F/L James Nicolson VC painting ...

[chicoartist]

Originally Posted by Chris Goss

Wade: Nice painting but any reason why you have ranked him as a Fg Off?

Thanks, Chris. I think I see where you are coming from - let me explain: Not that I spent a lot of time researching the 'rank' part, because it's not a primary factor in my portrait of the man and his service, but according to one site I linked to from Wiki his dates of rank are:

(A) P/O (prob)
21.12.1936 [39329]
P/O
12.10.1937
F/O
12.05.1939
F/Lt.
03.09.1940
(T) Sq.Ldr.
01.12.1941
(WS) Sq.Ldr.
19.01.1945, seniority 17.06.1942
(A) W/Cdr.
11.08.1944e

In other words, it appears he attained F/Lt. rank (two stripes, rather than the one I depict) on 03.09.1940, which would be after the VC action, which I infer is the basis of your comment. The September date of rank would also explain why the award refers to him as a F/L when the action occured when he was a Fg/O.

That being said, nowhere do I say he's suiting up on 16th August, so he could be wearing any officer rank up to and including W/C ... the main point of the portrait is to honor Nicolson, period.

Cheers!
Wade