Portrait unveiling

Trust chairman Richard Hunting CBE and Hon Secretary Gp Capt. Patrick Tootal OBE were among the guests when portraits of Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park and Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding were unveiled at The RAF Club in Piccadilly.

The unveiling of the paintings by Hazel Morgan filled what club representatives admitted had been a gap in their collection, given the important role the two men played in masterminding the RAF's victory over the Luftwaffe in 1940.

Both portraits, which now hang either side of a painting of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the club's Churchill Bar, were unveiled by Lord Piers Dowding, the grandson of the man who gave his name to the Dowding System, which played a major part in the RAF's success.

He was joined in unveiling the portrait of Sir Keith Park by Sarah Mossman, a distant relative of the man who commanded No 11 Group of Fighter Command during the Battle that changed history.

The portrait of Sir Keith was sponsored in part by the Battle of Britain Fighter Association, which is now incorporated into the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust. The portrait of Lord Dowding was sponsored by the RAF Fighter Control Association.

Sarah Mossman with Sir Keith Park portrait

Lord Piers Dowding with his grandfather's portrait

Artist Hazel Morgan