Ernest Townsend - World War II

World War II

When Townsend died in 1944, some said it was due to overwork. He had been busy during the war creating designs that could be used to camouflage Rolls-Royce's aircraft engine factories in Derby. These factories built the Merlin engines that powered the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters. Using his skills, he made the factory appear from the air to be no more than a village.

In 1944 Derby Art Gallery put on a memorial exhibition in his honour. Derby Art Gallery still houses a large collection of his work, although not on permanent display. Townsend's death in 1944 means that his works will not be in the public domain until 2014 and use of his paintings requires the permission of the copyright owner. There is a permanent display of reproductions of many of his works in the Standing Order public house in Derby.