prof’s work on display,” Mr Hay said.
“He was a great artist, he was always drawing something.
“I remember when we were back here at Albatross and he applied for art school in 1950.
“They sent out an application form and there was a page split into four squares with a rooster drawn in it and he was required to draw the rooster and return it so the teacher could see where he was up to.
“He sat down and with the paper alongside and drew this rooster with all the details freehand.
“He sent it off and it came back and as there were no lines drawn on it, he must have copied it somehow.
“Prof wrote back and said he had drawn it freehand.
“The reply was if he could do that he didn’t need to go to art school!”
“I remember another time when we were overseas and we had big wooden tool boxes,” Mr Schmitz said.
“Prof got really upset as the instructors would come along and want a tool and would just grab it out of his box and never return it.
“So he painted this most amazing artwork of fingers stuck out from under the wooden lid as if they had been jammed in the box.
“It stopped the tools going missing but he got into a bit of strife for that.”