Where (and what) is this ?

This thread has now been copied from the Airfield Vehicles section

About half an hour ago, I read a thread about refuellers with an orange or yellow globe on top to aid conspicuity, but just can't find it now I want to add to it. Anyway, here's my two penny'orth:



"Watercolour of a grass-roofed control tower with a disruptively-treated tanker. 1943"

Did any Watch Offices ever have a grass covering? Is that meant to be Carew Cheriton or somewhere similar? Were buildings ever so-globed? Why hide a building with grass then outline it with white posts? But, the principal reason why I wanted to add this to the refueller (or camouflage) thread, what is that curious array on the bowser? Did it ever exist in reality?

As soon as I read 'grass-roofed control tower' I thought Carew Cheriton. An interesting painting; is it contemporary?

The array atop the bowser is new to me!

I too thought Carew - and would love it to be that station, however I'm not convinced. What does the '14' refer to? It isn't a runway heading, and it isn't the height AMSL (100 feet).

What is the yellow lollipop thing?

Graham

Lots going on in that one Ossie! Where did it come from and who painted it (mind you, if you had information, sure we all would by now)?

Chris

CDP;69016 wrote:

... and who painted it

Amazingly discovered that: Which doesn't really help !

Ossington_2008;68995 wrote:

Were buildings ever so-globed?

Not sure what you mean by that, how is it globed?

Personally I would interpret the painting as generic, ie no particular place or building. The '14' looks like a runway heading board to me and I assumed the building to be a defence or shelter near a watch office. I certainly can't see Carew in it.
I can't work what the round thing on the tripod is?
Lovely mind, and wouldn't mind that on my wall

This picture, along with others, formed part of a public display and sale during the war years of how "artists are helping the war effort" Now, with the paucity of colour photography back then, I had rather hoped each picture would "tell a useful and truthful story" to those of us interested in airfield camouflage 60 yrs later. It seems not to be alas. If I were to paint a generic tower, it would be something based on a "fort" or a "villa" not a pagoda. Also, the aerial array looks more naval to me. Were there ever such wire things hanging over RAF comms deliberately sited on the edge of an airfield?
The "globe" is that two-discs-at-180 thing, smaller versions are displayed on the Albion Refueller thread (which I still can't find again now I want to put a link to it) again, is this more artistic licence? What is it meant to be? An early version of the yellow board with a black C maybe?
As for the bowser, I can imagine some booms to clear, say, a Wellington wing (something like on the Airfix Bedford) but this thing doesn't have any hoses on it (or even somewhere where they could go). By now, I'm beginning to think the artist deliberately painted something competely erroneous just in case Hitler was visiting! Bah!

Some details of his wartime work in the Victoria and Albert

www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/wid/ead/aad/aad-2008-2f.html

Scroll down to Camouflage work files, 1940-1944

Seems to be principally Gloucestershire